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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 20, 1975)
Wednesday, august 20 lincoln, neb. vol. 99 no. 1 n rolls across state rca By Dick Fiersol ' '"?. Former Oklahoma Sen. Fred Harris's camper campaign rolled through Nebraska last week, continuing a two month trip across the nation that Harris hopefrdly calls "On the road to the White House." Harris, in his second try for the Democratic presidential nomination, said he is bringing his campaign "on the road and to the people" so people recognize him from among the host of Democratic candidates. His "new-populism" approach and stump-thumping style is an appeal to "average family folks" who he said have been ignored too long. Harris spoke to audiences in Lincoln, Grand Island, North Platte, Scottsbluff and Chadron at coffees and brown bag lunches. This campaign swing, which began in Lafayette Park across the street from the White House, is an effort to solidify Harris's local organizations and attract a core of supporters for an intensified fund raising drive this fall, and to help raise needed financing to obtain matching federal funds for the early 1976 presidential primaries, y;.-. Contributions Under Use new federal campaign financing laws, to receive matching funds, a candidate must 'ise $5,000 In at least 20 states with a $250 limit on individual contributions. The nominees of the two major parties will be eligible for $20 million each for the general election campaign. It is this campaign financing operation, called a ' "revolution in presidential politics" by Harris, which he said will allow candidates with smaller political treasure chests to compete. In his abortive 1972 presidential campaign, Harris said he "went broke". He has turned that failure and the new financing laws into what he regards as the backbone of his campaign "the issue is privilege." In his homey Oklahoma twang, Harris made his 1972 campaign sound more like a root crop failure than unfortunate political winds. He said his appeal is strictly to those he called disenfranchised by a government that serves the "ITTs, Gulf Oils, the large agribusiness corporations" and others with big money. Campaign idea Harris told the gatherings his campaign is based on the idea that "people are smart enough to govern themselves and that the diffusion of power and influence among the people of America ought to be the government's primary goal." Conjuring up Thomas Jefferson's image of the ideal America and the sanctity of the "average family," Harris said the time is ripe for what he called the victimized, over-taxed common American to take back his rightful power. Harris's short 'speeches were complemented by question sessions with the audience, or local Democratic officials, depending upon the enthusiasm he inspired on issues. To farmers, he said that five major grain "monopolies" in collusion with the government have sold out American agriculture. He advocated a grain price floor beyond which prices could not fall . and other measures designed to stabilize a "boom and bust" agricultural economy. He said the Soviet Union should be required to make its grain buying intentions more open and to build up reserves to flatten demand. Domestic demand level He said the U.S. should establish a domestic demand level to protect consumers from inflated food prices. Harris characterized Secretary of -Agriculture Earl Butz as the enemy of the family farm. He said Butz has admitted the family farm is the most efficient food producing unit, but added that USDA policies encourage corporate farming. He drew enthusiastic response from audiences when he said agribusiness and food industry middlemen are reaping huge profits at the expense of farmers and consumers. Continued on p. 32 Book outlook 'positive' despite difficulties F i ' c t " I ' i ' , Kt - 7 1 f j ... ''. " " Despite Initial difficulties in ordering procedures, students should have' little difficulty finding books for their classes, thanks""' to" what Nebraska Bookstore Manager" John Wehr calls "the most positive thing that happened this summer." Ordering difficulties arose when mistakes were discovered in computer forms used by professors to request texts, Wehr said. The mistakes included inaccurate class enrollment figures, wrong class section numbers and misplaced lists. "lists were sent out last spring, and some instructors didn't realise they were ordering fall books instead of books for next spring," he said, adding that Nebraska Bookstore bases its orders on these lists. The computer forms are distributed and compiled by the University Bookstore's Office of Textbook Information, and then parsed on to all city bookstores as a basis for ordering books. flt-lstriiion iiifromation Wehr said the "positive event" was the Academic Services office's decision to supply registraion information as it became available through the summer. According to Gerald Bowker, director of Academic Services, this kept bookstores abreast of fall preregistration information. "If things work out, those preregistration figures will be directly responsible for the success," Wehr said. , "However, I believe we've taken care of it (the problem)," Wehr continued. "We've ordered more of the brand new significant books for classes of SO to 100 students. There must have been several large courses where we ordered 100 per cent of the books." Usual order Wehr said the bookstore usually orders 70 per cent of the class estimate. If a shortage of texts does arise, Wehr taid it will be evident mostly in books for senior and graduate level courses. Wehr said the Nebraska Bookstore bases the percentage of books it orders on past records. This includes the past history of the title of the book, the course, the preenrollment figures and the reliability of the particular departments, in their estimates. Some departments, Wehr said, will order as many books as a classroom will fill instead of for the number of students expected. In other departments, where a majority cf students have purchased their 1 . , i-i 1 4 r - i f 7 : Construct!!! wcitcra - fcstlle . th t-!btrrfe tixtzsiis tot &wbt$ wosfk oa the new UU S&zfusta K4s. west f Ibssta' Ikli. books at the store in the past, Wehr said he , may order as many as 95 per cent of the texts, and go as low as SO per cent of the class estimate if students seem not to be buying books there. Wehr said overstocking books can "be rnore inefficient" for the store than underordering because of return freight and employe costs. He said the store should have "a good idea within a week or ten days" if it ordered correctly. He said the Nebraska Bookstore also will oeprate a temporary book supply for the first two weeks of school on East Campus form 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. "If the volume (of business) holds us there, well keep it open as long as we can justify," Wehr said. Close estimates Jerry Williams, assistant manager of University Bookstore, said he usually finds that professor estimates of the number of books needed for their classes "will be real close" to the actual number "nine out of ten times. "But it's the one time out of ten we're concerned with," when oversotkeing or understocking occurs, he said. He said he also uses class estimates in ! 1IUI By Theresa Forsman Several new and a couple of not-so-new construction projects have kept UNL in the building business this summer. . M.W. Anderson Construction Co. workers have so far managed to keep - progress on the new Life Sciences Building on schedule, Tom Nycum, physical plant assistant director, said. The demolition of Stout Hall during the summer of 1974 marked the beginning of work on the $6.2 million structure, due for completion in September 1976, Nycum said. The replacement for 60-year-old Bessey Hall is sorely needed, according to Dr. Gary Hergenrader, Life Sciences Department interim dean. Scattered Though Bessey. houses most of the Apartment, Hcrgenrader said life sciences faculty members and labs are scattered throughout seven City Campus buildings. In addition to bringing the department under a single roof, the new structure will provide modern equipment and specialized - labs, the dean said. Itergenrader said the department is eager to move into its new quarters, but added that he is not optimistic about next fall's target date for completion. Inclement winter weather and Democratic presidential candidate Fred Harris. conjunction with actual enrollment figures and previous years' sales records to determine the number of books to order. The procedure is a "true science," Williams said. Generally, he said his shelves contain 50 per cent of the number of books that preenrollment figures show. More used books Williams said he is not sure, but that Erobably 30 per cent of the books in Fniversity Bookstore are used. That number is probably 10 per cent to 15 per cent more than the number of used books the store had last year. The ASUN Book Exchange will open Aug.' 25 from 12 to 5 pan., and will operate the first week of school, according to Jim Say, ASUN president. Continued on p. 15 in -flM ir'irkkino UWfl I I USUI SOI iog spring's budget battles in the Legislature have pushed the tentative completion date for the field house basketball arena to early 1976, according to Nycum. Me estimated a spring 1976 completion date for the track and pool. Four summer strikes by local engineers, and the plumbcis and steamfitters unions , threatened to further delay completion of the $13.8 million sports complex. I The most recent strike ended last week, and both union and nonunion employees are back at work on the field house. Getting the , field house completed depends "on what the unions do to us," Nycum said. Work on the complex began in November 1972. Nycum. explained that the university usually lets four contracts ' on building construction-general, electrical, mechanical and elevator contracts. To save time, Nycum explained, UNL further subcontracted field house work to 13 different companies. Protested " V, The presence of the cement contractor, non-union T & M Construction Co., caused higher-paid union workers to picket Union officials have protested the lower wages received by T k M employes for the same work done by union members. . . (Contiassed oa pg. 32)