The University Daily
University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas
KANSAN
Monday, January 19, 1981 Vol.91, No.76 USPS 650-640
American hostages returning
Carter flies to West Germany to greet 52 after long ordeal
By United Press International
The 52 American hostages are waiting at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport to board two Algerian Boeing 773s for a flight to Algiers and freedom after 443 days in captivity.
President Carter is expected to fly to Wiesbaden, West Germany, to welcome the hostages, if it leaves him time to return for Ronald Reagan's inauguration tomorrow.
The flurry of events came about after Carter announced early this morning that an agreement with Iran had been signed—the hostages' freedom in exchange for billions of dollars of Iranian assets, frozen 10 days after the U.S. embargo was seized.
Iranian troops and revolutionary guards have sealed off the terminals at the Tehran airport and a Tehran television station said it had sent troops to attack the airports in bases at the round of the Iranian government.
This was taken to mean that the American were leaving today.
After a long weekend of tense negotiations before Carter was to step down from the presidency, he said the words that had eluded his administration during his entire last year in office: "We now have reached an agreement with Mr. Obama. I believe, in the freedom of our U.S. hostages,
"Following the release of our hostages, then we unfreeze and transfer to the Iranians a major part of the assets which were frozen by me and took our embassy compound and took our hostages."
The president, his red-trimmed eyes showing his lack of sleep, declined to say how he felt about the agreement and said he would have more to say "when our hostages actually go
President Jimmy Carter
Thirty minutes after Carter's statement this morning, White House press secretary Jody Powell announced additional documents had been signed to set in motion the transfer of some $2 billion in gold and cash to an escrow account in London. One of the documents, Powell said, was "the principal agreement" setting up an escrow account to receive the Iranian oil stockpile from the central bank of Iran to the Bank of England. The actual transfer of the assets to Iran will take place with the release of the hostages, which was expected "without undue delay." Powell said.
The Algerian Embassy in Tehran said that six Algerian doctors had examined the hostages today and found them in good health.
the documents first were signed in Tehran, then were flown to Algiers where the Algerian intermediaries and Christopher initialized each document. A small group of reporters witnessed the signing.
Department officials began notifying hostage families of the agreement.
For Carter it was a bittersweet ending to a crisis that had hamstring him for 14 months. He had accomplished what many had begun to fail, and he is now Reagan the best possible inauguration present.
Even before Carter's broadcast, State
The tedious, painstaking process dragged into the pre-dawn hours in Washington as the documents were translated into three languages and translated into Spanish and French for the Algerian intermediaries.
Deputy secretary of State Warren Christopher—with powers granted him by Carter and the Justice Department—signed the agreement at 3:35 a.m. EST in Algiers.
The White House announcement came with the declaration that in the Carter administration and campaign it did away with
"This is a very happy day," said Christopher, who then expressed to Algerian Foreign-Minister Mohamed Benyiah "the abiding appreciation of the American people" to Algeria
See RELEASE page 6
Long, long weekend well worth wait for America
WASHINGTON (UPI)—For 14 months they burned the lights late at the White House and the State Department, Americans trying to pry loose 52 of their countrymen from the hands of a people whose actions and logic they really could not understand.
They worked with the deliberation necessary
lest their actions be judged capriciously and
unreasonably.
Now time was running out. So there would be a new president—perhaps a new philosophy. There was fresh wisdom, and it came on once if a deal weren't better before Ronald Reagan replaced Jimmy Carter.
But with that urgency came something long
absent—a feeling that this time a breakthrough was near enough to taste.
Here are highlights from both the White House and State Department of the longest weekend:
At 8 a.m., Carter holds regular weekly breakfast meeting with Secretary of State Muskie, Defense Secretary Brown and national security affairs adviser Brzezinski amid the first truly hopeful signs impasse might be broken.
State Department issues statement that latest message from the Iranians is a "promising approach" and being explored on an urgent basis.
Friday afternoon:
Muskie calls in representatives of 12 American banks which hold large Iranian assets, putting together procedure for releasing assets in a way that would prevent two governments, the law and bank stockholders.
ABC announces final agreement reached,
citing agreement by White House and
State Department officials.
At 3 p.m., Carter bestows medal of freedom on 15 recipients—including negotiator Warren Christopher, in Aligers on details of the case. At 6 p.m., Aligers on Aligers can hear Carter's praise.
Shortly before 3, White House Counsel Lloyd
Cutler says U.S. drafting language of agreement at request of Iranians and document forwarded
At 3:20, the Treasury Department announced that $2.5 billion in gold and securities transferred to a London bank as part of proposed agreement to release frozen Iranian assets.
At 5 p.m. Powell tells reporters U.S. drafting response to Iran. "If they agree, we have an agreement" and matter could be concluded before Carter leaves office. But emphasizes "I'm not playing with words when I say that we do not have an agreement."
See LONG WEEKEND page 7
Friday night:
End of ordeal an eye-opener for Lawrence
By AMY COLLINS
By AMY COLLINS and LINDA ROSEWICZ Staff Reporter
Staff Reporters
The ordeal is over—not only for the 52 American hostages, but for their countrymen at home.
Before most Lawrence residents could raise their flags this morning, many were already singing the praises of the end of the crisis. According to a KU information staff member, KU students had been calling all weekend about the outcome of the situation.
"Students have been really apprehensive about the hostages since Friday," Gall Boaz, a student and staff member, said this morning. "Everybody who has called has been really excited to hear that the hostages are finally going to come back home."
Another Iranian student said he hoped the situation would create a future fellowship between the United States and Iran.
"I'm sure the majority of Iranians should be happy. It's a big load off their shoulders—maybe not openly, but inside their hearts," Farrokh Razabadi, graduate student from Tehran, said this morning.
IRIANIAN STUDENTS at KU also voiced positive views about the release of the hostages from their country.
A KU STUDENT who had worked through the night at the 7-11 convenience store, 2500 Iowa, said customers had been excited and relieved about the news of the hostages.
"One guy came in and was just bursting he was so excited, 'Barry Darrows, the store clerk,' said. 'It's a great time instead of 'oh, happy day.' This should have been over with a long time ago."
Kurt Von Schlemmer, Leavenworth junior, said that he believed the hostage situation had been put off longer than it had to be, but that he glad the Americans were finally coming home.
A collector at the West Lawrence Tumpike toll station said that employees there agreed the hostages were held for too long, but that they were all happy the situation was near an end.
"The hostages have by far been the topic of most of our conversations here," Robert Flowers, the collector, said. "I expect a lot of drivers to be in good mood this morning. I'm sure the whole nation will be joyous that our hostages will be returned."
Local legislators work for student interests
Bv BRAD STERTZ
Staff Reporter
More funds for the University of Kansas and revision of the Landlord-Tenant Act are two student-related goals that local state legislators have for the 181 Kansas
These issues along with the reappraisal of property taxes and the proposed mineral production severance tax are issues that we must work to work for in the 85 days left in the session.
The primary concern among all four of the legislators, however, was getting adequate funding for the University from Gov. John Carlin's proposed fiscal 1982 budget. The legislators are State Sen. John Solchah, 2nd District; Sister Jane Johnson, Chardon, 43rd District; Rep. Betty Johr, Charleston, D-40th District; and State Rep. Jesse Branson, D-44th District.
CHARLTON ALSO said that to cut KU's budget by the amount proposed would be a mistake, and Branson said he was concerned. He also said there percent cut in operations at the University.
"What worries me is that if the KU budget is cut by 4 percent, as it would be under the governor's proposal, we will lose staff, faculty, students and bus. personnel. Sobach tells me that if a fee is bad because it be more expensive to bring these things back than if they were funded to begin with."
"I feel more strongly about these cuts than about salary cuts," Branson said. "One example of the problems this could lead to is the cuts the library would have to make in new book purchases and journal subscriptions.
scriptions.
"This would mean not being able to buy books that often go out of print within a year and it would hurt research programs."
In a related subject, Eldridge said she was against the proposal to make Washburn
University a part of the state system of higher education. She said that in doing so the state would be soregling its monies too thin.
"I see the governor's budget as being too skimpy to allow for the adding of another campus without adding to the funding system," Eldredge said.
SOLBACH SAID he was against letting
Washburn join.
"I don't take the proposal seriously because with the governor's balanced budget, there is no place to squeeze out the $12-17 million it would have taken in the state Repsystem务," Solbach said.
"Right now in apartments if something affects the health and safety of the resident, the landlord is required to fix the problem if it falls within his listed duties. But if the landlord doesn't take his duties seriously and refuses to fix the problem, the only recourse the tenant has is to terminate the lease and move out." Solbach said.
"There is an essential remedy to the loophole in the act which passed in 1975," Solbach said, "and that remedy is small but very important.
One program that Solbach does take series of iterations, however, is the Landlord-Tenant rent
Solbach said the present policy was OK but most people did not have time to move from one place to another. He said his proposal was a simple remedy that would protect the landlord, but also give the tenants some protection.
The number of landlords in the Legislature, however, will be one problem in getting such a bill passed, Charlton said. She said she thought the landlords should be the first to pass the measure to show they were both good landlords and good legislators.
THE PROPOSAL would include a self-help provision that would allow tenants to fix a problem after giving the landlord notice. The cost of the repairs in small claims court.
One issue the legislators agreed would be a controversial proposal is the mineral production severance tax. As proposed by Carlin, the tax is an 8 percent tax on the production of minerals within the state. Some of the minerals included in the tax are crude oil, natural gas and coal. Kansas is one of the states producing states without a severance tax.
"The tax would come almost entirely out of the gas or coal companies' profits," Solbach said. "There is no way these companies can make money off that." The state of Kansas begins taxing their production."
"The severance tax is onlyTaxed at the well-head," Branson said. "The landowner is exempt from the tax. Who pays for it are the producers and they can deduct it from their windfall profits tax and their federal income tax."
BRANSON SAID that she felt there was a great deal of misunderstanding about the severance tax and that was the main reason for much of the opposition.
Bramson said that after those deductions, the managers would be 4.8 to 5 percent instead of 6 percent.
"The republicans have criticized the tax saying that the cost will be passed on to the consumers," Branson said. "But actually most of the tax will be charged to consumers out of state and they will pay for the minerals we have to pay for a Wyoming tax on coal."
Charnton said that every time a Kansas resident turned on a light, that resident was paying for the education or children in it. He also reported the fudgets from his severance tax for education.
She said Kansas would do the same thing, but would also use the tax to help finance highway repairs and lower property tax burdens.
Solbach also said that if Kansan had such a tax, property taxes could be lowered.
See LEGISLATORS page ten
Kansas City train collision causes fire; three injured
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (UPI)—Two trains carrying toxic and flammable chemicals burned today in the railyard where they were working, officials said the area said the danger of a massive explosion had passed.
At least three people were injured in the fire late Sunday, including a firefighter who was doused by fire.
Several train cars, loaded with sodium nitrate, the toxic chemical pelargonyl peroxide and possibly propane, caught fire on impact, shooting flames hundreds of feet into the air, authorities said. A bridge spanning Kansas and Arizona ayards was closed due to structural damage.
Fire department dispatcher Phillip Wall said by early today the fire was almost completely contained and the danger of an explosion had been out to the area out there to the early morning hours." he said.
Wall said authorities evacuated and closed the residential, business and industrial area within 1,500 feet of the collision site, southwest of the city's downtown area.
A 13-block section of Interstate 35 was also shut down between the Kansas State line and the rallyards.
A police department supervisor said as far as he knew there were no residents in the area cordoned off, but Wall said there were homes scattered throughout the closed-off area.
"We blocked all traffic going into the area," the police supervisor said.
Two firefighters were taken to hospitals, one with a possible fracture and one overbye of fumed, said Wall. A third person suffered a postpartum haemorrhage in a hospital, the fire department dispatcher said.
"One train jumped the track and sidewiped the second train," said Santa Fe train manager R. Beaney. "Both trains were moving at the time."
Early today the city engineer of Kansas City ordered the West Penny Bridge, located above the rallies, closed for an indefinite period to possible structural damage caused by the fire.
At 1:30 a.m. there were 10 pumper units and four aerial companies at the three alarm fire station, each two hours earlier flames shot up hundreds of feet of the package and could be seen from more than a mile.
11 will be sunny and warm this afternoon with a high in the low 5s. Winds will be northwest at 5-15 mph, so be sure to the national Weather Service in Topeka.
It will be cloudy and much colder tonight with a 20 percent chance for snow.
remembrere's high will be in the low 40s with partly cloudy skies.