Tuesday February 23, 1988
THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
Published since 1889 by the students of the University of Kansas
Vol.98,No.102 (USPS 650-640)
Meese memo focus of probe
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — A memo to Attorney General Edwin Meese III released yesterday said a portion of $650 million-$700 million in Iraqi oil pipeline payments to Israel would go directly to the Israeli Labor Party although that diversion "would be denied everywhere."
The Sept. 25, 1985, memo, the focal point of a criminal investigation of the office general, was written by Mossie longtime friend, E. Robert Wallach.
Meese has said he doesn't recall reading the reference in the document to payments to the Israeli Labor Party headed by Shimon Peres.
The fourth paragraph of the document said Swiss oilman Bruce Rappaport, who was a partner in the Iraqi pipeline with Bechtel Group Inc., "confirmed the arrangement with Peres" that the government of "Israel will receive somewhere between $65-$70 million a year for ten years out of the conclusion of the project.
"What was also indicated to me, and which would be denied everywhere, is that a portion of those funds will go directly to Labor."
Iraq, which considered building the $1 billion, 540-mile pipeline through parts of Iraq and Jordan, has been Israel's enemy since the Jewish state was created in 1948. The pipeline's
builders feared that Israel would bomb it and were seeking Israel's assurance that it would not.
The memorandum was declassified Friday by the office of independent counsel James McKav.
In release the memo and several other documents, Meese's lawyers issued a lengthy statement saying that "the ten words 'a portion of those funds will go directly to Labor' . . . are the basis for the incendiary allegations that have appeared in the press regarding the attorney general.
"Seeing them in context, no one can fairly infer that Mr. Meese or anyone else reading the document should have understood that there
was a 'bribe' or 'payoff' scheme to obtain the Israeli Labor Party's support for the pipeline project," said Meese's lawyers.
"The words 'which would be denied everywhere' did not imply illegality of any kind," said the lengthy statement.
"The fact that Rappaport intended to provide large amounts of financial support to the Labor Party, or that through some other governmental arrangement the Labor Party would be receiving indirectly some of the project's proceeds, could cause political embarrassment in Israel and was obviously not a matter to be publicized," the statement added.
Navy secretary quits in anger at Carlucci
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Navy Secretary James H. Webb abruptly resigned yesterday, accusing Defense Secretary Frank C. Carlucci of abandoning the Reagan Administration's goal of a 600-ship Navy and of demonstrating a lack of leadership and vision.
"This building needs to be led," Webb said in telling reporters of his decision. "It needs leadership. It needs some vision. I'm saying that if I had a piece of advice to give to Secretary Carlucci, it would be to spend a lot more time with the top leaders" in the Pentagon.
Webb, 42, a highly decorated Marine veteran of Vietnam combat and the author of the best-selling Vietnam war novel "Fields of Fire," left after only 10 months in his Pentagon position.
Heold President Reagan in his resignation letter that the president could have realized his cherished 400-boil ship, were it not for Carlucci.
An administration official who asked not to be identified said Carlucci wanted to recommend that William L. Ball III, assistant to the president for legislative affairs, be nominated to replace Webb.
Swaggart completes TV cycle Scandal claims Bakker's critic
The Associated Press
The saga of the television evangelists has come full circle with the disgrace of Jimmy Swaggart, who a year ago was the scourge of lust and greed among the "pompadour boys" in the religious broadcasting fraternity.
The scandal strikes an electronic church that already has been measurably diminished by last year's controversies over Jim Bakker's adultery and high living and Oral Roberts' claim that God might call him home if he failed to raise $8 million by the end of March.
"God deliver us from these pompadour boys, hair done, nails done, fresh from the beauty shop, preaching the gospel." Swaggart thundered a year ago.
Even before Swaggart's recent problems, the name-calling among these evangelists and the jokes of late-night comedians had moved Pat Robertson, now a Republican presidential contender, to say that he resented being identified as a "television evangelist."
Swaggart, by some measures, the biggest of them all, stepped down from his pulpit Sunday after confessing that he had sinned against God and his family. He didn't explain, but others reported that the Louisiana pastor had entered a hotel room with a prostitute.
The Louisiana hierarchy of the Assemblies of God church yesterday ordered Swaggart to immediately begin a two-year rehabilitation period that will limit his preaching and place him in counseling. State District supervisor Cecil Janay made the announcement after more than nine hours of meetings with Swaggart.
"We're the last surviving ministry, the last one," the Rev. Jerry Falwell told students at his Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va., on Sunday. "Bakker is gone. Robertson is gone, running for president. Swaggart is now gone. We're the last. The credibility crisis is unbelievable."
With that crisis came hard times for the television ministry. Falwell, Swagart and Roberts all have lost part of their audience, and Robertson laid off nearly 500 employees at his Christian Broadcasting Network last summer.
"There was a real drought for a good bit of last year," said Falfah's welkom speaker, Mark deMoss, who predicted yesterday that there may be little or no impact this time.
"Part of that is due to the way Jimmy Swaggart has handled his admission of wrongdoing," deMoss said. "I think another reason for that is, thanks in great part to the media, the general public now has a better understanding of the difference between a charismatic ministry and now is able to tell the difference from one ministry to another.
Bakker and Swaggart both were ordained by the Assembles of God, a charismatic denomination.
Union Square, a new food service area on level three of the Kansas Union, is now open for business.
Ruth Jacobson/KANSAN
Union Square opens doors for 'snack' preview
By Donna Stokes
Kansan staff writer
Students kept the cash registers busy as they formed long lines yesterday at Union Square, one of the Kansas Union's new food services that opened for its first day of business.
"It's wonderful," said Eric Nitzschke, Iowa City, Iowa, senior. "The room is really amazing. It's definitely a plus. The Hawk's Nest was just too crowded. People had to stand to eat."
Jim Long, director of the Kansas and Burge unions, said the opening of Union Square, located on level three of the Union, had not been announced because he knew there were a few problems to be worked out before the official opening Monday.
"We need some time to shake out the new equipment and services." Long said.
"The employees are still learning how to use the registers.
"We only had the weekend to prepare for the opening. If more people had known about it there may have been lines we couldn't handle just yet."
Laura Leiker, Wichita sophomore, had been working in the Hawk's Nest on level two of the Union since July. She said she
'D
People would ask me where to find things, and I don't even know where everything is yet. I think it will be a lot better when everyone gets used to it.'
— Laura Leiker Wichita sophomore
was still getting used to the new registers in Union Square.
Long said, "A couple registers went down, one of the ice machines was not working quite right yet, and not all of the food was out yet, but that planned. It was a fairly typical first day, especially since we only had the weekend to prepare."
"People would ask me where to find things, and I don't even know where everything is yet. I think it will be a lot better when everyone gets used to it."
"We've had a lot of trouble," she said. "I got here at 10:30, and we were so busy. The lines were pretty long."
Tracy Drake, a representative from the National Cash Register company in the Kansas City area, drove to the University yesterday morning to help employees get used to the new registers.
"it's been really busy," she said. "We opened at 7 a.m. and just after breakfast, about 11 a.m., there were already about 2,000 transactions recorded."
Drake said the new registers would allow students to open an account with the Union so they would not have to pay cash for each meal.
The account, which will not be available until the beginning of the fall semester, will work like a pre-paid credit card, Long said.
"Students could come through the line with a KUID, and the cashier would run the card through the register. The student would be asked to sign in, and he debited with the cost of the meal," he said.
The pre-pay option will be used first for the food services in the Union, but might be used in the future for the bookstore, because it is possibly the sale of movie tickets. Long said.
The cafeteria is offering food at reduced prices, about 50 percent of regular costs.
Long said. The prices will apply until Monday.
"The reduced prices are a return to the community for bearing with us as we get all the problems resolved, and for being patient while we get everything ready." Long said. "People are hearing about it and are coming down."
"All of the comments have been very positive. That's helpful for everyone — the employees and the students."
Jill Platt, Omma, Ohma, sophomore said yesterday, "I knew it was opening soon but didn't realize it would be open today. I didn't realize it would be cool. The 50 percent off was really nice too."
Nitzschke said he had heard the food
sweets were opening yesterday from
friends.
"I'd tell you how the food was, but I just cheeseburger and well, bite burger!" he said.
Hours this week for Union Square will be 7 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
The Big 8 Deli, part of the new food service area, will be open 8:15 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Investigators awaiting accident victims' blood-alcohol tests
Lecompton woman, 3 KU students killed in wreck on Friday
By Ric Brack
Investigators are now focusing their attention on the results of tests that will determine blood-alcohol levels of three KU students and a Lecompton woman killed in a weekend traffic accident.
Kansan staff writer
Douglas County sherriff's investigators sent blood samples of all four
Baron O. Schilpp, 21, Wichita junior; Darin S. Selby, 20, Wichita freshman; Paul T. Apprill, 19, Merriam sophomore; and Margaret E. Whitmore, 32, Lecompton, were killed Friday night when the 1969 BMW driven by Schilpp and carrying the other two students collided head-on with the 1981 Plymouth station wagon driven by Whitmore.
victims to the Kansas Bureau of Investigation after they found several beer cans, both empty and full, in the car occupied by the KU victims.
The accident occurred about five miles northwest of Lawrence on Douglas County Road 438. That
stretch of road is known as the "Farmer's Turnip."
Douglas County sherrif's reports released yesterday said a cooler with seven empty beer cans had been found in Schlpp's car. There also were four full cans of beer found in car and three full cans in the trunk.
KBI officials said yesterday that blood alcohol testing would take about a week to complete.
Douglas County coroner Carol Moddrell pronounced all four victims dead at the scene and later conducted autopsies. She said yesterday that urine samples from Selby and Apprill had tested negative for illegal drugs. Officials were unable to test Schipp
for drugs. The urine test was not used to determine presence of alcohol.
The sheriff's office said the headon collision occurred while Whitmore was traveling home from work in Lawrence to her home in Lecompont. The three students were returning to Lawrence from a high school basketball homecoming game in Valley Falls.
Schilpp, Apprill and Selby had gone to the basketball game with two friends, Mitch Fuqua, Valley Falls freshman, and Scott Ellsworth, Wichita freshman, who were in another car.
According to Fuqua's statement to sheriff's officers, the Schilpp car followed Fuqua's vehicle because
Schipp didn't know the way. As they came up a hill a third car was between them. Schipp pulled out to pass that car and hit Whitmore's car.
Margaret Coleman, Grantville,
was the driver of the car that Schippw
was trying to pass. Coleman said she
had seen a vehicle with one headlight
approaching her, was passed and
walked away from her. By the time she returned to the accident, Whitmore's station wagon was blaze.
Schlipp was wearing a seat belt, but it is not known whether Apprill, Selby or Whitmore were wearing them.
According to Douglas County Undersheriff Loren Anderson, there
have been three other accidents on Douglas County Road 438 in 1988. One involved a minor injury, he said.
Anderson said that too much speed and too little attention to driving and road conditions were the main causes for accidents on county roads.
"I don't know if we could attribute this one to speed." Anderson said.
Investigators said that neither the
whitmore nor the Schilpp vehicle
would have been involved in this.
Anderson said he thought the accident could have been avoided if Schilp had looked more carefully before pulling out to pass. He said that Whitmore's car missing headlight may have contributed to the accident, too.