VMI Cadet. February 7, 1975

              VOLUME LXV Virginia Military institute, Lexington, Virginia February 7, 1975 ' NUMBER 16
Financial Report
"The figures are honest and
conservative — and we hope to
do l)etter than the forecast."
—Geraid Ford
Feb. 3,1975
The federal government,
upon issuance of President
Ford's $349.4 billion dollar
budget Monday, predicted the
double figures of 7.9 and 7.9 to
represent the auguries of in-flation
and unemployment in
fiscal year 1976. Ford's plan for
a $52 billion dollar deficit
budget coming up on a
presidential election year has
the trappings of a bold thrust at
a hostile Congress: Republicans
closing together on Capitol Hill
to fight it out as their turn
comes to run for re-election.
For the rest of this year, the
budget predicts unemployment
averaging 8.1 per cent, and an
annual inflation rate of 11.3 per
cent. Unemployment is
predicted to hover around 6 per
cent until 1980. The 1975 budget,
from the Nixon White House,
came out as $313.4 billion
dollars — with $278.8 billion
coming in. In comparison, the
$349.4 billion dollar budget for
FY76 is expected to take in
$297.5 billion.
Recession
Moving money around, the
President, stating "50 million
hard hit middle-income A-mericans,
as well as some five
million low-income Americans
deserve a fair tax break,"
called for a $12 billion dollar tax
break. At the same time. Ford
drew fire for an energy deal
that would raise the tax on
imported oil to $3 dollars a
barrel. Speaking before the
White House Conference on
Domestic and Economic Af-fairs,
Ford outlined a cost spiral
in which the United States had
been paying $3 billion dollars a
year for imported oil in 1970, but
was faced with a $24 billion
dollar bUl in 1974. Qting the
need to promote alternate
sources of power, the President
stated that the last oil em-bargo's
effects would be "minor
compared to what will happen if
we fail to start moving toward a
new energy independence."
Challenging the White House
move. Senator Edward M.
Kennedy, (D-Mass), saying
Ford "fails to recognize that the
nation's No. 1 crisis today is not
energy. It is recession."
Unemployment
David S. Broder, for the L.A.
Times-Washington Post wire,
said Tuesday that "unem-ployment
predicted for 1976
would be the highest in any,
presidential election year since'
1940, when the Great
Depression left 14.6 per cent of
the work force idle and Franklin
Roosevelt had his hardest
race." Looking back at the
election year of 1960, Broder
observed that after e i ^ t years
of a Republican presidency.
A Morality Play
Just For VMI
Everyman, a medieval
morality play written in the late
fifteenth century, will be
presented by the VMI Tlieatre,
in cooperation with members of
the VMI Band and Glee Qub,
which will sing a selection of
songs related to the medieval
era prior to the play. The
characters are allegorical
personifications through which
the unknown author envisions
man's life as a struggle for the
salvation of his soul.
God commands Death to take
the protagonist, Everyman,
who is overwhelmed by the fear
of being unprepared for his
"day of reckoning." After he
repents, when it is time for him
to meet Death, Pride, Beauty,
Five-wits, Strength, and
Discretion forsake him; only
Good Deeds, whose wounds
Everyman's repentance has
healed, goes with him to his
"Day of Doom." The play shows
that man will be judged by God
only on the basis of the good
deed he has done.
The play is directed by
George Kosivic, VMI '72. The
members of the cast, in order of
appearance are: Greg Davis,
messenger; Mike Burch, God;
Lee Demeo, Death; Barry
Hughes, Everyman; Keith
Dickson, Fellowship; Pat
Fitzberger, Beauty; Coleman
Feller,' Discretion; Paul Mit-chell,
Goods; Megan Morgan,
Good Deeds; Rick Joslyn,
Knowledge; Jeff Baumbach,
Confession; Coleman Feller,
cousin; Clyde Furr, Strength;
Keith Dickson, Five Wits;
Jenny Taylor, Angel; and
George Kosivic, Doctor. The
president of the VMI Theater is
Bill Grant; Dr. J. B. Davis is the
advisor.
The program will be
presented on Feburary 7 and 8
at 8:00 p.m. in Jackson
Memorial Hall. Admission is
$1.50; for Cadets, $1.00.
"unemployment...was running
only 5.5 per cent...and inflation
was a negligible 1.5 per cent.
But the Monday Harris poll
rated Ford with a 60 per cent
negative response, and his tax
cut was being assailed as not
hitting home to the people most
in need. Democrats said that,
out of the $12 billion dollar cut —
43 per cent would go to people
making more than $20,000 per
year, and only 15 per cent aimed
at those making less than
$10,000.
Education
Educational spending landed
primarily on the state and local
level, impact funds feeling the
worst bite, being reduced fram
$630 million to $371 million
dollars. Of the 4,400 districts
affected by the funds, 3^500
would be eliminated in the
present budget, affecting 1.1
million students. The budget
leaves $3.4 billion dollars for
elementary and secondary
education, and finally $2.2
billion for higher education.
Reflecting inflation, the
defense budget ran at $94 billion
dollars. The figure constitutes
an $8.7 billion dollar increase
over FY75.
Self-Study
The VMI Commiittee pn
Financial Resources and
Management drew up book four
of the Institute's recently
(continued on page 5)
Dr. Eugene P. Wigner, a Nobel Prize winner, will speak Wednesday
in Mallory Hall on "Science and Society."
Prize Winner
Midwinter Hops
Friday, 2-14-75
"Chess" - Informal
Saturday. 2-15-75
"Timberline" and
"HuseCorp."
A leading American scientist
and 1963 winner of the Nobel
Prize in physics. Dr. Eugene P.
Wigner, will speak at the
Virginia Military Institute
Wednesday (Feb. 12) at 8 p.m.
in Mallory Hall on the subject
"Science and Society." The
lecture is open to the public.
The German-educated
scientist who holds honorary
degrees from seven universities
in three countries is Jones
Professor Emeritus of
Theoretical Physics at Prin-ceton
University. He is also
consultant to Louisiana State
University's colleges of
engineering, chemistry, and
physics.
A native of Hungary, Dr.
Wigner received engineering
degrees in Germany before
coming to the United States in
1930. He became a United States
citizen seven years later. A
former [H-ofessor of physics at
the University of Wisconsin, he
was from 1952 to 1957 a member
of the general advisory com-mittee
of the Atomic Energy
Commission which in 1958
awarded him its Emico Fermi
Award.
Dr. Wigner's lecture at VMI is
under the auspices of the
University Center in Virginia.
While in Virginia he will also
lecture at Randolph-Macon
Woma's College, Hampden-
Sydney, William and Mary,
Mary Washington College, and
the University of Virginia.
History Program Initiated
A public lecture series,
presented by the VMI history
department as part of the fresh-man
history program, is now
being conducted on Thursdays
at 1 p.m.
Unless indicated otherwise,
all lectures are held in the
Chemistry Department lecture
room, according to Dr. Henry S.
Bausum, director of the
program.
The first block of fifty-minute
lectures, entitled "Man and his
Physical Environment," will be
completed by the following
lectures: "Is Dilution the
Solution to Pollution?" by Brig.
Gen. James M. Morgan, Jr.,
dean of the VMI faculty and
professor of civil engineering,
Jan. 30: "Romantic Views of
Nature," by Col. Herbert
DiUard, professor of English,
Feb. 6.
The second block of lectures
is entitled "Community and
Culture." It includes the
following lectures: "Com-munity
in Transition: From
Manor to Nation State," Dr.
Bausum, Feb. 13; "The Ideal
Community: Utopian Patterns
in Western Cultural and In-tellectural
History," Maj.
Edwin Dooley, public in-formation
officer, Feb. 20;
"Victorian Underworld," Maj.
Thomas W. Davis, assistant
professor of history, Feb. 27;
"Totalitarianism and Com-munity,"
Maj. Donald E.
Thomas, assistant professor of
history, Mar. 6; "Problems in
Urban Planning," Col. John
Knapp, professor of civil
engineering. Mar. 20.
The third block is entitled
"Technology and Culture." It
includes the following:
"Technology and Alienation,"
Maj. Thomas, Mar. 27;
Technology: An Historical
Survey," Maj. Davis, Apr. 3;
"Physics: Mother of Science,
Bastard of Man," Col. William
Sauder, professor of physics,
Apr. 10; "The Computer and
Technology," Dr. Gabriel
Balazs, director, VMI computer
center, Apr. 24; "Technology
and Behaviorial Psychology,"
Maj. Paul School, assistant
[vofessor of psychology. May 1.
All lectures are open to the
public without charge.