European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 25, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 10 the stars and stripes August 1985 columns comments James Kilpatrick rebirth of fhe battleship is Good news All around Wiikna it becomes operational in the battleship Wisconsin will make its Home port in Corpus c that announcement from Navy Secre tary John Lehman was Good news from Galveston to but the pleasant thing about lehmans rebirth of the battleship is that the program is Good news All the Wisconsin will be the fourth and last of the big ships to be taken from Mothballs and returned to duty at the new based in Long came on line two years the which temporarily is in came the Missouri will join the Pacific Fleet toward the end of this year and will work out of its Home port at treasure san the taxpayers have become so inured to the astronomical costs of defense that they should Welcome the Story of lehmans Broad beamed the four battleships will average something in the neighbourhood of Mil lion that is less per ship than the Cost of a new it is like getting a Low mileage used car with no Wear on the in return for its the Navy gets a mighty platform for the kind of sustained bombardment that Only a big ship can each of the ships is fitted with the latest state of the Art in missiles and electronic despite the weight of their 19inch the battleships can show their Sterns to any companion Tom Wicker they arc formidable weapons of to put the matter is a battleship he recalls with evident satisfaction the new jerseys role off Beirut at the Peak of the fighting parts of the City were being systematically destroyed by artillery from the Hills to the the new Jersy opened fire with its 16inch though it was important to Correct aim through spotters ground coordinates had to be the ship delivered 301 rounds before each round weighs says Lehman the Artil Lery for such a nothing beats a during world War our Carrier aircraft repeatedly bombed the japanese base on great damage was but the base stayed by when seven battleships went to work off Kwajalein on their effectiveness could not be by that according to historian Samuel Eliot Mori the bombardment had killed possibly half the Japa Nese hardly a tree was left standing on what had been a pretty wooded Only 372 of troops committed to the Kwajalein operation were the japanese lost men out of lessons of the More recent War of the Falkland is lands confirmed the Pacific British Carrier aircraft repeatedly hit the Airfield at port but they could not stay Over the target Long enough to Knock out the this is not to denigrate the Awe some Power and versatility of today manned aircraft with their smart but an a6 intruder carries a Normal bomb Load that is equivalent to Only five rounds from a battleship and it costs million to train a Pilot to Fly when the Wisconsin joins the Atlantic Fleet four years it will just about Complete the Restora Tion of our naval presence in the Gulf of the City of Corpus Christi will get the with its Crew of along with the training Carrier Lexington and several other other Gulf ports new Orleans and Lake Charles will also have a piece of the Home port the benefits Are lehmans advisers Esti mate that the Corpus Christ area will see an economic Impact of million a year once the plan is fully Twenty nine All will be engaged in surface operations out of the Gulf they rep resent a Bonanza for merchants and the Navy investigated 16 Sites for the Wisconsin Home port and narrowed the list to but it was no the state of Texas put up million and the taxpayers of Cor pus Christi committed themselves to an additional million in it was by far the most attractive says we got a the whole nation will share c 1985 Universal press Syndicate Brouhaha Over spies and but no action Wiikna politicians dont know what to do about complicated problems or espionage they have at least three panaceas to fall Back on crack ing Down on the tightening Security Laws and making outraged All three were prominent in the Wake of the trans world airlines Jet hijacking and the Walker spy the effect on terror ism and espionage will be considerably less attorney general Edwin Mccase Iii went to for to Tell the american bar association that he agreed with prime minister Margaret Thatcher of Britain where the press already is far More tightly controlled than in the United states that news organizations should adopt a voluntary code of restraint in reporting terrorist Inci Back Home in Meese approved subpoenas to the four National television news networks for All the film footage they shot during the 17day hostage crisis including outtakes not broadcast to the the government did not publicly cite any specific investigative or pros a tutorial or try to limit its demand to specify or state the purpose of the you can draw your own inferences about Terry the Justice department spokes the no doubt drawing the inference that the government was on a fishing expedition designed in part to make them appear to be accomplices in the hostage negotiated a narrow response to the apparently they will screen their own footage and turn Over Only what might be useful in identifying or prosecuting the even that hardly seems the administration has after that it already knows the identity of the original and there Are eyewitnesses to the crimes they Why  the subpoenas have been limited in the first place or the whole matter handled by private negotiation with the networks grab bag like those originally sought by the turn network re porters and in into government although they were assumed on the scene and at the time to be legitimate news compliance with such orders would limit the credibility of All television newsmen and women in the and inhibit news sources willingness to talk to them not necessarily in terrorist cases in such the Independence and integrity of television May Well be vital some Day to prevent the deaths of hos wins Hack hot Hun preps people hostage 9wuze amp make Ower if Thatcher is right in calling publicity the oxygen on which terrorists demanding to see More is like demanding to see a print re porters and raises important first amendment courts generally have held that when a prosecutor seeks a re porters the prosecutor has to specify his what evidence he thinks the reporter might provide and that this evidence can be obtained in no other the Justice department made no Effort to do any of As for messes proposed voluntary it is already not so voluntary when proposed by the attorney general of the United nor would any code the press could or should accept be Likely to silence government or Public for proposed that the voluntary code he wants should include a delay in the reporting of terrorist incidents a provision that flies in the face of a free press commitment to reporting the news As it that could Only be invoked by government re and that if observed would properly earn for the press the resentment of those who have a right to know whats happen ing in the world not just what the government wants them to the Walker spy Case has predictably produced a blizzard of motherhood speeches against spies on Capitol As Well As what Gary d called a new willingness to get near the if not invade civil Liber to combat the House has approved lie Detector tests for Mil lion military and civilian and at least four Bills would reinstate the death penalty for a More useful now would provide funds for More frequent updating of Security even More useful would be action to Force a reduction in the vast amount of senselessly classified hence in the thou Sands of workers who can classify it or need Access to and therefore in the number of Security clearances needed All resulting in More thorough and fre quent Security checks on a smaller num Ber of but dont hold your c new York times news service