European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 15, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 16 the stars and stripes Money matters monday february 15,1993 today s rates following arc fixed rates at which Community banking an credit Union facilities will sell for eign currencies to . Personnel for personal use German Mark 1.61 British Pound 1.47 dutch Guilder. 1.81greek drachma 213.755 note the rates above apply within the Host country. Figures Are expressed in dollars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar following Are Interbank rates that fluctuate and should be regarded As the approximate value of the . Dollar to foreign Curren cies Kalian lira 1,540.66 turkish lira 9,046.30spanish peseta 117.65 portuguese escudo 150.05 austrian Schilling 11.59saudi rial 3.7495 Bahrain Dinar 0.37675kuwait Dinar 0.3087 norwegian Krone 7.007danish Krone 6.318 British Pound 1.4207german Mark 1.6585 Swiss franc 1.538french franc 5.5825 dutch Guilder 1.8705belgian franc 33.96 Canadian Dollar 1.2551 note figures Are expressed in Donars to the British Pound other currencies to the Dollar Gold quote $330.75 an ounce. Silver quote $3.75 an ounce. Campbell sets Plant closings Sale of assets by Richard ringer the new York times the Campbell soup co. Said Friday that it would close two Domestic Frozen food plants that employ about 1,300 peo ple and sell several other businesses which it did not identify. Campbell said the moves would result in an after tax charge of $300 million against its fiscal second Quarter earnings. The revamping is the latest to be undertaken by the Camden n.j., company in recent years As it attempts to focus on its soup biscuit and bakery businesses. Those Core businesses account for about 75 percent of Campbell soup s operating profits said Michael Branca an analyst at Nat West securities in new York. The Plant closings Are part of a consolidation of the company s Frozen food operations which suffer from overcapacity. Selected for closing by August Are a Plant in Salisbury md., that packages mrs. Paul s fish Sticks and one in Phila Delphia that packages Swanson and be menu entrees. Those operations will be shifted to plants in Omaha Nebraska Modesto Calif. And Fayetteville Ark. The consolidation will increase capability utilization at the remaining Frozen food operations to 85 percent from 60 percent Branca estimates. He said the consolidation would help Campbell soup achieve a goal of increasing Gross margins of the Frozen food operations by 2 per cent in the 1993 fiscal year. The Frozen food business has been Tough going the last few years said Ellen g. Tiaras a food analyst at the puff & Phelps corp. In Chicago. Price com petition has Hurt margins and any in crease in volume is limited to demand. Cutting costs is a Way to help  Campbell declined to disclose which other businesses it planned to sell. The company set no deadline for their Sale. But among the businesses Campbel soup May sell analysts speculate is a food distribution operation in tur pc. The distributor is the link betwee Campbell soup and grocery stores that sell its products. House panel rolling out probes on some pork barrel projects by Paul Rae Burnap science editor Boston the chairman of the House science committee has written to 50 universities demanding that they justify research projects funded by last min Ute provisions tucked into legislation without congressional debate. The largest of the Grants was $42 Mil lion for a climate car the research Center at Saginaw Valley state University in Michigan. The University is a Small teach ing school with 6,500 students and no re search program. The Center which operates on the Saginaw Valley state Campus but in t run by the school is in the congressional District of former democratic rep. Robert Traxler. Traxlor was head of a congressional appropriations subcommittee until he left Congress in january. Despite its size the Grant was not for Mally authorized by Congress. There were no hearings to consider its Merit. It was nursed from its inception by or. Traxler House science committee chairman George e. Brown jr., d-Calif., said saturday. It comes out of the Nasa budget but nobody at Nasa knows about  Traxlor had tried to delete funding for Nasa s space station so the Agency did not object when the appropriation was tucked into its budget Brown said. Traxler did not immediately return a Telephone message left at his Bay City mich., Home saturday. But Gary Bachula a vice president of the consortium that runs the climate Chance research Center said the Grant was perfectly appropriate and Legal. He said the Money will be used to build new Headquarters off the Saginaw Valley Campus for the consortium for International Earth science information network. Members of the consortium in clude Saginaw Valley the University of Michigan the University of Maryland the University of California at Santa bar Bara and others. Brown said such University research Grants Cost the nation $707 million last year. That s roughly what taxpayers spent on the superconducting super Collider one of the nation s costliest and most hotly de bated science projects. The difference is that the $707 million universities under investigation Are named Boston a these arc the 50universities being investigated by House science committee chairman George e. Brown jr., a Calif Arizona state University. Auburn University. Clark Atlanta University. Clo sort University. Columbia University. Delta College. Emory Riddle aeronautical University. Florida International University. Hahnemann University school of health sciences and humanities Philadelphia. Henderson state University. Iowa state University. Kansas state University. Larnard University Beaumont. Texas. Louisiana state University Baton Rouge. Michigan state University. Middle Tennessee state University. New Mexico state University. North Carolina state University. Oregon health sciences University. Oregon state University. Polytechnic University now York. Rutgers University. Saginaw Valley state . Joseph s University. San Diego state University. Tutts University. University of Alabama Birmingham. University of Alaska. University of Call Fola san Diego. University of  of Chicago. ,. University of Detroit. University of Georgia. University of Indiana Indianapolis medical school. University of Maine Orono. University of Miami. University of Michigan. University of Nebraska Lincoln. University of new Hampshire. University of new Orleans. University of North Dakota. University of Oklahoma. University of Oregon. University of South Florida. University of Southern California school of Public health. " University of Utah. University of Wisconsin. Wake Forest University. Washington University. Wheeling Jesuit College. In University Grants was awarded in secret without debate by legislators Curry ing favor with constituents congressional sources said. Last september the congressional re search service reported that such Grants have Cost taxpayers $2.5 billion since 1980. Among the 50 appropriations being investigated by Brown Are multimillion Dol Lar Grants to Columbia University in new York Tufts University in Massachusetts the University of Michigan Hahnemann University school of health sciences and humanities in Philadelphia and other leading academic institutions. The hidden appropriations were arranged by lawmakers and senators on appropriations committees. They arc in a position to alter Bills at the last minute to bring Federal dollars into their states or districts without formal debate by con Gress Brown said. These legislators Are referred to in Washington As the cardinals because they act together in secret just As Roma Catholic cardinals do in electing the Pope. Legislators such As Brown who Are not on appropriations committees do not have the same Opportunity to Dole Money out to constituents Brown said. Many of these projects Are Merito rious Brown said at a meeting of the american association for the Advance ment of science. I am not convinced however that this is a legitimate Way of financing these projects. Congressional pork barrelling threatens Many of the science and technology Initia Tives of the new administration Brown said. Money that is diverted by Congress. Comes out of the hide of other programs publicly debated peer reviewed care fully scrutinized  the 50 projects Brown is investigating Are costing the country $225 million in the current fiscal year Brown said. These Grants cannot be rescinded but Brown is investigating them to determine whether to continue funding them next year. Among the other projects was $2.8 Mil lion for a program entitled classroom of the future at Wheeling Jesuit College in Wheeling . The financing was arranged by sen. Rob Ert c. Byrd d-., according to one congressional source. Another Grant of $2.2 million went  state University in Arkadelphia Ark., for a Pilot training . Dale bumpers d-Ark., who helped arrange the Money declined to comment. Focusing on the subject a Lone photographer stands amid rows of chairs As he takes Pic of the dc-9 family reportedly is a More environmentally Friendly lures of the new Mcdonnell Douglas 90, rolled out at the com and fuel efficient version of the 80. It is a medium Range plane Pany s Plant in Long each Calif., on saturday. The latest update designed to transport about 150 passengers