Investigations: Into the Maze

The Senate Investigations Subcommittee, chaired by Arkansas' implacable old John McClellan, began its long-awaited probe into the affairs of Billie Sol Estes—and, to be sure, Billie Sol's name got mentioned a few times. But top billing in the first days' hearings was bestowed on the bureaucratic maze of the Agriculture Department.

First witness was the subcommittee's assistant counsel, Paul Kamerick, 47. "It has become increasingly apparent," said Kamerick, with masterful understatement, "that this subcommittee may wish to consider recommending a major reorganization of the Department of Agriculture. It appears that over the...