QUAYLE TO VISIT; JUSTICE ALSO MAY SPEAK AT SEMO

Margaret Thatcher won't be speaking in Cape Girardeau this spring, but Dan Quayle will and Clarence Thomas might also.

Efforts to bring Thatcher, Britain's former prime minister, to Southeast Missouri State University fell through because plans couldn't be finalized in time to secure Student Government funding for this semester.

Quayle, a former vice president, will speak instead. Quayle will speak March 4 at 7:30 p.m. at the Show Me Center.

Thomas, a U.S. Supreme Court justice, is tentatively scheduled to speak at Southeast in late April, although the date has yet to be finalized.

The College Republicans and the Conservative Club at Southeast are sponsoring both events.

"Quayle's name is synonymous with conservatism," said Nathan Cooper, a Southeast student and College Republican.

Quayle, of Indiana, will be paid a $20,000 honorarium. The funding will come from Student Government and the Student Activities Council.

As a Supreme Court justice, Thomas can't take an honorarium; the only cost will be for transportation and lodging, said Cooper.

Thomas was originally scheduled to speak at Southeast last February, but backed out after his scheduled appearance at Harding University in Searcy, Ark., was postponed.

Thomas, who was the subject of sexual harassment allegations during his Senate confirmation hearing, had planned to incorporate both university stops into one trip.

The March appearance will be Quayle's second visit to the area. In October 1992, Quayle arrived in Cape Girardeau on Air Force II.

He made only brief comments at the airport, spending most of his time instead calling the radio show of Cape Girardeau native Rush Limbaugh III and shaking hands with an enthusiastic crowd.

Quayle then traveled by motorcade through Scott City to the Southeast Missouri Regional Port, where he spoke before a crowd of several hundred.

"He liked that visit so much, it was one of just a few campaign stops he mentioned in his book," said Cooper.

Quayle mentioned the local stop in his book "Standing Firm."

The cost to attend the Quayle speech is $5 for general admission and $10 for floor seating. Students with a Southeast I.D. will be admitted free of charge.