Cotten construed this as a veiled effort by Parkhouse to help Dallas and other large cities get money which Cotten felt could better be spent providing water for rural Texas.

Statements by other legislators that Dallas is paying for all its water program by local bonds, and that less populous places would benefit most by the pending bill, did not sway Cotten's attack.

The bill's defenders were mostly small-town legislators like J. W. Buchanan of Dumas, Eligio (Kika) de la Garza of Mission, Sam F. Collins of Newton and Joe Chapman of Sulphur Springs.

``This is a poor boy's bill,'' said Chapman. ``Dallas and Fort Worth can vote bonds. This would help the little peanut districts.''

A Houston teacher, now serving in the Legislature, proposed Thursday a law reducing the time spent learning ``educational methods.''

Rep. Henry C. Grover, who teaches history in the Houston public schools, would reduce from 24 to 12 semester hours the so-called ``teaching methods'' courses required to obtain a junior or senior high school teaching certificate. A normal year's work in college is 30 semester hours.

Grover also would require junior senior high teachers to have at least 24 semester hours credit in the subject they are teaching. The remainder of the 4 -- year college requirement would be in general subjects.

``A person with a master's degree in physics, chemistry, math or English, yet who has not taken Education courses, is not permitted to teach in the public schools,'' said Grover.