CentOS 7 issues with pdf manual / tex conversion

On a CentOS 7 machine, I am at a loss with respect to an inability to run a
full R CMD check as anything involving tex files ends in tears.

Hi, Dirk

Have fun at the upcoming conference at UIC

I seem to have 56 font packages installed under CentOS 7 
locally, but then I work pretty carefully to cull them down

What is the specific 'leaf node' package you are trying to 
attain.   Long ago and far away, I packaged several hundred, 
inspired by your Debian effort, and I may have a working .spec 
file about

with my regards,

-- Russ herrold