History Diaries

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Secretary of State Henry Kissinger will visit Middle East countries beginning on December 13. He is scheduled to visit Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Lebanon and Israel.

Israel is expected to press, at the outset of the Israeli‐Arab negotiations scheduled to open in Geneva on Dec. 18, for an Arab commitment to conclude a full and formal peace. Senior Israeli officials in Jerusalem indicated that Israel would call for a final renunciation of war by both sides, the establishment of diplomatic relations and the introduction of normal commercial ties among, all the countries in the area.

Secretary of State Kissinger last month reportedly told Mohammed H. Heykal, the influential editor of the Cairo paper Al Ahram, that it might take six months to a year for concrete results from the forthcoming Arab‐Israeli negotiations. Mr. Kissinger reportedly stressed that the United States was pledged to protect Israel’s security, but said that “we do not believe that our special ties with Israel are irreconcilable with the ties of friendship which, we wish to maintain and strengthen with you.”

A grenade was exploded in the crowded main shopping area of Jerusalem’s Old City today, injuring 18 persons, the police said. Police Minister Shlomo Hillel said that the blast was “an effort by the terrorists to show they exist and to try to break down coexistence.” But he said Israel was determined to stick to her policy of “calculated risk” in continuing the “open bridge” traffic to Jordan and only limited security control of Arabs living under military government. The grenade went off at 12:40 P.M. within 200 yards of the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. The explosion came at the corner of David Street and Christian Quarters Road, two narrow passageways lined with shops. Five Israeli Army women were among those hurt, one seriously.

Palestinian commandos said tonight that they had destroyed a number of “vital” Israeli installations and had inflicted several casualties when highly explosive charges went off around midday today in Jerusalem. The Palestinian press agency quoted a guerrilla spokesman as having said a special commando unit had placed several delayed‐action charges along David Street The commandos returned safely to base, the spokesman said.

Charging that the Russians have shown no interest in realistic negotiations at the second round of the strategic arms limitation talks, Senator Henry M. Jackson (D-Washington) proposed that the United States offer a mutual one-third reduction of nuclear missiles and bombers. Jackson said Soviet negotiators at Geneva had put forth a proposal that was “totally unacceptable” and which had resulted in an impasse.

South Vietnam’s Central Highlands are under attack by North Vietnam. North Vietnamese tanks and troops yesterday assaulted and seized a district capital in remote, mountainous Quảng Đức Province, once again taking the offensive in a month‐old struggle for control of a key road system in the Central Highlands, the Saigon command announced this morning. The attack on Kiến Đức, 120 miles north‐northeast of Saigon, was the first frontal assault by the Communists on a district capital since the cease‐fire agreement in January. With Kiến Đức in their hands, the North Vietnamese would be poised to move on from the tiny logging town, which had a population of about 5,000, toward Gia Nghĩa, the isolated provincial capital of Quảng Đức, 13 miles to the east down a winding dirt road.

The command said that Kiến Đức fell at about 6:30 o’clock last night when North Vietnamese troops, supported by about 20 tanks, attacked it for the fourth time in the day. There were reports of bitter hand‐to‐hand fighting in the streets before the regimental command post and garrison withdrew toward Gia Nghĩa. Lieutenant Colonel Lê Trung Hiền, the Saigon military spokesman, said that earlier the North Vietnamese had fired 300 rounds of 105‐mm artillery into Kiến Đức, destroying ammunition and several field guns. The spokesman said that South Vietnamese fighter‐bombers, which flew 58 missions throughout the province, had knocked out two T‐54 tanks on the outskirts of Kiến Đức, which was attacked from the west and the south. The spokesman reported that the North Vietnamese Ninth Division, which overran two border outposts on Route 14 in the Quảng Đức fighting on Nov. 4, had come on the attack throughout the province. Five enemy tanks were reported knocked out elsewhere in Quảng Đức.

Colonel Hiền said that 75 North Vietnamese soldiers had been killed in Quảng Đức. He said that four South Vietnamese had been killed and 18 wounded in one encounter, but he had no overall casualty figures for the Government side. He said Communist troops, backed by tanks, attacked several Government positions situated south of Bu Prăng and Bù Bông and west of Đắk Song. Fighting continued to flare throughout Quảng Đức, with the South Vietnamese Air Force flying many missions to support the beleaguered ground troops.

The Viet Cong first denied responsibility for the recent attack on South Vietnam’s largest oil depot, then later reversed itself. South Vietnam launched punitive air strikes at Communist build-ups along the North Vietnam border.

Algeria, China and 31 other countries opened a drive in the General Assembly today to expel the Cambodian Government of President Lon Nol and seat instead that of Prince Norodom Sihanouk, the deposed leader now living in Peking. Opposing the campaign, Asian neighbors of Cambodia, along with the United States, attacked the move as interference in Cambodia’s internal affairs and a dangerous precedent. The probable outcome of the Assembly debate remained cloudy, according to supporters of both sides. Although a move was developing among noncommitted countries to defer a decision until next year, China and Algeria were insistent on a vote on their solution, even at the risk of defeat.

British Prime Minister Edward Heath will take up a long-standing invitation to visit the Soviet Union, probably toward the middle of next year, British sources in Moscow said. The invitation was accepted during talks between Soviet leaders and British Foreign Secretary Sir Alec Douglas-Home. The talks reportedly restored friendly relations after two years of coolness. The sources said. Foreign Minister Andrei A. Gromyko would visit London next year and that other high-level visits were likely.

Six men were sentenced in Britain for their roles in what police called the country’s biggest drug smuggling ring. The operation allegedly smuggled more than $2.5 million worth of marijuana from Pakistan in the last year. London restaurateur Rashid Anwar, reported to be the brains behind the ring, was sentenced to six years. Five others, all Englishmen, were jailed for terms ranging from two to three years.

A kidnaped Milan industrialist returned to his family after payment of an undisclosed ransom unofficially put at hundreds of thousands of dollars, Aldo Cannavale, 38-year-old head of a tile company, was freed Monday night in a Milan park. His kidnapers told him to count to 60 before he removed a blindfold. He had been seized 13 days ago outside his Home.

Kidnapping insurance is available in Italy now.

Voting was held in Denmark for the 175 Danish seats of the 179-member Folketing. In what became known as the Jordskredsvalget (the Landslide Vote), more than half of the Folketing members were replaced and the Socialdemokratiet party, led by Prime Minister Anker Jørgensen, lost one third of its seats, dropping from 70 to 46. A coalition of opposition parties would form a new government 15 days later with Poul Hartling as the new premier.

A U.S. congressional delegation that recently visited China recommended in a report released in Washington that trade be expanded and regular airline service be started between the two nations. The report called for most-favored-nation trade status for China. Several U.S. airlines have expressed interest in operating scheduled flights to China. The delegation was headed by Senator Warren G. Magnuson (D-Washington), chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee.

Chile declared Sweden’s Ambassador Harald Edelstam persona non grata, saying he meddled in internal affairs. Edelstam had been active in helping refugees from the military. regime that took power in a coup last September 11. Marxist President Salvador Allende died in the coup. Sweden protested to Chile last month when Edelstam said he was assaulted by police who were arresting a Uruguayan woman refugee to whom he had offered diplomatic protection. Chile denied his charge.

Paraguay and Argentina have agreed to start building a $1 billion dam and hydroelectric project on the Parana River in Paraguay in 1976. Agreement on the project, to be finished in four years, was reached in Asuncion after talks spread over 15 years. The project will be known as the Yacyreta-Apipe project and will provide Argentina and Brazil with electricity.

The U.N. Trusteeship Committee passed a resolution that would have the Security Council end South Africa’s administration of South-West Africa. The vote was 99 to 1 with 19 abstentions. Portugal cast the lone negative vote. The South African delegation left the chamber before the vote was taken. The Security Council is expected to begin debate on the issue Monday. South Africa administers the former German colony under a League of Nations mandate that both the U.N. General Assembly and the International Court of Justice have declared invalid.

The White House has apparently moved closer to implementing a higher gasoline tax and a rationing system to meet the fuel shortage. Gasoline and home heating oil costs would rise. President Nixon praised Americans’ voluntary cuts to help deal with the energy crisis, thanking families for their spirit of sacrifice. The President named William Simon as head of the new Federal Energy Administration; Simon succeeds John Love. Simon stated that he favors gasoline rationing only as a last resort. He added that he doesn’t believe oil companies are making windfall profits from the energy shortage.

Simon’s office faces a problem: the U.S. relies on the oil industry to supply it with information regarding the amount of energy that is available. Senator Henry Jackson said that the oil industry’s complete dominance over crucial knowledge is “disgusting”. Atlantic Richfield CEO Robert Anderson insisted that the federal government is supplied with all usable facts and figures.

But sometimes, no figures are available from the oil companies. California state legislator Kenneth Cory reported that Exxon refuses to supply California with information regarding refining costs in California. Mobil and Union Oil also refuse to provide that data. Secrecy is also a problem with natural gas. Most of the costs which are regulated by the Federal Power Commission are based on figures supplied by oil companies. Federal power commissioner George Donkin cited instances of oil companies lying about gas reserves. Senator Philip Hart stated that oil companies are after profits, no matter what actions are required to achieve them.

The Justice Department is uncertain whether the White House proposal to call in oil executives to help deal with the energy crisis is legal. Conflict of interest and antitrust laws may be violated.

The Phillips 66 corporation pleaded guilty to making an illegal contribution to the 1972 Nixon re-election campaign, and was fined.

American Petroleum Institute president Frank Ikard said that the oil shortage will last for many years and will cause American lifestyles to change. Gasoline rationing is inevitable and solar heating will come relatively soon.

The Senate passed the bill to place the U.S. on permanent daylight savings time as an energy-conserving measure. The beginning date is yet to be decided.

The government refused an allotment of extra diesel fuel which was requested by the Postal Service to deliver Christmas mail. Deliveries will likely be delayed.

Truck drivers protested higher operating costs and lower speed limits by blockading interstate highways in four states today. A nationwide truckers’ strike is possible. Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania was blockaded by over 100 independent truckers, causing traffic tie-ups for hours on both sides of the highway. Protest organizer J.W. Edwards declared that trucks must be allowed to transport goods in the most efficient time possible. Trucker Duane Jeffers warned that truckers will resort to stoppages again unless their demands are met, and products won’t reach consumers. The Teamsters Union stated that it was not behind today’s protest.

Over 200,000 automotive industry workers will be laid off as a result of the energy crisis. Most workers will receive a good portion of their regular weekly salary while laid off, however.

Judge John Sirica heard testimony from former White House aide Lawrence Higby regarding former chief of staff H.R. Haldeman and his duties in the White House.

The Senate Watergate Committee heard testimony from an associate of Howard Hughes regarding a contribution given by Hughes to Bebe Rebozo for President Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign. $100,000 was turned over to the Watergate committee. It was allegedly the same money which was returned to Howard Hughes by Rebozo. Hughes’ lawyer Chester Davis dumped the money in front of committee chairman Sam Ervin.

President Nixon’s lawyers confided to a group of Republican congressmen that Mr. Nixon’s net worth currently stands at $1 million. The attorneys will allow a congressional committee to examine the validity of the President’s tax deductions.

A recording that could determine whether the White House made a political deal with the dairy industry was turned over to a federal judge. Irwin Goldbloom, a Justice Department lawyer in the milk case, said he handed the presidential tape and 68 documents to U.S. District Judge William P. Jones in Washington. If the judge rules that the materials are not protected by executive privilege, he will order them turned over to lawyers for consumer advocate Ralph Nader. Nader has filed a civil suit charging that the Administration raised milk price supports in exchange for funds for Mr. Nixon’s reelection campaign.

A federal judge convicted attorney William Kunstler and three of the “Chicago 7” defendants on contempt charges which were filed during their trial four years ago. Jerry Rubin, Abbie Hoffman and David Dellinger were charged along with Kunstler.

Union members went on strike at three large grocery store chains in California. Many shoppers reacted angrily to supermarket closings. Stores which remained open were crowded.

A nursing home fire in Wayne, Pennsylvania, took nine lives and injured over 40. Fire enveloped a nursing home in the Philadelphia suburb of Wayne, killing nine elderly residents and injuring 42 others, officials said. Swift rescue work by passersby and firemen helped prevent a higher death toll as flames swept through the gray stone building housing 96 patients and 30 employees of the Caley Nursing and Rehabilitation Center, police said. Fire officials would not comment on the cause of the blaze but a nursing home aide said he believed it was started by a cigarette dropped by a resident.

The loan activities of the Small Business Administration are under investigation by Congress and the Justice Department. SBA director Thomas Kleppe denied virtually all charges. Thomas S. Kleppe, chief of the Small Business Administration, accused the former Philadelphia regional director, Russell Hamilton, of covering up possible corruption and a definite bad loan situation in the Richmond, Va., SBA office. Kleppe denied that he personally had protected the Richmond director, Thomas Regan, or had been in cahoots with Regan’s brother-in-law, wealthy Charlottesville, Virginia, businessman Joseph Palumbo. In reading a 97-page statement to a House banking subcommittee, Kleppe also denied that the SBA was out to “get Hamilton,” as Hamilton had testified in hearings last week.

The present crisis has inspired Americans to look for new ways to get around the gasoline shortage. A Bedford, Massachusetts, company called Electromotion manufactures an electric car which is run by batteries. The firm believes that electric cars are an answer to the fuel shortage. An electric car still must use some energy, however, because coal or oil must generate the electricity.

Lucy Morgan, a reporter for the St. Petersburg Times, was recently found in contempt for not revealing the source of one of her stories. Mrs. Morgan then named one source, state’s attorney James Russell. Russell was the one who subpoenaed Mrs. Morgan and demanded that her source be named.

The MGM Grand Hotel, with 2,100 rooms and one of the world’s largest hotels at the time, quietly opened in Las Vegas. A celebrity-studded grand opening was held the next day.

Tornadoes and gale-force winds slashed at the South and lower Midwest as storms raged with blizzard intensity from Kansas to Minnesota. Snow and ice also hobbled traffic and fallen utility poles cut off power and telephone service to many communities. A 12-year-old boy was killed by a twister in Lakeport, Arkansas, and dozens of other persons were injured by the storms. In Kansas, 250 telephone poles were downed in the areas of Salina, Hutchinson and Dodge City and an inch thick ice glaze blacked out Junction City and caused $500,000 worth of property damage.

Alfred Fuller, the founder of the Fuller Brush company, died.

The Reds trade pitcher Ross Grimsley to the Orioles for outfielder Merv Rettenmund and infielder Junior Kennedy. Grimsley will win 18 in 1974 for the Orioles.

The Alabama Crimson Tide became one of the winners of the U.S. college football championship under the sport’s format at the time. With no provision for a national playoff, the title, recognized by the NCAA, was determined by the polls of the two major wire services, the sportswriters poll of the Associated Press (AP) and the Coaches Poll of United Press International (UPI). The final UPI poll of 35 coaches was taken at the end of the regular season, without consideration of postseason bowl games, and was made three days after Alabama had finished with an 11-0-0 record with a 35–0 win over Auburn. In the poll, the University of Alabama had 325 points, ahead of five other unbeaten teams — Oklahoma (10-0-1)(292 points), Ohio State (9-0-1), Notre Dame (10-0-0), Penn State (11-0-0) and Michigan (10-0-1). Alabama would be defeated by #4 Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl game on December 31, and be voted national champion in the AP poll.

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 803.21 (-3.31, -0.41%).

Born:

Tyra Banks, American supermodel and actress (“Higher Learning”; “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”), in Inglewood, California

Corliss Williamson, NBA small forward and power forward (NBA Champions-Pistons, 2004; NBA 6th Man of the Year, 2002; Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors, Detroit Pistons, Philadelphia 76ers), in Russellville, Arkansas

Died:

Alfred Fuller, 88, Canadian-American businessman (“Fuller Brush Man”).

Michael O’Shea, 67, American actor (“Smart Woman”), and husband of Virginia Mayo, of a heart attack.

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