Secretary of State Kissinger will leave tomorrow on another trip to the Middle East, hoping to bring about negotiations between Israel and Syria on separation of their military forces on the Golan Heights. Some Arab diplomats have suggested recently that a Kissinger success would lead the Arabs to end their oil embargo against the United States. But American officials who had wrongly predicted that the embargo would be lifted after Mr. Kissinger helped arrange the Israeli-Egyptian disengagement accord hesitated to join such speculation.
President Anwar el‐Sadat of Egypt said at a news conference on the final day of the meeting of Moslem nations in Lahore, Pakistan, that United States policy in the Middle East was changing, and he expressed optimism about the separation of the military forces of Syria and Israel.
Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie announced strict controls on prices after five days of disturbances and strikes over the high cost of living. He also announced a cut in the price of gasoline from $1.48 a gallon to $1.08. After his broadcast announcement traffic in Addis Ababa returned to normal for the first time in four days. Angry citizens had paralyzed traffic by stoning buses and private cars.
Iran is buying U.S. warplanes faster than they come off the line and has probably become America’s top armaments customer, Pentagon officials said. Iran already has ordered about 30 Navy F-14 Tomcat fighters and is negotiating for about 50 Air Force F-15 Eagles–both planes so new they are not yet in operational use by U.S. forces.
Ray Harris of Ponca City, Oklahoma, has come back to Vietnam. This time he is not behind the machine gun of an Army helicopter but behind a workbench at the Biên Hòa air base, sitting next to South Vietnamese Air Force men and repairing jet fighter engines. Mr. Harris is a civilian now, safer and better paid. But his changed role in the continuing Vietnam war has scarcely diminished his importance, for as a 27‐year‐old jet engine mechanic he remains as vital to the South Vietnamese military as he was in 1966 as a 19‐year‐old helicopter gunner. He is among 2,800 American civilians without whose skills South Vietnam’s most sophisticated weapons would fall into disrepair. Employed by private companies under contract to the United States Defense Department, these men constitute one facet of a vast program of American military aid that continues to set the course of the war more than year after the signing of the Paris peace agreements and the final withdrawal of American troops.
Whether the United States is breaking the letter of the agreements could probably be argued either way. But certainly, the aid directly supports South Vietnamese violations and so breaks the spirit of the accords. The United States, far from phasing out its military involvement in South Vietnam, has descended from a peak of warfare to a high plateau of substantial support, dispatching not only huge quantities of weapons and ammunition but also large numbers of American citizens who have become integral parts of the South Vietnamese supply, transport and intelligence systems.
These include not just the Vietnam-based mechanics and technicians but also the Pentagon-based generals who tour airfields to ascertain the needs of the South Vietnamese Air Force, the “liaison men” who reportedly give military advice from time to time, the civilian Defense Department employes who make two‐to‐three‐week visits to provide highly specialized technical help, and the Central Intelligence Agency officials who continue to advise South Vietnam’s national police on intelligence matters. The total budgeted cost of military aid to South Vietnam is $813‐million in this fiscal year, and the Pentagon has asked Congress for $1.45‐billion next year, with most of the increase probably going for ammunition, which the South Vietnamese forces have expended at a high rate.
A French Journalist, Michel Honorin, was wounded in the back today by mortar fragments on the Phnom Penh southern front. Mr Honorin, 38 years old, is an editor for Pathé Gaumont, a newsreel company. He was in satisfactory condition at French Hospital.
Mr. Kissinger was elated by the results of the three-day conference of Western Hemisphere foreign ministers, as documented in a communique issued yesterday, according to one of his aides. The declaration establishes an informal framework for continuing high-level discussions, and if necessary, negotiations on troublesome issues between the United States and Latin American and Caribbean countries. Latin American foreign ministers will study a proposal by U.S. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger for conciliation procedures to solve disputes, according to “The Declaration of Tlatelolco,” issued after three days of talks between Kissinger and 24 foreign ministers in Mexico City. Also announced in the joint declaration was a U.S. assurance to the Latin nations that it will maintain its current foreign aid levels to countries in the hemisphere and avoid new trade restrictions. The Nixon Administration will proceed urgently to get general tariff preferences passed in the current session of Congress, the declaration said.
Three American firms — Pepsi-Cola, Coca-Cola and Union Carbide — were targets as seven bombs exploded in Guadalajara and Oaxaca, Mexico, during the weekend. No casualties or arrests were reported. In addition to the U.S. firms, bombs damaged the headquarters of two supermarket chains, a giant bakery and federal offices.
A Kansas church’s airliner that was forced down over Cuba on Saturday was released and flew to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, after the State Department guaranteed payment of $6,850 to the Cubans. The 32 passengers and three crew members, all Americans, were reported safe. The plane is used for missionary work in Haiti and Jamaica by the Pawnee Avenue Church of God in Wichita, Kansas.
Street fighting broke out on Paris’ Left Bank twice in 24 hours, and police said they feared a new wave of rioting. A demonstration staged by students protesting eviction from four houses turned into violence when protesters bombarded police with rocks and fire bombs and were answered by volleys of tear gas.
A Vermeer masterpiece valued at more than $2 million was stolen from London’s Kenwood House, an 18th century mansion converted to a museum, Scotland Yard reported. A leading art dealer described the disappearance of “The Guitar Player,” by the 17th century Dutch master Jan Vermeer, as “the most appalling artistic vandalism to have befallen Britain this century.”
Spanish and American military units searched the waters off northwest Africa for Thomas L. Gatch, U.S. Army Reserve colonel attempting the first manned transatlantic balloon flight. The Pentagon said a message had been sent to all units in the area to be on the lookout for Gatch. For the second day, small Spanish planes and helicopters combed a large part of the Spanish Sahara below the border with Morocco.
The Fireforce military tactic, perfected by the white 1st Battalion of the Rhodesian Light Infantry in the Bush War, was first put to use as part of the counterinsurgency against the black guerrilla soldiers of the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA).
The legacy of the ancient Chinese philosopher Confucius became the latest casualty of the Cultural Revolution as Prime Minister Chou Enlai of the People’s Republic of China confirmed that the Communist government would support a nationwide campaign to discredit Confucius and the late Lin Biao as “reactionaries who tried to turn back the wheel of history.” Chou made his comments at a state banquet in Beijing for the visiting President of Zambia, Kenneth Kaunda.
John K. Andrews Jr., a former speech writer for President Nixon, has called for his impeachment — the first former member of the White House staff to do so. He said that impeachment “may ultimately be interpreted as a conservative action, or an action which will conserve the essence of our liberties and our democracy to bring to account a leader who has abused his trust, and I’m afraid the President has.”
Chairman Lewis A. Engman of the Federal Trade Commission says antitrust action against the food industry seems likely as the result of a broad investigation under way. He said in a Washington interview that he expected further commission action in the energy field, where the FTC already has issued a complaint that the eight major petroleum companies are engaged in anticompetitive practices. The commission recently renewed its guidelines for measuring mergers in the dairy industry and has also moved to break up the market power of the four biggest breakfast cereal companies.
Time magazine says one White House document allegedly altered before it reached special prosecutor Leon Jaworski had been sent also to the Senate Watergate committee and that copy had not been censored. Time said the document was a memo discussing how to get information on Daniel Ellsberg. It said a paragraph recommending “a covert operation” and its approval by former White House aide John D. Ehrlichman had been snipped out of the copy Jaworski received. It was not missing from the Watergate committee copy, however, and that paragraph “was pointedly discussed during the Senate hearings,” Time said.
J. Edgar Hoover, the late director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, tried to help re-elect Representative John J. Rooney, a Brooklyn Democrat, and other stanch congressional supporters, by supplying them with sensitive information about their political opponents, according to a highly qualified source. Mr. Rooney is head of the House Appropriations subcommittee that largely controls the FBI’s budget.
Vice President Ford, in his first appearance in New York City since he became Vice President, said in a speech at a meeting of Bnai Zion, an American fraternal Zionist organization, that “an era of peace is within reach for the superpowers as well as the Middle Eastern countries.” His remarks, apparently calculated not to arouse criticism of the Israelis or the Arab nations, were made as he received the 1974 America-Israel Friendship Gold Medal.
The Indianapolis Star reported that a “police Mafia” involving millions of dollars in graft and protection money had been uncovered during its six-month investigation of the Indianapolis Police Department. The newspaper said widespread corruption existed in the department, “including graft and protection for prostitution, narcotics, bootlegging, and gambling.”
President Nixon spent a quiet weekend in the White House and studied briefing papers in preparation for his first news conference of 1974. Officials said the conference, his 36th since assuming the Presidency, probably would be held before television cameras in the East Room tonight. Although Mr. Nixon spent more than an hour responding to questions from a group of managing editors at a convention last. November 17, he has not faced reporters since October 26.
The kidnappers of Patricia Hearst again made no response today to the Hearst Corporation’s offer to add $4‐million to a free food program in exchange for her immediate release. A reply to the offer, which was made on Friday, had been expected this weekend. The Hearst Corporation made the offer after a spokesman for the self‐styled Symbionese Liberation Army, which abducted Miss Hearst 20 days ago, said that a free food program established by her father, Randolph A. Hearst, was unsatisfactory. After abducting Miss Hearst, a student at the University of California at Berkeley, the terrorist group said that it would not negotiate for her release until after the newspaper executive had established a free food program for the poor.
With a $1.5‐million gift from the Hearst Foundation and $500,000 of his personal funds, Mr. Hearst set up a $2‐million program, but it was declared inadequate by the kidnappers last week. They demanded that $4‐million be added before any negotiations would begin. Mr. Hearst said that such a demand was beyond his financial capability. The Hearst Corporation then made its offer but said that the money would not be put up until after the release of Miss Hearst. It also said that no other funds would be committed regardless of the circumstances. In declaring the original food program inadequate, the Symbionese spokesman who calls himself “General Field Marshal Cinque” said: “The Hearst empire has attempted to mislead the people and to deceive them by claiming to put forth a good faith gesture of $2‐million. This amount is not at all a good faith gesture but rather is an act of throwing a few crumbs to the people, forcing them to fight over it amongst themselves.”
A law school admission dispute that has developed into a national controversy over preferential treatment for racial minorities will be argued before the Supreme Court Tuesday. Since the court agreed to consider the case last November, 60 organizations have become so concerned over the, outcome that they have filed 30 friend‐of‐the‐court briefs in an effort to influence the Justices. An unusual case may attract a half‐dozen such briefs, an average case none. The issue involved — whether special treatment to encourage higher education for blacks is constitutional — has produced sharp divisions among Jewish organizations and within the Nixon Administration and the legal fraternity. And it has created some unlikely alliances. For example, the National Association of Manufacturers and the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations are united in asking the Court to prohibit any sort of preference based on race, fearful that a precedent in public education would lead to a quota system for private employment, something both labor and management oppose.
A severely deformed infant boy, who was operated‐on after a Maine state court ordered surgery to save the child’s life despite his parents’ refusal to authorize the operation, died in the Maine Medical Center here this morning. The infant, son of Air Force Sgt. and Mrs. Robert B. T. Houle of nearby Westbrook, was born February 9 with several deformities on his left side, including one that necessitated intravenous feeding. Justice David Roberts of the Cumberland County Superior Court ordered the operation February 14 even though the child’s physician said the surgery would not be of much benefit. The physician, Dr. Martin A. Barron Jr., testified that the infant would be physically and mentally retarded and that “probable brain damage has rendered life not worth preserving.” Justice Roberts: ruled that the infant “has a right to life,” and that the issue “is not the prospective quality of the life to be preserved.” Sergeant Houle said the infant died at 10:25 A.M. He added that “the wife and I feel pretty badly about the death and the whole incident, but I’d rather not comment further.”
More research is needed to determine the extent of the hazard cigarette smoke poses for nonsmokers, said Dr. Jesse L. Steinfeld, a former U.S. surgeon general who heads the cancer center at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. Speaking in St. Paul at the first meeting of the Minnesota Association for Nonsmokers Rights, Steinfeld said tobacco smoke could precipitate allergic attacks, headaches, eye irritations, nasal symptoms, coughing and wheezing and endanger those with heart or lung conditions.
Dutch speed skater Atje Keulen-Deelstra becomes Women’s Allround World Champion at Heerenveen, Netherlands, her third consecutive title and fourth in 5 years.
Born:
Simeon Rice, NFL defensive end (NFL Champions, Super Bowl 37-Tampa, 2002; Pro Bowl, 1999, 2002, 2003; Arizona Cardinals, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts, Denver Broncos), in Chicago, Illinois.
Bill Duff, NFL defensive tackle (Cleveland Browns), in Delran, New Jersey.
Mike Lowell, MLB third baseman (World Series Champions, 2003-Florida, 2007-Boston [Series MVP]; All-Star, 2002-2004, 2007; New York Yankees, Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox), in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Chris Herperger, Canadian NHL centre (Chicago Blackhawks, Ottawa Senators, Atlanta Thrashers), in Esterhazy, Saskatchewan, Canada.
Bonnie Somerville, American actress (“Grosse Point”; “Code Black”). and singer, in Brooklyn, New York, New York.
Gila Gamliel, Israeli Minister of Intelligence; in Gedera, Israel.
Oscar Mabuyane, Premier and head of government of the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, in Engcobo, Transkei Bantustan, South Africa.
Died:
Margaret Leech (aka Margaret Pulitzer), 80, American historian and fiction writer, died of a stroke.
Charlotte Zaltzberg (born Charlotte Singer), 49, American writer, co-author of the book for the 1973 musical “Raisin,” of breast cancer.
Robert A. Stemmle, 70, German screenwriter and film director.
Joseph Striker, 74, American film and stage actor, star of the 1929 film “The House of Secrets.”
Lothar Mendes, 79, German-born British screenwriter and director known for “The Man Who Could Work Miracles.”
History Diaries 