President Trần Văn Hương of South Vietnam called on the National Assembly today to decide whether General Dương Văn Minh should succeed him as President and negotiate with the Communists. A joint session of the Senate and the Lower House immediately convened to debate the question. Despite the normally factious quality of Vietnamese political debate, it appeared that forces were operating today to assure the speedy conclusion of proceedings that would conclude with the replacement of President Hương by General Minh. However, highly qualified informants conceded that difficulties and an element of risk were still involved. The Việt Cộng have implied that unless General Minh or someone else acceptable to them is named head of a new government they would destroy Saigon. President Hương told the National Assembly that he could not independently relinquish power because it would be unconstitutional.
Mr. Hương’s 20‐minute speech before the legislature, to which some of the diplomatic corps was invited, contained frequent references to the possible need to fight on. These were interrupted with loud applause. “If you should decide not to replace me with General Minh, and if we cannot successfully and happily negotiate, then Saigon must be turned into an ocean of blood, and we will still have to fight for our national honor,” the President said, with tears streaming down his face.
None of the principals in the current government negotiating efforts appeared to have any stomach for continuing the struggle, and diplomatic initiatives toward a settlement reportedly were under way in several countries, including France and the Soviet Union. The main task now appears to be not so much one of negotiating as of giving signals by specific actions. At this point, there is no trust on either side in statements and documents, only in the speed with which Washington and Saigon act on Việt Cộng demands, in exchange for the safety of Saigon. There were a number of major developments to that end. The Việt Cộng have demanded the ouster of not only Nguyễn Văn Thiệu but also his successor, President Tran Hương, and the rest of the “Thiệu clique.” President Thieu resigned Monday, President Hương was expected to resign tomorrow, and with him, Trần Văn Lắm, president of the Senate, who would have been next in the line of succession.
In radio broadcasts, the Việt Cộng have insisted that as prerequisite to any conversations leading to peace, all “American troops and advisers disguised as civilians” leave Vietnam, as well as “agents of the American intelligence agency” and anyone else likely to interfere in internal affairs.
The Việt Cộng spokesman, Lieutenant Colonel Võ Đông Giang, was asked what he felt, in view of the fact that the American and Saigon side was moving rapidly to meet such demands as a change to a satisfactory Saigon government and the removal of all American military and intelligence personnel. He replied: “Our assessment is that the struggle of the South Vietnamese armed forces and people [Việt Cộng] with a view to observing strictly the Paris peace accords is developing more favorably hour by hour. The policy of intervention and military involvement of the United States in the stooge clique in Saigon is failing, and therefore the situation is getting better with each passing day.” Privately, another senior Vietcong official told The New York Times, “We are very hopeful now that peace is at hand.”
Some three battalions of Communist troops today attacked the town of Trảng Bàng, 30 miles from Saigon. Witnesses reported that rocket fire poured into the town at mid‐morning, sending Government troops scattering in disorder. Within an hour, the town looked deserted, with civilians and soldiers huddled in whatever cover they could find, the witnesses said. A government communiqué reported that South Vietnamese planes had bombed Communist positions in the Trảng Bàng area last night. In the early hours the Communists attacked on the southeast of the town. The rocket barrage came some hours later.
Trảng Bàng lies half way between Saigon and Tây Ninh city, to the northwest, where government troops are believed to be still holding out. To the northeast of Saigon, Government units used bulldozers and cranes to dig antitank ditches on the road leading to Biên Hòa air force base. The base, now under sporadic shelling, has been expecting an attack for the last week, especially since the fall of Xuân Lộc three days ago. In the Mekong delta region, the Saigon command reported throwing back an attack on the town of Kiến Phong. Other clashes and rocket attacks were reported over wide area, although most were minor.
Every 18 minutes, one of the giant planes operating in the American airlift from South Vietnam lands on Guam in the Western Pacific with another load of refugees from Saigon, mostly South Vietnamese relatives of, or employees of Americans. They are the vanguard of the 132,000 South Vietnamese the government has authorized to be admitted to the United States.
The Ford administration is concerned about the possible impact of the Indochina situation on Asia and hopes to bolster American relations with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and other Asian nations in the coming weeks and months. High administration officials said that no formal reassessment of American policy toward Asia had been ordered, such as the current Middle East review, but that a number of key officials have already begun giving increased attention to ways of preventing a breakdown in the stability of the Asian area, for example, through reaffirming various defense commitments.
The new Cambodian Government announced today that Prince Norodom Sihanouk would be Cambodia’s chief of state for life. It also said that all Cambodian diplomats serving abroad would be dismissed and replaced. The announcements were made by the Phnom Penh radio in a broadcast monitored in Bangkok. The broadcast was on the second day of a three‐day victory celebration ordered by the new Government.
Prince Sihanouk, who was ousted in March, 1970, in a coup by the forces of Marshal Lon Nol, has been living in exile in Peking. Marshal ion Nol left Cambodia shortly before the Communist rebel forces captured Phnom Penh, and is now in Hawaii. The Phnom Penh broadcast said Penn Nouth would remain as Premier of the National Union Government and Khieu Samphan as Deputy Premier and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. Mr. Penn Nouth is regarded as a figurehead Premier. He is reported to be in poor health in Peking.
Prince Sihanouk has said that Mr. Khieu Samphan, a Communist, would be in charge of the government. The changes in diplomatic missions will be decided by a committee of the National Front, the broadcast said. A number of embassy staffs that had remained loyal to the Lon Nol Government and its brief successor until the fall of Phnom Penh on April 17 have since declared their allegiance to the new government.
Most communications with Phnom Penh remain severed. France expressed concern today about the situation in her embassy in Phnom Penh where French citizens and diversity of foreign diplomats and newsmen have been living since the Communists occupied the capital. “The French Government is closely following the situstion created at the French Embassy in Phnom Penh and which is becoming more and more precarious where food and sanitation are concerned,” a communiqué issued in Paris said.
The statement noted that “all French residents of the Cambodian capital have been assembled at the embassy. “In addition, the city’s authorities have successively brought there different foreign nationals, notably members of the Soviet, East German, Indian and Pakistani embassies.” French officials have said that 23 newsmen, including six Americans, were among those in the embassy.
In Peking, Premier Chou Enlai congratulated Prince Sihanouk today on the fifth anniversary of a conference of Indochinese leaders, Hsinhua, the Chinese press agency reported.
Exactly one year after the “Carnation Revolution” that toppled the dictatorship in Portugal, the first multiparty elections there in almost 50 years were conducted. There was a 91.7% turnout of eligible voters, and fears that a Communist government would be voted into office in Western Europe were proven wrong. The Socialist Party, led by Mário Soares, won 116 of the 250 seats in the Constituent Assembly, and, Francisco de Sá Carneiro’s Social Democrats won 81. Álvaro Cunhal and the Portuguese Communist Party obtained only 30 seats.
The Spanish Government declared a state of emergency today in the Basque provinces of Guipúzcoa and Vizcaya in an effort to curb a wave of violence ascribed to the Basque guerrilla organization that seeks separation from Spain. The measure was announced in a decree approved in a Cabinet meeting. The decree, signed by Generalissimo Francisco Franco, is to be published tomorrow. The state of emergency in the two provinces, where two policemen have been killed and series of bomb blasts have damaged shops and villas, is slated to continue for three months. One policeman, Jose Manuel Moran Gonzalez, 33 years old, was gunned down on April 22 as he left his home in the Bilbao suburb of Guecho. On March 29 another policeman, José Diaz Linares, 29, was shot to death in San Sebastián. Bilbao and San Sebastián are the provincial capitals of Vizcaya and Guipúzcoa.
Sweden announced tonight that she would deport four of the five West German terrorists captured after yesterday’s siege at the West German Embassy here, in which part of the building was blown up. The last member of the group that took part in the 12‐hour siege has burns over 40 percent of his body and cannot be moved at this stage, authorities said. The government announcement said that West Germany had agreed to the return of the terrorists, but did not say when that would happen. Six persons took part in the take‐over of the embassy, after which the invaders demanded freedom for 26 anarchists who are jailed in Germany. One terrorist here died today as he was being taken to a hospital, in all, the siege took three lives.
President Makarios will meet Secretary of State Kissinger in Washington on May 5, it was announced today in Nicosia, Cyprus.
At the local headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization here, officers wear a special patch that combines the flags of Greece and Turkey. Since 1952 these two countries have formed the bulwank of the alliance’s southern flank, but today they are quarreling with their allies and each other, and even in an era of East‐West detente, NATO planners are deeply concerned. “The Communist nations are always quick to take advantage of weaknesses,” one Western military analyst said. “Every little sign of weakness means another point where the Soviet Union can exert pressure.”
Part of that weakness is military, but hardly anybody expects the Bulgarians to march on Macedonia, or the Soviet Union to seize the Dardenelles. What concerns the planners even more is psychological weakness, a diminishing ability to withstand the more subtle probes and pressures that play a continuing part in East‐West relations. In an important sense. NATO is a victim of its own success. In the early postwar years the alliance was bound together by a common fear of Soviet expansionism, but as that fear diminished Greece and Turkey felt freer to exercise mutual animosities that go back centuries.
A 47‐year-old air force general who became Egypt’s Vice President only nine days ago is rapidly emerging as a major political figure. President Anwar el‐Sadat, who chose Hosni Mubarak in a surprise move to succeed Hussein el‐Shafei, a figurehead Vice President, has encouraged him to appear in the spotlight on every possible occasion since his appointment. One of Mr. Mubarak’s most important assignments, it now appears, is to give continuity and strength to Mr. Sadat’s often fluctuating relations with Arab leaders. The general, who distinguished himself in the war against Israel in October, 1973, has been present in the last week at all major meetings of Mr. Sadat with Egyptian officials and foreign diplomats, including the American Ambassador, Hermann F. Eilts.
An Israeli official who closely watches developments in the Arab world said today that he was surprised by a Paris dispatch in The New York Times today reporting that the Soviet Union had promoted an agreement between Syria and Jordan for joint land and air military commands. But, the official added, “nothing in the Middle East is unfeasible.”
The Ford Administration, concerned about the possible impact of the Indochina situation on other Asian countries, hopes to bolster relations with Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and other Asian nations in coming weeks and months. High Administration officials said in separate interviews today and yesterday that no formal reassessment of American policy toward Asia had been ordered similar to the current review of Middle East policy. But a number of key officials have already begun giving increased attention to ways of preventing a breakdown in stability in the area. Secretary of State Kissinger gave a public pledge to Foreign Minister Kiichi Miyazawa two weeks ago that the United States would abide by its defense commitment to Japan “in the event of armed attack against Japan, whether by nuclear or conventional force.” The United States, aware that South Korea feels threatened by renewed militancy in North Korea, has repeatedly affirmed its defense commitment to Seoul in recent weeks, including a statement by President Ford that the mutual security treaty with South Korea was of “fundamental importance” to the United States.
South Korean journalists said today that five of their leaders were being held by the country’s Central Intelligence Agency in a bid to crush their drive for a free press.
First Boeing Jetfoil revenue service, Hong Kong to Macao.
The Philippine Government has formally notified the United States that it wants to discuss changes in the long‐standing security agreements between the two countries, especially those authorizing the existence of American bases here. Information Secretary Francisco S. Tatad said in a press briefing that a review of existing military agreements between the Philippines and United the States had led to the conclusion that “the status quo is no longer tenable in the light of present realities.” He said President Ferdinand E. Marcos had met with his foreign‐policy advisers to discuss a number of alternatives that ranged from outright abrogation of the agreements to maintenance of the status quo. He would not disclose the specific course adopted.
Eight policemen, two bystanders and a bank teller were killed in Mexico City by members of the Liga Comunista 23 de Septiembre who raided a branch of the Banco de Comercio at Villa Coapa. As soon as the bank opened for the day, a dozen guerillas entered, killed six police who were guarding the bank. Unable to open the vault, the group took approximately US$16,000 from the tellers’ drawers, then shot other people as they drove away.
American astronauts said today that they were‐not apprehensive about accidents that might occur in their joint space mission next July with Soviet astronauts. The Americans, here for training with their Soviet counterparts, said, in effect, that accidents would happen and that they were prepared to deal with them. The Americans were questioned about the possibility of mishap in view of the Soviet Union’s aborted launching of Soyuz 18 earlier this month. Their reply seemed to be summarized by Donald K. Slayton, of the Apollo crew, when he said, “I don’t think anybody Should get uptight about that. Certainly we’re not.” He added that if a Soviet launching malfunction occurred in July, the Soviet Union would “turn around and launch a second vehicle. We’d just go into hold.” In the joint venture, the Soviet Union is to launch its Soyuz craft on July 15; the United States Apollo craft will be launched 90 minutes later and the two are to dock two days later and stay linked for two days.
The USSR performs an underground nuclear test.
Voting 53 to 14, the Senate passed a $6.1 billion appropriations bill that would either create or continue a million public service jobs to both stimulate the economy and keep workers off unemployment insurance and welfare. The bill will go to a conference with the House. There have been indications from the White House that President Ford will consider vetoing the bill, which calls for $3.5‐billion more than is contained in the budget request. The Senate version’s main difference is an added $130‐million, with $87‐million of this earmarked for 920,000 jobs for needy youths this summer, an increase of 160,000 in these jobs over last year’s level.
In a speech at the 150th convocation dinner of the Yale University Law School, President Ford said that violent crime “obsesses America” and called for mandatory jail terms for those convicted of violent crimes. He declared that “I am urging that virtually all of those convicted of a violent crime be sent to prison, and this should be done especially if a gun was involved or there was other substantial danger or injury to a person or persons.”
Secretary of Agriculture Earl L. Butz told a Congressional committee today that he would take administrative action to support farm income even though he continued to urge a Presidential veto of the farm bill sent to the White House this week. “I don’t propose to sit here as Secretary of Agriculture and see American farms liquidated,” he told members of the HouseSenate JoInt Economic Committee. Meanwhile, Ron Nessen, the White House press secretary, said that President Ford would probably follow Dr. Butz’s advice and veto the farm bill.
The United States rang up a large surplus of exports over imports in the January-March period, the first quarterly trade surplus in the last five quarters, the Commerce Department announced. A more than seasonal decline in oil imports and a general decline in imports of materials and industrial goods, a result of the recession, were largely responsible for a trade surplus calculated at $1.3 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis.
The government’s main witness in the extortion trial of former Senator Edward J. Gurney of Florida testified today that he was hired by Mr. Gurney as a special aide in January, 1971, and almost immediately was given an assignment to raise re-election funds in secret and in cash.
Former Oklahoma Governor David Hall was sentenced today to three years in prison on each of four counts in an interstate conspiracy‐bribery scheme. The terms are to run concurrently. “The verdict of the jury notwithstanding, I say I am not guilty and I feel that with due time I will be vindicated,” Mr. Hall told the court. Mr. Hall faced a maximum of 35 years in prison and $40,000 fine. Before sentencing, Judy Daugherty rejected motions by Mr. Hall for a new trial, directed verdict of acquittal and for the right to interview members of the jury.
Terming Representative George Hansen “stupid” but not necessarily “evil,” United States Distric Judge George L. Hart Jr. set aside today his two‐month prison term and instead fined him $2,000 for violating campaign finance laws. “I assumed when I sentenced him to jail he was evil,” Judge Hart said from the bench. Picking up a thread from Mr. Hansen’s lawyer, the judge added, “Now, I am not so sure. Stupid, surely.” Judge Hart sentenced Mr. Hansen last week to one year in jail, with 10 months suspended, after the Republican representative’s guilty pleas to two misdemeanor violations of campaign finance laws.
Former president Lyndon B. Johnson indicated in an interview in 1969 that he felt “international connections” might have been involved in Lee Harvey Oswald’s assassination of President Kennedy. Mr. Jonnson’s suspicions were reported last night by Walter Cronkite on his CBS news program, which showed portions of an interview with Mr. Johnson that had been deleted from the original broadcast at the former President’s request on the ground of national security. Mr. Cronkite said he was making the deleted portions public because of a column, written Thursday by Marianne Means of the King Features Syndicate.
Miss Means said that Mr. Johnson told her in confidence a year before he died that Oswald had acted alone in the assassination but was “either under the influence or the orders” of Premier Fidel Castro of Cuba. Miss Means explained that she was breaking the former President’s confidence “because Johnson’s opinion appears to debunk the current speculation that the Central Intelligence Agency might somehow have been involved in the Kennedy assassination.”
Governor George C. Wallace of Alabama confirmed yesterday that “as of now” he intends to seek the 1976 Democratic nomination for President. Although an official al announcement is not expected until June, aides to the Governor said a series of fundraising dinners was already being planned, probably beginning with one in Montgomery, Alabama, at $250 a plate. The Governor’s press secretary, Billy Joe Camp, said June 5 had been discussed as the kickoff date, but that other dates had not been ruled out. Among the places being considered for the announcement are Montgomery, Washington, Miami and the Governor’s hometown, Clio, Alabama.
A man carrying a bag that he said contained explosives attempted unsuccessfully tonight to hijack a Newark-bound United Airlines jet and divert it to Cuba. The incident, which began about 7 P.M. when the plane was over the Baltimore‐Washington area, ended roughly two hours later when the jet landed in Atlanta to refuel. Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation seized the passenger without a struggle. The bag contained no explosives.
The medical license of Dr. Max Jacobson, a New York City physician who for years used powerful amphetamine stimulants to lift the moods of his patients, many of whom were rich and famous, was revoked by the State Board of Regents. The decision was unanimous. Dr. Jacobson, who is 75 years old, was found guilty of 48 counts of unprofessional conduct in 11 specifications and one count of fraud or deceit. One of Jacobson’s patients was President Kennedy. Kennedy suffered an amphetamine crash during a meeting with Khruschev in Vienna; the incident cemented Khrushchev’s feeling that JFK was out of his league and helped trigger the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Officials of national and New York medical organizations said the revocation of Dr. Jacobson’s license vividly illustrated the need for physicians to police themselves more effectively and for the profession to have broader disciplinary powers. They also criticized New York officials for taking nearly 2½ years to act on Dr. Jacobson’s case.
A chemical widely used in the metal and clothing industries has been found in preliminary tests to cause cancers of the liver and other organs in mice, according to an internal Government “memorandum of alert” issued by the National Cancer Institute. The chemical, trichloroethylene, is a close relative of the plastics chemical, vinyl chloride, that was found a year ago to cause a rare type of liver cancer in exposed workers. Trichloroethylene, more than 600 million pounds of which are produced in the United States each year, is mainly used as a degreasing agent in the metal industry and as a solvent and dry cleaning agent in the clothing industry.
Major League Baseball:
The Dodgers Andy Messersmith beats the Giants, 6–5, and ties a Major League batting record for pitchers with 3 doubles in one game.
The Cubs edge the Cardinals, 4–3, behind Darryl Knowles 3 hitless innings of relief. Cubs starter Rick Reuschel pitches the first six innings and records 4 assists and 3 putouts. The 3 putouts come in the 3rd inning, setting a since-tied National League record. Jim Bagby was the first pitcher to do it, in 1940, with the Red Sox.
The Pirates downed the Phillies, 3–2. Manny Sanguillen, whose .300 lifetime batting average is the highest among active major league catchers, smashed a two‐run homer off Steve Carlton in the seventh inning to provide Bruce Kison with his first victory in two decisions.
Doug Rader has 5 hits, including 3 doubles, and the Astros score 2 runs in the 12th to beat the Expos, 8–7.
Luis Tiant, picked up as free agent in 1971 by Boston, lost a bid for a perfect game in Tiger Stadium last night, and also lost the game, 1–0, to Detroit despite a two‐hit effort. The 34‐year‐old righthander gave up a home run to Dan Meyer, a rookie outfielder, on a 2–1 pitch with two‐ out in the fifth inning, and that sent Tiant to his second defeat in four decisions. The home run was the first of the season for Meyer and broke up a brilliant pitching duel between Tiant and Mickey Lolich. Lolich got out of numerous jams, scattering four hits in raising his won‐lost record to 3–0.
The Angels shut out the A’s, 2–0. Andy Hassler blanked Oakland on a five‐hit effort, and Dave Chalk, batting .447, singled in the first run in the fourth inning. Hassler (2‐1) fanned seven and walked three.
Oakland Athletics 0, California Angels 2
St. Louis Cardinals 3, Chicago Cubs 4
Boston Red Sox 0, Detroit Tigers 1
Cincinnati Reds 4, Houston Astros 6
Chicago White Sox 5, Kansas City Royals 2
New York Mets 5, Montreal Expos 3
Philadelphia Phillies 2, Pittsburgh Pirates 3
Atlanta Braves 3, San Diego Padres 5
Los Angeles Dodgers 6, San Francisco Giants 5
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 811.80 (+8.14, +1.01%)
Born:
Emily Bergl, English-American actress (“The Rage : Carrie 2”), in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England, United Kingdom.
Jacque Jones, Team USA and MLB outfielder (Olympic bronze medal, 1996; Minnesota Twins, Chicago Cubs, Detroit Tigers, Florida Marlins), in San Diego, California.
Michael Stewart, NBA center and power forward (Sacramento Kings, Toronto Raptors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks), in Cucq-Trepied-Stella-Plage, France.
Erin Alexander, WNBA guard (Los Angeles Sparks, Utah Starzz), in Santa Ynez, California.
Ruben Gomez, American rocker (Menudo-“Cannonball”), in Brooklyn, New York, New York.
Died:
Mike Brant (stage name for Moshe Michael Brand), popular Israeli singer and songwriter who attained fame in France, with seven number one hit records, committed suicide by jumping from the sixth floor of an apartment in Paris. Earlier in the day, the Sonopresse studio had released his latest album, Album souvenir.
History Diaries 