Arriving in Brussels for a meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, President Ford told an airport welcoming crowd, “Our commitment to this alliance will not falter.” The President was greeted by King Baudouin of the Belgians and Joseph Luns, the alliance’s secretary general. Mr. Ford said NATO has the support of the American people and Congress.
Secretary of State Henry Kissinger warned his fellow Western ministers in Paris that “economic issues are turning into central political issues,” in announcing a series of steps to be taken by the United States to ease the plight of poorer countries of the world. He told the delegates at the 24-nation Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development that they must work together to restore sustained and stable economic growth. But, he added, this in an increasingly interdependent world, would not be enough to assure prosperity.
Less than a month after the fall of South Vietnam created doubts about American commitment to its allies, U.S. President Ford reassured the other members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization that “NATO is the cornerstone of U.S. foreign policy and has the unwavering support of the American public and of our Congress. Our commitment to this alliance will not falter.” Ford declared in Brussels the next day that none of the 310,000 American troops in Europe would be withdrawn and re-emphasized that the U.S. “unconditionally and unequivocally remains true” to its pledge to defend Western Europe against an outside attack.
More than four months after the ethnic Greek and Turkish communities started talking about the political future of Cyprus, the two sides seem locked in a cycle of increasing suspicion and intransigence. Accordingly, most Cypriote leaders and foreign diplomats share deep pessimism about prospects for a settlement. Premier Konstantine Karamanlis of Greece and Premier Suleyman Demirel of Turkey are scheduled to meet this week in Brussels, and some analysts here hope that the leaders of the two “motherlands” will help stimulate a reconciliation. A week of interviews on both sides of this divided capital make it clear that they face an enormous task. The two negotiators, Glafkos Clerides for the ethnic Greeks and Rauf Denktaş for the ethnic Turks, talked in Vienna two weeks ago, and failed to reach agreement on any substantive issues. About the only hopeful sign was that they agreed to meet again June 5. At this stage any conceivable solution would require considerable compromise and courage on both sides. But strong forces in each camp “believe that time is on their side,” as a Western diplomat noted, and neither has been willing or able to show much flexibility.
Citing that too much booze was being consumed on television, the government liquor monopoly took the Swedish Broadcasting Corp. to task by launching a $200,000 campaign against drinking. In full-page advertisements in various newspapers, Sweden’s “Systembolaget” said, “Think if we mortals would try to live like they do on television… in that case we would soon be plagued by problems.”
About 300 American Jewish leaders have endorsed economic retaliation against the Gulf Oil Corp. A conference in New York City of presidents of major Jewish groups adopted a resolution “approving and endorsing acts of conscience taken by individual members reacting to the Gulf Oil Corp. gift to Arab sources in Beirut, Lebanon, for propaganda purposes in the United States.” A spokeswoman said “acts of conscience” could consist of sending back Gulf credit cards and avoiding Gulf stations.
John A. Scali, retiring U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told an American Jewish audience that peace in the Middle East would require “tremendous sacrifices” from both Israel and the Arabs. Peace “will be costly for Israel, costly for the Arabs… each of the parties will be obliged to spend assets dearly bought in blood, sweat and tears,” he told the President’s Club of B’nai B’rith, the Jewish community service organization.
The Security Council today approved a six‐month extension of the United Nations force separating Syrian and Israeli troops in the Golan Heights. The vote was 13 to 0 with China and Iraq not participating — China because she objects to United Nations forces generally, and Iraq because the council has not compelled Israel to evacuate all occupied Arab lands. The Soviet delegate, Yakov A. Malik, criticized Secretary of State Kissinger’s approach of negotiating separate territorial withdrawals. “The partisans of such tactics in certain capitals are lauding it to the skies and calling it — but, obviously, it is a matter of misunderstanding — a ‘step‐by‐step approach to a settlemnent,’ although it should be called a tactic of proceeding step by step away from a settlement,” Mr. Malik said.
A powerful Muslim political leader was designated Premier today in a new effort to form a government that could end the bloodshed and anarchy in Lebanon. An announcement that President Suleiman Franjieh had chosen Rashid Karami to form a cabinet brought an immediate air of relief to this tense capital, where a week of heavy fighting between Christian and Muslim factions has left at least 80 dead and 200 wounded. The sound of gunfire and echoed through the city until early today, disappeared after Mr. Karami spoke over the state radio. “The President of the republic,” Mr. Karami said, “has designated me to form a government whose paramount mission will be to re‐establish law, order and tranquility and thereby restore self‐confidence in the population so we can begin a sane dialogue.” He was accompanied to the Presidential Palace to accept his appointment by Pierre Gemayel, the leader of the right-wing Phalangist party. The militiamen of the nationalist, largely Christian party have been battling Palestinian guerrillas and other Muslims in successive outbreaks since April 13.
United States intelligence officials said today that the Soviet Union had agreed to sell Libya more than $1‐billion in modern military equipment, but apparently did not obtain permanent naval or air bases. Since the recent visit by Premier Aleksei N. Kosygin to Libya there have been reports about the extent of the military arrangement between the two countries. The leading Egyptian newspaper, Al Ahram, said the sale was for $4‐billion and included base rights for the Russians. Presiaent Anwar el‐Sadat of Egypt, who has been feuding with both the Libyans and the Russians, said in an interview with The Los Angeles Times, printed today, that the sale was for 4 billion Libyan pounds ($12‐billion). An American official said all information reaching here was that the sale was probably limited to somewhat more than $1‐billion.
Cambodia has completed the nationalization of rubber plantations, the Phnom Penh radio said today. It said that plantations had been taken over as the Cambodian Communist forces advanced on the capital and that the process of nationalization was completed after Phnom Penh fell on April 17. Production of rubber continued despite the fighting and large quantities were exported while the war was going on, according to the radio report. The rubber plantations were primarily French‐owned.
The eight‐day occupation of the local headquarters of the American aid program by students and employes ended today nearly as quietly as it had begun. Three Americans, two of them Marine sergeants, who were trapped in the compound from the start of the anti‐American demonstrations were freed unharmed. The students and the employes claimed a major victory over the Americans who, in an agreement signed early this morning, agreed to most of their demands, including the end of Agency for International Development activities in Laos by June 30 and the transfer of its equipment to the Laotian Government.
South Korea signed an agreement with Canada on the terms for purchasing a $700 million Canadian Candu nuclear power plant. Officials of both countries said at a signing ceremony in Ottawa that they were confident a bilateral agreement could be worked out soon assuring that Canadian nuclear technology and supplies would not be used to make explosive devices. Canada insists on such a safeguard on sales of its Candu reactor.
Administration officials say that China has indicated strongly in recent weeks that she has cautioned North Korea against launching a military attack against South Korea. State Department officials said the policy of restraint was made known by public statements and comments by Chinese officials and through conversations with American officials. Although not directly stating that they had sought to persuade the North Koreans not to start a war, the Chinese were said to have underscored their support for “peaceful reunification” of Korea and for a continued American presence in Asia to counter the Russians.
President Ferdinand E. Marcos, apparently overriding a supreme court decision prohibiting Americans to own lands in the Philippines, issued a decree allowing certain U.S. citizens to retain their landholdings. Marcos, exercising powers under his martial law proclamation of September, 1972, said U.S. citizens who were formerly Philippine citizens or who have resided in the Philippines continuously for at least 20 years could retain ownership of lands not exceeding 625 acres for “family dwelling.”
Michael Slobodian, 16, of Brampton, Ontario, Canada, arrived at his school with two rifles, went to the washroom to load them and shot another student in the room, John Slinger, 17, to death. Leaving the washroom, Slobodian began to fire into the crowded hall at random, wounding 13 persons. His destination was the art room where he shot and killed art and English teacher Margaret Evelyn Wright, 25, mother of a 2-month-old child. He then turned the heavier of the two weapons on himself and committed suicide with a bullet through the head. Police said a note found in Slobodian’s home said he was fed up with life and planned to harm two teachers. Mrs. Wright was one of them.
Sporadic fighting between Eritrean guerrillas and Ethiopian government troops is continuing despite the acceptance by both sides of a Sudanese peace plan, diplomatic sources in Rome said. The plan, announced by Sudanese President Jaafar Numeiri, calls for an immediate cease-fire, amnesty for Eritrean separatists and unconditional peace talks.
Fifteen West African countries signed the Treaty of Lagos, creating the Economic Community of West African States.
President Ford’s imposition of an additional $1-a-barrel import fee on oil will mean only about $1 billion “taken back” by the government in the last seven months of this year of the $23 billion in tax cuts enacted by Congress to stimulate the economy, according to government economic officials. They say the impact on the price level this year will be small. The $1-a-barrel tariff in-crease will add 1.5 cents a gallon to the price of retail gasoline and the President’s proposal for decontrol of the price of domestically produced crude oil would add two cents more a gallon at the pump.
President Ford’s new oil import fee could mean increased costs of living to New York area residents, including about $10 a year for the average Consolidated Edison electricity consumer, $11.25 for the average motorist and $22.50 for the average one-family home heated by oil. The city would pay $1,875,000 more for 100 million gallons of fuel oil consumed in hospitals and public buildings and 25 million gallons of gasoline for nontransit vehicles.
Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz announced in Washington that the investigation of alleged corruption in the handling of grain shipments had spread to “every major grain port in the country” and said that evidence showed that organized crime was involved. Beside Gulf Coast ports, those being investigated include Baltimore, Norfolk, Portland, Oregon, and Seattle.
The United States Postal Service, which had been planning to meet a deficit by raising the price of first class mail to 13 cents, received a stunning surprise in Washington when Seymour Wenner, an administrative law judge, recommended that first class postage be reduced from 10 to 8 cents an ounce. Mr. Wenner’s recommendation must be approved by the Postal Rate Commission and is far from final, but the Postal Service now fears that, at best, its scheduled rate increase has been set back indefinitely.
President Ford vetoed a bill that would have authorized $98.1 million to encourage foreign tourists to visit the United States and Americans to see America first. The President said in a veto message that since states and localities maintained facilities to promote tourism by Americans, he found “no justification for the federal government taking on this role.” He also noted that the fund for foreign tourism — $90 million — was twice the amount he had asked.
Civil rights leader Hosea Williams had his driver’s license revoked for five years after a hearing in Decatur, Georgia, under the Habitual Offender Act. About 20 cases of previous traffic violations were presented against Williams by District Attorney Richard Bell. He said most of the violations were for speeding, including one for going 97 mph in a 60 mph zone. Some were for improper lane changes. Williams, a state representative and president of the Atlanta chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, contended that many of the violations were related to his civil rights activities.
Eight persons were arrested and $1 million in bogus $20 bills “of above average quality” were seized in Boston when authorities cracked a counterfeiting ring with East and West Coast connections. Secret Service officials said more arrests were expected in the Los Angeles area, where the tip on the ring originated. One of those arrested, Vincent Costa of Pembroke, Massachusetts, recently was paroled from prison for involvement in the famed multimillion dollar Brinks robbery, a Secret Service spokesman said. He said it was believed the gang printed the money last weekend in Boston and planned to spend it on the West Coast.
New York City Mayor Abraham D. Beame said he would submit a crisis budget to an unprecedented televised joint session of the Board of Estimate and City Council today. “It will be a balanced budget,” Beame said. But he refused to discuss it or to say how it would be balanced. Meanwhile, dismissal notices were sent to an additional 125 firemen, raising to 820 the number sent to city employees in the last two weeks. About 3,067 municipal workers are scheduled to be fired before June as part of Beame’s effort to reduce the $641.5 million gap in the budget.
A federal judge ruled in Miami that a church-related private school cannot legally deny admission to blacks solely because of their color. The ruling came in a suit brought by bus driver John Brown against Dade Christian School because it would not admit his two daughters in 1973. School attorneys said they would appeal. The school was established in 1962 by the New Testament Baptist Church, and its officials had argued that segregation was one of their fundamental beliefs and supported by the Bible. U.S. District Judge Joseph Eaton said such beliefs were not protected by the freedom of religion clause of the Constitution.
A drifter convicted of the brutal beating of a British tourist in a Miami bus station was sentenced to 150 years in prison. Glenn Battle, 22, of Detroit, was convicted last month in the 1973 beating of college student Helen Evans of Kegworth, Leicestershire. Miss Evans, now 22, had been on a bus tour of the United States. Attacked in the women’s restroom of the downtown bus station, Miss Evans was beaten and stomped before being robbed, police said. She was hospitalized for six weeks, spending part of the time in a coma. More than $10,000 was donated by Americans to help pay her medical expenses. Miss Evans testified early in the trial then left for Scotland for plastic surgery on her face.
Oil companies will bid today for the right to search for oil and natural gas on 1.4 million acres of Gulf of Mexico sea bottom. The federal government is offering 284 tracts in territory familiar to oil company exploration engineers. Many of the tracts have been studied by oil companies. The land lies off the coast of eastern Louisiana and in the Padre Island area off the Texas coast, from 10 to 60 miles offshore.
Salt is best. That was the conclusion of a draft environmental impact report on the least damaging method of de-icing California’s mountain roads. The California Department of Transportation, pursuant to an attorney general’s opinion, prepared the impact report and listed four alternatives to salting the roads. Critics claim spreading salt damages trees and other vegetation along state highways, particularly around Lake Tahoe. Compared to use of sand or cinders, limiting salt to curves and intersections or to areas where environmental damage is unlikely or use of other de-icing agents, fully salting the roads is “the most economical and effective method known,” said the draft report.
The U.S. Steel Corp., denied permission to operate five open hearth furnaces for another year at its Ensley mill, near Birmingham, Ala., announced it has decided to shut the mill down immediately. Earl Mallick, U.S. Steel vice president for environmental control, announced the shutdown shortly after permission to operate was denied by the Alabama Air Pollution Control Commission. The firm had said earlier the closing would cost the area 2,000 jobs and about $60 million in economic benefits. The Jefferson County Board of Health had given the company conditional approval to operate the mill for another year. But the federal Environmental Protection Agency said it would take legal action to shut down the furnaces if the state commission allowed the company to continue its open-hearth operations.
19th European Cup: Bayern Munich beats Leeds United 2-0 at Paris.
Steve Smith pole vaults an indoor world record 18 feet, 5 inches at Madison Square Garden.
An estimated two million joyous people poured into the downtown streets of Philadelphia for a rowdy, raucous rollicking celebration of the Philadelphia Flyers’ second consecutive National Hockey League championship — and when it was over, the town’s reputation for restrained quiescence had been dealt a crippling blow. With bands blaring, sirens wailing, horns blowing and fireworks exploding, the triumphant team and the gleaming Stanley Cup, silver symbol of the Flyers’ supremacy, rode through the tumultuous throng in a victory parade bordering on hysteria and nearly hidden by a cascade of confetti.
Major League Baseball:
The Reds stop the visiting Expos, 5–0, behind Gary Nolan’s 2–hitter. Nolan, who missed most of last season because of shoulder surgery, earned his first shutout since 1972 and gave up only a first‐inning single to Pepe Mangual and a double to Rich Coggins in the sixth. He walked two and struck out five and at one stretch retired 11 successive batters in recording his fourth triumph in seven decisions. It also was the 500th career victory for Manager Sparky Anderson. Joe Morgan’s homer in the fourth provided the only run Nolan needed.
The New York Mets defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers again, 4–3. They did it, moreover, by scoring a run in the eighth inning off the star of the Dodgers’ pitching staff, Andy Messersmith, who had just been conscripted into his first relief appearance in three years. During that time, Messersmith has started 84 games without encroaching on the bull pen — until last night in Shea Stadium when the Dodgers needed late help in a 3–3 game. Then he faced four Mets, gave up a single to Joe Torre and an intentional walk to Rusty Staub, and finally saw Ed Kranepool drive a long fly to right‐center field with the bases loaded.
The Pirates, who came with a rush to win the Eastern Division pennant a year ago, seem ready to make a move again. Last night in Three Rivers Stadium, they concluded a three‐game sweep of the Houston Astros, this one by a 3–0 score. Dave Parker slammed a two‐run homer in the second inning, and Ken Brett made Parker’s hit stand up as he posted his fourth triumph in six decisions.
The Cubs edged the Braves 5–4. Bill Bonham wasn’t around long enough to record the victory, but he drove in the winning run in the fourth to give the second of his relievers, Oscar Zamora, his third triumph of the season. Bonham’s second single of the game, only his third hit in 24 at bats, scored Manny Trillo with the Cubs’ fifth run. Trillo had opened with a triple. Bonham also opened a four‐run third with a scratch single as the Cubs sent Carl Morton to his fifth defeat in 10 decisions.
Luis Melendez delivered the winning hit, a two‐out, bases‐loaded single in the 10th to score Lou Brock and give the Cardinals a 6–5 decision over the visiting Padres. Brock opened the inning with a double and was hunted to third by Ted Sizemore. After the Padres walked two batters to sec up a possible double play, Danny Cater flied to right for the second out. Then Melendez upset all the strategy. Mike Garman, in relief, pitched the final inning and earned the triumph, his second in four decisions. Garman faced three batters and forced each to pop out.
The Phillies downed the Giants, 8–6. Jerry Martin, recalled from Toledo of the International League Tuesday to replace Garry Maddox, hit a two‐run homer in the fourth. Then Mike Schmidt doubled two runs home in the eighth when the Phillies scored four times to insure the triumph. Steve Carlton picked up his third victory in eight decisions with relief from Tug McGraw in the ninth, when the Giants rallied for three runs. The loser was Pete Falcone (4–4).
The Twins bested the Tigers, 5–2. Jim Hughes, aided by four Detroit errors, posted his sixth straight victory and Tony Oliva drove in the tiebreaking runs with a bases‐loaded single in the seventh. Hughes struck out seven in raising his record to 6‐1. Steve Braun hit his third homer of the season in the eighth to account for two more Minnesota runs
After giving up a run in the first inning on no hits, Rudy May of the Yankees settled down tonight and threw a six-hitter at the Kansas City Royals to win, 6–2, in a game that was interrupted 28 minutes by rain. Bobby Bonds hit two homers, both two run shots.
The Red Sox beat the Rangers 4–1 as Bill Lee ran his scoreless pitching string to 28 innings as he stopped the Rangers on four hits and gained his seventh victory against four defeats. The loss was the fifth in a row for Texas, while the victory was Boston’s eighth in its last 10 games.
The Brewers bowed to the White Sox by a score of 9–3. Carlos May and Ken Henderson collected five hits between them, scored five runs and drove in four others in the Chicago triumph. Stan Bahnsen yielded six hits and seven walks but managed to gain his third straight victory against four losses.
The A’s blanked the Orioles 5–0. Vida Blue became the first nine‐game winner of the baseball season as he pitched the A’s to a four‐hit shutout that extended the Orioles losing streak to seven games. Sal Bando and Billy Williams gave Blue all the runs he needed with sixth‐inning homers. Williams’s hit followed a walk to Joe Rudi.
Buddy Bell and John Lowenstein smacked two‐run homers off Nolan Ryan (8–3) as they routed the Angels, 9–2, completing a three‐game sweep of California for their suspended manager, Frank Robinson.
Cleveland Indians 9, California Angels 2
Atlanta Braves 4, Chicago Cubs 5
Montreal Expos 0, Cincinnati Reds 6
Minnesota Twins 5, Detroit Tigers 2
New York Yankees 6, Kansas City Royals 2
Chicago White Sox 9, Milwaukee Brewers 3
Los Angeles Dodgers 3, New York Mets 4
Baltimore Orioles 0, Oakland Athletics 5
San Francisco Giants 6, Philadelphia Phillies 8
Houston Astros 0, Pittsburgh Pirates 3
San Diego Padres 5, St. Louis Cardinals 6
Boston Red Sox 4, Texas Rangers 1
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 817.04 (-9.07, -1.10%)
Born:
Mike Fisher, Team USA soccer midfielder (Olympic gold medal, 1996), in Naperville, Illinois.
Died:
Roy Roberts, 69, American actor (“Petticoat Junction”, “Lucy Show”), from a heart attack.
History Diaries 