An antidote has been supposedly found for the poison that contaminated large areas around Seveso, Italy, after a chemical plant explosion, according to the Swiss company that owns the plant. It said Italian authorities have agreed to test the antidote and first attempts at decontamination will begin within 10 days. Since the explosion on July 10 more than 700 people have evacuated from homes in the area.
Exactly four weeks after what was called the “bank robbery of the century” in Nice, thieves using the same method tunneled into a bank in the heart of Paris and escaped with cash and jewelry from 191 safe-deposit boxes, the police said today. No official report was given on the amount stolen from the Societe Generale branch on the Ile‐St.‐Louis by the robbers, who dug a tunnel into the vault from the Paris sewer system during the weekend. But there were estimates that the theft could exceed $5 million. The loss in the burglary of the same bank’s branch in Nice last month was estimated at $8 million to $10 million. In estimating the amount stolen in Nice, the police assumed that each safe-deposit box held valuables worth an average of 525,000. A similar calculation would give the Ile‐St.‐Louis thieves close to $5 million.
Frederick Peart, the Minister of Agricul ture, after a two day tour of English farms affected by drought, said here tonight: “I can’t remember ever seeing anything like this. The situation is very grave.” Mr. Peart visited areas in the southwest of England today after having walked the dusty fields of Suffolk in the east yesterday. Normally at this time the pasture is lush. But today the Agriculture Minister was told by Frank Walters, who farms 430 acres near Exeter: “The land is producing no grass. The situation is serious. One of my neighbors will have used all his winter feed stocks by December 1, almost before winter has started.” The minister heard similtu reports in other districts.
Israel’s diplomatic and commercial ties to South Africa have increased dramatically in recent months in a strengthened relationship between the two countries that reportedly includes the sale of Israelimanufactured military equipment. While there is little hesitance on the part of Israeli officials to discuss the growing cominercial trade between the two nations, these officials are reluctant to discuss the military transactions. Nevertheless, information has been seeping out in various quarters, including the foreign press and the Israeli radio. These disclosures include the following:
• An Israeli radio report that Israel is building at its Haifa shipyard two longrange gunboats armed with seatosea missiles for the South. African navy. Other accounts place the number of boats at six. The 420‐ton boats cost about $6 million without armaments. With missiles the cost is estimated at $18 million a boat. ¶Reports that about 50 South African naval personnel, on temporary civilian status, are training in the Tel Aviv area to man the missile boats, with the expectation that the first of the vessels will be ready in January.
• Unconfirmed reports that the sales agreement with South Africa includes delivery of up to two dozen Israelibuilt Kfir jet planes.
• Reports that in exchange for South African raw materials, including an estimated one million tons of coal a year to buoy the Israeli steel industry, the Israelis would provide South Africa with advanced military electronic equipment.
The Palestinian guerrilla movement is fighting for survival after 16 months of Involvement in the civil war in Lebanon and two and a half months of confrontation with Syria. The fall of the refugee camp at Tell Zaatar has reinforced the Palestinians’ view that their destruction is the major objective of the fighting. Right-wing Christians agree, seeing the conflict as not so much between rightist and leftist Lebanese as between the Lebanese and Palestinians. The major threat to the Palestinians is Syria, once their major supporter and supplier.
Before June, when Syria started pouring 20,000 men and 450 tanks into Lebanon, the Palestinians and their Lebanese, leftist and Muslim allies held the military initiative in the civil war here. Now the situation has been reversed. The fall of Tell Zaatar climaxed a series of right wing military successes, and rightists are threatening an offensive against Palestinian and Muslim leftist positions in the mountains east of the capital. In the east. Syrian troops are in complete control of the Bekaa plains, and their forces have advanced to Sofar, 13 miles east of here on the main Beirut Damascus highway. In the north, Palestinian camps at the northern approaches to the Muslim port of Tripoli are besieged by Syrian troops, while Tripoli itself is threatened by rightist forces on the east and south. The Palestinians in southern Lebanon are squeezed between the Syrians and the Israelis. With Syrian troops in the Christian town of Jezzin in the hills overlooking the southern coast. Israeli patrol boats have been intercepting ships carrying supplies to the Muslim ports of Tyre and Saida.
Meeting at the Conference of Non-Aligned Nations (commonly called “The Third World Conference” by the western press), held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Vietnam’s Communist Prime Minister Pham Van Dong told fellow Third World leaders that Vietnam wanted to develop normal diplomatic relations with the U.S., with whom it had fought the Vietnam War, and to develop economic ties with the U.S. and other capitalist nations.
Thousands of Thai students staged a rally in Bankok demanding a murder trial for former Dep. Prime Minister Prapass Charusathira, who was reported to have slipped back into the country from exile in Taiwan. Earlier reports said Prapass had been detained by police, but Prime Minister Seni Pramoj denied it. The National Student Center of Thailand and other groups have demanded that Prapass stand trial for involvement in the deaths of 72 civilians during student-led uprisings of October, 1973.
The former U.S. Embassy building and grounds in Saigon have been declared an historical site, according to a Vietnam News Agency report. The agency said the large, modern structure in the heart of the city was a “vestige of the aggression and criminal intervention of the United States.” A similar classification was placed on the former presidential palace in Saigon because it was “witness to the victory of the Vietnamese people.”
Earthquakes struck China and an area off the Philippines last night and early today, according to seismological reports. The quakes were believed severe enough to cause extensive damage and casualties. The quake in China was centered in Szechuan Province, about 800 miles southwest of the area devastated by an earthquake three weeks ago. The one off the Philippines was in the Gulf of Moro near Mindanao.
Kakuei Tanaka, the former Japanese Prime Minister who is accused of acepting a $1.6 million bribe from the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation, was released on bail this afternoon. A curious nation watched on television as the main gate of Kosuge Prison in a southern district of Tokyo slowly swung open at 4:30 PM to permit Mr. Tahaka’s shiny black limousine to ease its way out through waiting crowds of spectators. Some of them could be seen dabbing at tears at the sight of the disgraced politician, former farm boy who rose to the summit of Japan’s political leadership 49 months ago, promising an era of new social directions for this nation. Today Mr. Tanaka, the first Japanese to be indicted for crime committed while serving as Prime Minister, stared solemnly straight ahead in the crowded back seat of his car as it left the prison in the latest development of what many here now call “Japan’s Watergate.”
A tsunami killed more than 5,000 people in the Philippines on the islands of Mindanao and Sulu shortly after an earthquake that struck offshore at 11 minutes after midnight local time (16:11 UTC on August 16). Waves as high as 29 feet (8.8 m) were reported to have swept over Lebak on Mindanao. According to the Philippines’ National Disaster Coordinating Center the next day, 3,131 people were confirmed dead and 3,117 were missing. President Ferdinand Marcos declared a national emergency on Mindanao and in the Sulu Archipelago.
Perhaps 1,000 persons were killed in Rhodesia’s raid on a Mozambique refugee camp last week, the official Mozambique news agency said. “At least 670 were slaughtered in the attack,” the agency said, but “medical” staff on the scene believe the total death toll is at least 800 and may well reach 1,000.” Rhodesia said its troops killed more than 300 persons, whom they described as black nationalist guerrillas using the camp as a point from which raids were launched across the border into Rhodesia.
Stone-throwing black students smashed the windows of a bus near Pretoria, South Africa, protesting the detention of their headmaster by security police, school officials said. Police used tear gas and clubs to break up marches by black and mulatto students in other townships in spreading antigovernment demonstrations. An estimated 60 black leaders were arrested by security police throughout South Africa last week.
The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches in Geneva adopted a resolution accusing South Africa of “perpetuating and consolidating apartheid by the creation of the so-called independent Transkei (black homeland), by which 3 million South Africans will be made foreigners in their own country.” The committee also condemned “the continued oppression” of the people of South-West Africa, or Namibia.
Two top U.S. diplomats will be sent to southern Africa next week to confer with moderate leaders, the State Department announced. The trip by Undersecretary William D. Rogers and Assistant Secretary William E. Schaufele was seen as part of a U.S. effort to promote a negotiated settlement in Rhodesia. The men’s itinerary will include Tanzania, Zambia, Zaire, and possibly Kenya and Botswana. Secretary of State Henry A. Kissinger has since April been attempting to promote a peaceful transition of power in Rhodesia from the country’s 70,000 whites to its 6.1 million blacks.
President Ford won a key test vote over Ronald Reagan at the Republican National Convention as the President’s delegate majority continued to mount and the first signs of defeatism appeared in the Reagan camp. Tonight’s victory for Mr. Ford came as his supporters turned back a move by the Reagan forces that would have required Mr. Ford to name his running mate before the presidential nomination tomorrow night. Ford supporters had denounced the proposed rules change as a “desperate act of political opportunism.”
President Ford’s procedural victory came as his backers defeated the proposed rules change by a vote of 1,180 to 1,069 with 10 delegates abstaining. Reagan supporters had billed the proposal as a reform, but Ford backers said it was a tactical move by the Reagan camp to give the former California Governor a personal advantage in the last-minute race for delegates.
Sources close to President Ford said he seemed most likely to choose Senator Howard Baker of Tennessee or William Ruckelshaus, who resigned as Deputy Attorney General from the Nixon administration, as his vice-presidential running mate, Mr. Ford, if nominated today, it was said, would confer with Mr. Reagan to ask if he would consent to be considered for the slate. Because of strong doubt in the Ford camp that Mr. Reagan would accept, the other two names are close to the center of the stage. He has stood against second place and full financial disclosure.
Nancy Reagan used to be an actress. Betty Ford used to be a dancer. Footwork paid off tonight and Mrs. Ford won the second round in the applause battle with Mrs. Reagan. Last night, the President’s wife was applauded long and noisily, but not so long and noisily as was Ronald Reagan’s wife. Tonight it was different. Late this afternoon, Ford campaign officials asked many VIP’s, including at least one United States Senator, to relinquish the gallery tickets they had been promised. So when Mrs. Ford, wearing a bright yellow dress and a flashing grin, stepped into the guest section at the south of Kemper Arena at about 8 PM, the balconies at this Republican convention were filled with Ford supporters who erupted with cheers and banners. Mrs. Ford shook her right arm in a winner’s gesture. Her daughter, Susan, wearing a button that read “I want Betty’s husband for President” pinned to her white Tshirt, laughed happily. It took about five minutes for the hall to settle down. An hour later, it was Mrs. Reagan’s turn. She wore a red flowered dress and a wide grin. Her applause, too, was enthusiastic, but did not match Mrs. Ford’s.
Jimmy Carter said today that he had watched “segments” of last night’s Republican National Convention proceedings and added with a grin: “They talked about me more than the Democrats did.” Mr. Carter said that he had seen and listened to some of Senator Howard H. Baker Jr.’s speech but had not watched Senator Robert Dole. He said that he would prefer to defer commenting on the convention until it was over rather than responding to “a whole series of individual attacks.” He added, “I can’t say I was very surprised” by the Republican attacks on him. Later today, Mr. Carter met for about four hours with a group of persons concerned with energy — from consumer advocates to the vice president of an oil company — to discuss energy policy. He gave the press a brief distillation of the afternoon’s discussion before going back inside the “pond house” for yet another meeting, this time with his regional and state campaign coordinators.
Pennsylvania Health Department officials reported the 26th death from “Legionnaire’s Disease” and said a third person who attended the International Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia 11 days ago had shown symptoms of the illness. Dr. Denis Lucey, state health official, said the latest fatality was Harold Stump, 53, manager of the Legion Post at Milton, Pa., who attended the American Legion convention in Philadelphia July 21-24. Eighteen persons were still hospitalized, Lucey said, and two were in critical condition. He said federal investigators looking for the cause of the disease were concentrating on the Bellevue-Stratford Hotel and its environs.
Mark Felt, a former associate director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who retired in 1973, said he had authorized in 1972 the commission of two burglaries by agents engaged in domestic intelligence investigations. It was the first acknowledgement by a senior F.B.I. executive of responsibility for any of the burglaries currently the subject of a criminal inquiry by the Department of Justice. Mr. Felt first said he acted after an assurance of approval by the then acting F.B.I. Director, L. Patrick Gray, but after Mr. Gray’s lawyer denied approving any illegal act he said his recollection was “hazy.”
Gangs of black youths in Detroit who have been terrorizing black and white shopkeepers and pedestrians on the city’s East Side in recent weeks, have taken their violence to downtown areas with hit-and-run attacks on buses and stores. Sunday night, several hundred gang members invaded a rock concert in Cobo Hall. At stake is the effort led by Detroit’s first black mayor, Coleman Young, at revival. “When I grew up,” said a small, muscular 21‐year‐old loitering around a store on Detroit’s East Side, “we had it out with our hands. Maybe we’d steal a car and go for a ride. Now, they steal a car and go rip somebody off or shoot somebody.”
“I’m afraid to walk down the street at night,” he said, spreading his hands in a gesture of disbelief. “You look at every car that passes, and you don’t know If somebody will stick out a gun and shoot you. I’ve never seen it like this.” Indeed, no one in Detroit had seen it like this. In recent weeks, gangs of black youths have roamed the city’s East Side, terrorizing shopkeepers, pedestrians and motorists, both black and white. The aged are favorite targets. Now, the violence has spread downtown, with hit-and-run attacks on buses and stores and, Sunday night, the invasion of a rock concert in Cobo Hall by several hundred gang members. By midnight, when the violence ended, one woman had been raped, another had been molested and dozens of persons had been robbed, according to the police, who Beyond the violence of gang activities and the large number of participants — the police estimate that there are nine gangs with a total of 300 to 400 members — officials are alarmed by what they see as a new level of sophistication in Detroit’s gangs.
The first sale of oil leases off the Atlantic shore was delayed for eight hours until Associate Justice Thurgood Marshall of the United States Supreme Court had turned down a move to block the proceeding. More than 60 oil companies then bid a total of $3.5 billion for 101 tracts 50 to 90 miles off the New Jersey and Delaware coasts.
The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld U.S. District Judge W. Arthur Garrity Jr.’s order last December placing South Boston High School in federal receivership, saying local officials had failed to implement court-ordered racial integration “in a meaningful manner.” Garrity, who ordered the city’s schools desegregated through massive busing in 1974, placed South Boston High in receivership after more than a year of sporadic violence involving both students and parents.
A mistrial was declared in the trial in Minneapolis of the federal government’s suit against five drug manufacturers seeking $203 million in damages for alleged price-fixing. U.S. District Judge Miles Lord cited prejudicial publicity in his ruling. He did not specifically criticize reporting of the case but he said, “More than 50 stories about the trial, settlements, and appeals in a year and a half is certainly sufficient to cause doubts about the objectivity in the mind of any juror.” The firms accused were American Cyanamid Co., Bristol Meyers Co., Charles Pfizer & Co., Inc., Squibb, Inc., and Upjohn, Inc.
The U.S. Court of Military Appeals has taken under study a request that it halt disciplinary action against 180 cadets charged in a West Point cheating scandal. The three-member civilian court gave no indication of how long it would take them to reach a decision. Boards at West Point have sustained charges against 77 cadets and have cleared 36. Twelve cadets have resigned before their cases were reviewed and 19 cases were dismissed before reaching the boards.
The U.S. Civil Service Commission is conducting a “limited inquiry” in connection with charges that Governor Meldrim Thomson Jr. of New Hampshire used federally paid employees for political tasks. Ralph Eddy, CSC trial lawyer, said investigators now were in the state to determine whether the allegations involved violations of the Hatch Act, which governs partisan activities of government employees. Peter Weeks, a Portsmouth city councilman and former member of the governor’s energy council, alleged he quit his job when Thomson asked him to help organize a probable third-term bid.
American seamen supported by their shipping companies picketed in a dozen U.S. cities, saying the Soviet Union violated a bilateral shipping agreement. The State Department joined in with a diplomatic note to Moscow. The note, delivered August 5, protested “the noncompliance with a maritime agreement which says U.S.-flag vessels shall be used to carry at least one third of all bilateral trade cargoes.” One picket leaflet read. “American flag ships have been virtually eliminated from participating in the carriage of approximately 360,000 tons of American grain shipped to the Soviet Union in the month of August.”
Joseph Monserrat, former New York City Board of Education president who already is facing trial for misusing his authority, was named in an indictment alleging conflict of interest. Brooklyn District Attorney Eugene Gold said a grand jury handed up the two-count indictment alleging that Monserrat, while serving as board president, “knowingly and intentionally acted as an agent for the Santilla Publishing Co.” of Manhattan, which publishes bilingual textbooks. It alleged specifically that Monserrat’s public relations firm received $7,250 from the publishing firm.
Major League Baseball:
After the Chicago White Sox gained a 2–1 victory in the first game of a twi-night doubleheader, the second game turned into a scoring spree with the Boston Red Sox winning, 11–7. In the opener, the White Sox registered the deciding run in the ninth when Pat Kelly doubled and Bill Stein singled. Bob Montgomery led the Red Sox in the nightcap, driving in five runs, three with a homer in the second inning and two with a bases-loaded double in the fifth. Montgomery also scored himself on a single by Rick Burleson, who finished the twin-bill with seven hits in 10 times at bat.
Jerry Royster hit a game-tying homer in the sixth inning and then scored the winning run in the eighth on a pinch-single by Tom Paciorek to give the Atlanta Braves a 3–2 victory over the Reds, who suffered their fourth straight defeat in their longest losing streak of the season. Royster walked in the eighth and stole second to set the stage for Paciorek’s decisive single.
Bruce Kimm, Mark Fidrych’s favorite receiver, hit his first major league homer to enable the Detroit Tigers’ sensational rookie to defeat the Angels, 3–2. Fidrych (14–4) gave up five hits, including a homer by Ron Jackson in the fifth inning. The Angels picked up their other run on a single by Dave Collins, a sacrifice, wild pitch and sacrifice fly by Bruce Bochte in the sixth. The Tigers were limited to four hits by Frank Tanana but came back with the tying pair in their half of the sixth on a walk to Kimm, triple by Ron LeFlore and sacrifice fly by Alex Johnson. Kimm then hit his homer in the eighth for the Tigers’ winning run.
Five-hit pitching by J.R. Richard (14–12) enabled the Houston Astros to end their five-game losing streak with an 8–1 victory over the Cubs. Roger Metzger batted in two runs with a single in the fourth inning, Enos Cabell accounted for two with a triple in the sixth and Bob Watson drove in two with a double in the eighth. Rick Monday homered in the ninth for the Cubs.
With two outs, George Brett steals home in the 10th to give the Royals a dramatic 4–3 win over the Indians. Brett singled with one away, stole second as John Mayberry struck out and continued to third on a wild throw by catcher Rick Cerone. When Dave LaRoche went into a full windup, pitching to Dave Nelson with a 1–1 count, Brett caught the Indians’ reliever by surprise and took off for the plate to become the Royals’ sixth runner to steal home this season. This was another three-hit game for Brett.
Rick Rhoden helped himself to his 11th victory against one defeat by hitting a double in the fourth inning when the Dodgers scored all their runs to edge the Mets, 4–3. The Mets counted their markers in the first on a walk to Bruce Boisclair, single by Felix Millan and homer by John Milner. Steve Garvey beat out a bunt to start the Dodgers’ rally in the fourth, Ron Cey walked and Bill Russell and Lee Lacy hit singles to produce the Dodgers’ first two runs. After a sacrifice fly by Ellie Rodriguez added the third tally, Rhoden hit his double to drive in what proved to be the winning run.
Bert Campaneris and Cesar Tovar drove in two runs apiece to lead the Athletics to a 5–4 victory over the Brewers. Tovar accounted for his two RBIs with a single in the fourth inning. Campaneris hit a sacrifice fly in the fifth. The Brewers knocked out Mike Norris in their half of the fifth and took the lead with four runs, including a homer by Sixto Lezcano. In the seventh, Phil Garner walked, stole second and scored the tying run on a single by Bill North. Taking second on the throw to the plate, North then came home with the A’s winning run on a single by Campaneris.
Hitting a homer, triple and single, Lee May knocked in half of the Orioles’ runs in a 10–3 victory over the Twins. May homered with two men on base in the first inning, delivered a run with a triple in the sixth and accounted for his fifth RBI with a single in the ninth.
Two Yankees homers pinned a 2–1 defeat on Tommy Boggs, Rangers’ rookie righthander, who turned in the first complete game of his major league career while dropping his third straight decision. Oscar Gamble connected off the youngster in the fifth inning for the Yankees’ first hit. After the Rangers tied the score in the ninth on a walk to Toby Harrah, single by Mike Hargrove and forceout by Jeff Burroughs, Graig Nettles swung at Boggs’ first pitch in the Yankees’ half of the ninth and homered for the winning run.
Jay Johnstone and Greg Luzinski knocked in nine runs between them to pace the Phillies’ 17-hit attack in an 11–3 victory over the Expos. Johnstone and Dave Cash rapped four hits apiece. Johnstone, who accounted for five RBIs, drove in three runs with a double in the third inning and two with a single in the sixth. Luzinski singled for a run in the third, homered with a man on base in the fifth and produced his fourth RBI of the game with a single in the sixth.
The Giants rallied for two runs in the eighth inning on a pinch-double by Steve Ontiveros, a throwing error and homer by Gary Thomasson to overtake the Pirates, 7–6. Richie Zisk homered to account for two of the Pirates’ three runs in the first. The Giants went on to take a 5–4 lead before the Pirates moved ahead with two runs in the top half of the eighth on a pair of singles, a double play and homer by Richie Hebner. In the Giants’ half, Ontiveros rapped his double, batting for Gary Lavelle, and scored when Frank Taveras threw wildly on the relay from the outfield. Thomasson followed with his winning homer.
Although batting only .207, Hector Cruz raised his season’s RBI total to 53, high among National League rookies, by driving in four of the Cardinals’ runs in a 9–4 victory over the Padres. Keith Hernandez batted in their first two tallies with a single in the first inning. Cruz picked up an RBI with a grounder in the third and then doubled with the bases loaded to plate three runs in the fourth.
Boston Red Sox 1, Chicago White Sox 2
Boston Red Sox 11, Chicago White Sox 7
Atlanta Braves 3, Cincinnati Reds 2
California Angels 2, Detroit Tigers 3
Chicago Cubs 1, Houston Astros 8
Cleveland Indians 3, Kansas City Royals 4
New York Mets 3, Los Angeles Dodgers 4
Oakland Athletics 5, Milwaukee Brewers 4
Baltimore Orioles 10, Minnesota Twins 3
Texas Rangers 1, New York Yankees 2
Montreal Expos 3, Philadelphia Phillies 11
Pittsburgh Pirates 6, San Francisco Giants 7
San Diego Padres 4, St. Louis Cardinals 9
Wall Street’s growing belief that Gerald Ford will win the Republican Presidential nomination helped the stock market register its third consecutive advance yesterday in accelerated trading. The Dow Jones industrial average closed at its high for the day, 999.34, up 6.57 points.
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 999.34 (+6.57, +0.66%)
Born:
Eric Boulton, Canadian NHL left wing (Buffalo Sabres, Atlanta Thrashers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders), in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
Matt Anderson, MLB pitcher (Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies), in Louisville, Kentucky.
Mike Cervenak, MLB pinch hitter and third baseman (Philadelphia Phillies), in Trenton, Michigan.
Yohanny Valera, Dominican MLB catcher (Montreal Expos), in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
Murvyn Vye [Marvin], 63, American actor (“Road to Bali”,; “The Bob Cummings Show”), of natural causes.
William Redfield, 49, American actor (“Jimmy Hughes Rookie Cop”, “Marriage”), of leukemia.
Died:
William Redfield, 49, U.S. stage and film actor, from leukemia.
Maurice Dobb, 76, British Marxist economist.
History Diaries 