This Day In 1970's History: Thursday December 5, 1974
- Federal Judge John Sirica ruled that former President Richard Nixon need not testify in any way -- either on the witness stand or through deposition -- at the Watergate cover-up trial. He gave two main reasons: Mr. Nixon's poor health and the kind of testimony that Mr. Nixon could be expected to give and whose value to the defendants, Judge Sirica said in a six-page opinion, "should not be unrealistically overestimated." He noted that Mr. Nixon "has been accused, in effect, of being an accomplice of the defendants." [New York Times]
- Arthur Burns, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, disagreeing with the Treasury Secretary, William Simon, told Congress that it was a mistake to permit Americans to own gold starting Dec, 31. He urged that Congress pass a pending bill to delay the date by six months, but he conceded that chances of that were slight. The diversion of funds from other investments to gold could amount "to an uncomfortably large sum," he said. [New York Times]
- A number of the nation's leading industrialists and businessmen interviewed prior to the annual meeting of the National Association of Manufacturers said they feared wage and price controls would be imposed by the Ford administration by the middle of next year. They said inflation and political pressures made controls increasingly likely, but made clear their opposition. [New York Times]
- Officers of the United Mine Workers signed a new three-year labor contract with the coal industry, officially ending a 24-day miners' strike at midnight tonight. Arnold Miller, the union's president, said that 56 percent of the 79,495 members who had exercised their new right to accept or reject their leaders' contract proposal had voted for it. [New York Times]
- United Airlines, in an attempt to stop one of the sharpest declines in domestic air travel since World War II, sought government approval to introduce a new cut-rate excursion plan on Feb. 1 that would reduce coach-class rates on most routes by 20 to 25 percent. Trans World Airlines announced that it would propose a similar plan March 15. [New York Times]
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