News stories from Monday August 28, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Nixon is making a bid for the 11 million young voters who will cast their first ballots in November -- today he announced an end to the military draft. At San Clemente, California, the President called for an all-volunteer Army by July, 1973. Defense Secretary Melvin Laird and presidential adviser Henry Kissinger were on hand for the announcement, as were six young members of the California draft advisory board. Laird hopes that the extension of enlistment bonuses to Reserves and National Guard units will help recruiting, and he declared that President Nixon's winding down of the draft has helped calm college unrest. The President is expected announce more U.S. troop withdrawals from Vietnam within the next 48 hours. [CBS]
- George McGovern discussed contributions to his presidential campaign and asked questions about Republican finances. Nixon campaign finance chairman Maurice Stans answered McGovern's questions.
McGovern received $1.8 million in campaign contributions from a direct mail campaign, $4 million counting big gifts and loans. McGovern contrasted his open financial records with the $10 million in "secret" funds of the Republican party, and said that he welcomes an investigation of Democrat funds. McGovern demanded an explanation by Stans as to why $25,000 which was found in the bank account of a man caught breaking into Democratic national headquarters was not reported.
In Washington, Stans gave a deposition before Democrat party attorney Edward Bennett Williams in the $1 million Democrat headquarters bugging lawsuit. Stans said that the Committee to Re-Elect the President runs its finances with a computer, and he stated that no inaccuracy in its reports will be found by the GAO; Stans again called on the General Accounting Office to investigate Democrats. The Justice Department has received the report on the Watergate bugging incident, and criticized the GAO for making public the details of its probe.
[CBS] - William Camp, U.S. Comptroller of the Currency, defended awarding a national bank charter to a five-man group which includes the names of two men linked to the Watergate bugging case: Dwayne Andreas (who made a $25,000 contribution) and Kenneth Dahlberg (the Republican fundraiser who received it). [CBS]
- The AFL-CIO executive council met and agreed to stay neutral in the 1972 presidential campaign. [CBS]
- Typhoon Cora is bearing down on North Vietnam and could result in serious flooding to the Red River delta, and additional stress to dikes. Hanoi still claims that the U.S. is bombing dikes; the Pentagon denies it. U.S. jets bombed military targets in the Haiphong-Hanoi area today. [CBS]
- A Chinese minesweeper slipped past the American mine blockade and into Haiphong Harbor. The sweeper probably used a shallow intracoastal waterway to enter the harbor. Deep water channels, used by the big freighters, are still closed. [CBS]
- North Vietnamese forces have retaken part of Que Son after a heavy artillery barrage.
President Nixon will confer with American Ambassador Ellsworth Bunker in Hawaii before meeting with Premier Tanaka of Japan.
[CBS] - President Nixon's goal of reducing the number of American troops in Vietnam to 39,000 by September 1 has already been reached. Further withdrawals will be announced soon. [CBS]
- Crime did not increase as much last year as it has for past the seven years. However, the Justice Department reports that serious crimes are up more than in the previous year. [CBS]
- Edith Irving ended a three-month prison sentence for her role in the Howard Hughes autobiography hoax as Clifford Irving now begins his 2½-year sentence at Lewisburg, Pa.; he is eligible for parole after 10 months. Irving's debts total $1½ million. His wife Edith may be extradited to Switzerland to face further charges. Irving said that he fears what will happen to his children and to his wife in Switzerland, but he hopes to do some writing while in prison. [CBS]
- The Apollo 17 spacecraft is now mounted on the launch pad at Cape Kennedy for the final mission of the Apollo program. Astronauts Eugene Cernan, Ronald Evans and Harrison Schmitt were on hand for the rolling out of the spacecraft. [CBS]
- Prince William of Gloucester, a cousin of Queen Elizabeth, died in a plane crash while flying in an air race in England. [CBS]
- A United Nations committee on decolonization agreed that Puerto Rico should be granted its independence. The move was backed by Cuba, China and Russia, but it is not binding. American Ambassador George Bush protested Cuba's interference. [CBS]
- The Commerce Department reported that business indicators were up 0.7% in July. [CBS]
- General Motors may have a new rotary engine on the market in two years, to be available as an option on the Vega model; the new engine may ease pollution. Ford is exploring its possible use but Chrysler denounced it. [CBS]
- The U.S. won three gold medals in swimming and diving at the Olympics in Munich. Mark Spitz has a chance at seven gold medals, having won two so far in the butterfly and the relay. Micki King won the women's springboard diving title. [CBS]
- Channelization, the process of altering a stream's natural course to increase farm productivity, is being criticized by environmentalists. Machines widen, deepen and straighten stream beds. stripping away vegetation in order to move water. The U.S. Soil and Conservation Service plans 66 miles of work on the Chicod stream in North Carolina. Thomas Barlowe of the Natural Resources Defense Council calls the process "murder", and feels that pesticides and fertilizers will contaminate the stream. An attorney for local farmers calls the project an efficient use of the land; farms in the area do not produce as much as they could due to faulty drainage.
The Interior Department opposes the technique used by the Soil and Conservation Service. Southern congressmen control the House Agricultural Committee, so opponents of channelization are turning to the courts, Congress as a whole, and the media.
[CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 956.95 (-2.41, -0.25%)
Arms Index is the ratio of volume per declining issue to volume per advancing issue; a figure below 1.0 is bullish. | |||||||||||||||
| Market Index Trends | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Date | DJIA | S&P | Volume* |
| August 25, 1972 | 959.36 | 110.67 | 13.84 |
| August 24, 1972 | 958.38 | 111.02 | 18.28 |
| August 23, 1972 | 970.35 | 112.26 | 18.67 |
| August 22, 1972 | 973.51 | 112.41 | 18.56 |
| August 21, 1972 | 967.19 | 111.72 | 14.29 |
| August 18, 1972 | 965.83 | 111.76 | 16.15 |
| August 17, 1972 | 961.39 | 111.34 | 14.36 |
| August 16, 1972 | 964.25 | 111.66 | 14.95 |
| August 15, 1972 | 969.97 | 112.06 | 16.67 |
| August 14, 1972 | 973.51 | 112.55 | 18.87 |