News stories from Tuesday May 18, 1971
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The railroad signalmen's strike continued for a second day. The Senate Labor Committee and the House Commerce Committee passed separate bills to end the strike, but Congress must agree on a compromise. House Commerce Committee chairman Harley Staggers said that he hopes to end the strike tonight. Signalmen union president C. J. Chamberlain said that he doesn't see how can there can be any optimism after 20 months of unsuccessful negotiations.
The Interstate Commerce Commission has ordered other carriers to give priority to perishable food shipments; some food processing plants and auto, steel and coal industry plants have already begun to shut down. The "big three" auto makers will shut down completely if the strike lasts a week.
Transportation Secretary John Volpe predicted that the strike will be over by tomorrow but added that priority lists have been established for the movement of goods if the strike doesn't end.
[CBS] - The United Steel Workers will open negotiations with the steel industry tomorrow, but will ignore President Nixon's plea to hold the line on wages. [CBS]
- The Senate will vote tomorrow on Senator Mansfield's amendment to reduce U.S. troop strength in Europe by 50%; the amendment is expected to be defeated. The Senate will also vote on the bill to revive the supersonic transport tomorrow; that bill is expected to be defeated too. [CBS]
- The House Internal Security Committee has begun hearings on the recent Washington, DC antiwar protests. Witnesses testified concerning $100,000 damage which was caused to the Washington Monument; it cost the police $3 million police to handle the demonstrations. D.C. police chief Jerry Wilson said that the demonstrations were designed to tie up the city in red tape through arrest procedures. [CBS]
- The National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Use continued its hearings. [CBS]
- A presidential advisory commission called air pollution the most immediate health hazard. [CBS]
- The House Public Works Committee began hearings on highway safety. A Federal Highway Administration spokesman said that his agency has no way of forcing states to iron out dangerous road stretches; Congress is considering giving the agency more power. [CBS]
- Catholic and Protestant film boards have withdrawn their support for the movie rating system; Motion Picture Association president Jack Valenti says that surveys show that the public approves the rating system. [CBS]
- North Vietnamese forces captured Pakse, Laos and forced the evacuation of 100 Americans; casualties in Laos were reportedly heavy. [CBS]
- The president of the Committee for Protection of Angkor Wat said that reports of damage to the shrine by Cambodian artillery are false. [CBS]
- Villagers in St. Alfio, Sicily, followed a priest to the edge of the lava flow from Mt. Etna to pray that the flow will spare their city. [CBS]
- Eight British soldiers were released by Red China 10 hours after inadvertently driving across the border from Hong Kong into China. [CBS]
- 74 Oriental youths in Israel were arrested after rioting in Jerusalem to protest alleged discrimination in housing and education. [CBS]
- Soviet Premier Kosygin met with Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau in Moscow. Kosygin reaffirmed his interest in lowering troop levels in Europe and supported Israel's right to national existence in any Mideast peace settlement. [CBS]
- Kidnappers said that the Israeli consul general to Turkey, Efraim Elrom, will be executed in 18 hours if jailed revolutionaries are not freed. [CBS]
- President Sadat continued to solidify his control of Egypt; the leaders of the plot to overthrow him have reportedly been jailed. [CBS]
- A leak from stolen FBI documents reveals the FBI's policy of encouraging local police to enlist Boy Scouts as informers. Scout headquarters says that the document refers only to a Rochester, New York, program with scouts reporting events such as fires and burglaries. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 918.56 (-2.74, -0.30%)
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* |
| May 17, 1971 | 921.30 | 100.69 | 15.98 |
| May 14, 1971 | 936.06 | 102.21 | 16.43 |
| May 13, 1971 | 936.34 | 102.69 | 17.64 |
| May 12, 1971 | 937.46 | 102.90 | 15.14 |
| May 11, 1971 | 937.25 | 102.62 | 17.73 |
| May 10, 1971 | 932.55 | 102.36 | 12.81 |
| May 7, 1971 | 936.97 | 102.87 | 16.49 |
| May 6, 1971 | 937.39 | 103.23 | 19.30 |
| May 5, 1971 | 939.92 | 103.78 | 17.27 |
| May 4, 1971 | 938.45 | 103.79 | 17.31 |