News stories from Wednesday March 15, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- George Wallace got 42% of the vote in Florida's Democratic presidential primary yesterday, more than the combined total of his three closest rivals (Humphrey, Jackson, Muskie). Wallace, with 75 convention delegates now, is a serious contender for the Democratic nomination. Lindsay, McGovern, and Chisholm finished 5th, 6th, and 7th in the race, and others who didn't campaign received a small percentage. Humphrey got six delegates.
President Nixon received 87% in the Republican race, with Ashbrook and McCloskey doing poorly. The straw vote for a constitutional amendment banning forced busing won big, but so did Florida Governor Reubin Askew's commitment to "quality education" for all. Floridians also voted in favor of allowing prayer in public schools.
Senator Muskie vowed that he will fight Wallace's brand of politics; Wallace says he is sorry that the other Democratic contenders are reacting so poorly to their defeat. Senator Humphrey claims that the Florida tally shows him to be a viable candidate, and Senator Jackson believes the Florida primary shows that he is no longer an unknown and he is pleased at having beaten Muskie. A New York Times survey shows that Jackson's vote came from people who are concerned about the economy.
[CBS] - The Senate killed a bill which would have allowed voters to register via postcard for federal elections. Absent Democrats could have reversed that outcome. [CBS]
- King Hussein of Jordan announced his plan for peace in the Mideast. The King proposed the creation of a new Palestinian country, the "United Arab Kingdom", including the West bank of the Jordan River and the Gaza Strip, both of which are currently occupied by Israel.
Israel said that Arab solidarity is threatened by the King's plan, and offered to join with Egypt and Syria in a stronger alliance. Palestinian groups denounced the plan, and Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir stated that the proposal puts obstacles in the path of Mideast peace.
The Israelis are in an awkward position: they like parts of Hussein's plan, but to sustain it they must denounce it. Any Israeli endorsement could kill the plan. The United States government is in a similar position and therefore declined any official comment even though it supports the plan. The U.S. feels that the plan has made Hussein the leader of Arab moderates, over Egypt's Anwar Sadat.
[CBS] - In Belfast, Northern Ireland, two British army demolition men disarmed two bombs and were working on a third, which exploded and killed them. A young policeman was ambushed and killed earlier. [CBS]
- Nearly 6,000 more American troops have been withdrawn from South Vietnam. [CBS]
- The Senate Judiciary Committee's probe for a link between the Justice Department's settlement of the ITT antitrust case and a big political contribution continued. Former Attorney General John Mitchell and ITT president Harold Geneen testified today. Committee chairman James Eastland is trying to speed up the hearings; a six-man subcommittee chaired by Senator Philip Hart will take testimony Monday from ITT lobbyist Dita Beard in a Denver hospital.
Mitchell denied any wrongdoing in meeting with Geneen, and told Senator John Tunney that he did not talk with California Lt. Governor Ed Reinecke about convention financing last spring. Tunney related his own conversation with Reinecke, who claimed that Mitchell did tell him of ITT's offer.
Senator Marlow Cook complained that the press is mishandling the hearing. Mitchell said that the media have provided a distorted version of the hearings, and pointed out a New York Times picture of himself with a man captioned as ITT VP William Merriam. The man pictured is actually Robert Mardian, the assistant Attorney General in charge of confirmation hearings for Kleindienst, and Mitchell says that he has never even seen Mr. Merriam. Mitchell urged the Senate to proceed with confirmation of Richard Kleindienst as attorney general.
Geneen testified about his efforts to change the government's antitrust policy, but denied any link to a convention pledge. Geneen stated that Mrs. Beard was not involved in the ITT settlement. Geneen will resume his testimony tomorrow.
[CBS] - Congress approved a $20 billion increase in the national debt limit, increasing the ceiling to $450 billion. The measure has been sent to the President. [CBS]
- The Federal Reserve Board reported that industrial production was up 0.7% in February. [CBS]
- The FTC order for posting the lead content of gasoline on gas pumps is being delayed as the oil industry has filed a suit to kill the proposal. [CBS]
- The International Union of Electrical Workers is suing General Electric in a federal court in Richmond, Virginia, asking sick pay for female workers who are off the job to have babies. The union charges that sex discrimination violates the 1964 Civil Rights Act. [CBS]
- Howard Hughes is reported to have left Managua, Nicaragua, for a hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. The U.S. ambassador to Nicaragua, Turner Shelton, saw Hughes before his departure from that country and said that Hughes has a beard, but no 8" toenails. [CBS]
- Vice President Agnew spoke to a college audience in the Midwest. Agnew chose conservative Drake University as a test site for a possible series of election year appearances on college campuses. Agnew called George Wallace's Florida vote significant, and said that he is unimpressed with Senator Muskie's excuses for doing poorly in the Florida primary and with his criticism of the Florida electorate. Agnew received a positive response. [CBS]
- On August 22, 1971, 40 FBI agents thwarted an attempted raid on a draft board in Camden, N.J.; 28 people were charged. The defense is asking for dismissal of the case, claiming that the FBI paid for the raiders' equipment and that an FBI informant trained them. Informant Robert Hardy signed an affidavit to that effect. [CBS]
- Federal investigators concluded that Buffalo Creak Dam, which broke and killed 117 people in West Virginia, had been designed and built unsafely. The report stressed that other coal mine waste dams may fail also. [CBS]
- The U.S. Postal Service, which has complained that the Penn Central Railroad mislaid a car of parcel post packages two years ago, now admits that a postal official had certified the mail car as being empty before the railroad ran it on to a siding. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 937.31 (+3.31, +0.35%)
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* |
| March 14, 1972 | 934.00 | 107.61 | 22.37 |
| March 13, 1972 | 928.66 | 107.33 | 16.73 |
| March 10, 1972 | 939.87 | 108.37 | 19.69 |
| March 9, 1972 | 942.81 | 108.94 | 21.46 |
| March 8, 1972 | 945.59 | 108.96 | 21.29 |
| March 7, 1972 | 946.87 | 108.87 | 22.64 |
| March 6, 1972 | 950.18 | 108.77 | 21.00 |
| March 3, 1972 | 942.43 | 107.94 | 20.42 |
| March 2, 1972 | 933.77 | 107.32 | 22.20 |
| March 1, 1972 | 935.43 | 107.35 | 23.67 |