News stories from Monday April 7, 1975
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- President Ford ended his Easter vacation in Palm Springs, Calif., with an address, on his way to Washington, to a meeting of the National Association or Broadcasters in Las Vegas, in which he urged Americans not to give in to self-doubt or "paralysis of willpower." Mr. Ford and his administration were anticipating difficult days ahead in sustaining national, foreign and domestic policies. [New York Times]
- On their first day back from the Easter recess, Senate Democrats rebuffed what they took to be suggestions from President Ford that Congress could be held responsible for the deteriorating situation in Southeast Asia. Senator Mike Mansfield, the Democratic leader, opened the session with a conciliatory speech and said that there was enough blame to go around. Nevertheless, several senior Democrats used harsh language to rebut Mr. Ford and to emphasize their opposition to further military aid for South Vietnam and Cambodia. [New York Times]
- Jake Jacobsen, a former dairy industry lawyer and the principal prosecution witness in the bribery trial of John Connally, a former Secretary of the Treasury, conceded under cross-examination that he was uncertain whether he had given Mr. Connally $10,000 or $15,000 in alleged payoffs in 1971. He testified last week that he twice had given Mr. Connally $5,000 in illegal gratuities in return for help in increasing federal milk-price supports. [New York Times]
- Malcolm Bell, a key member of the Attica special prosecutor's office, has resigned and charged the chief prosecutor, Anthony Simonetti, with covering up possible crimes by law enforcement officers who put down the rebellion at Attica prison in September, 1971. Mr. Bell, who had been Mr. Simonetti's chief assistant, said the investigation of any crimes by state troopers and correction officers ''lacks integrity" and was being "aborted" by Mr. Simonetti. [New York Times]
- A South Vietnamese plane attacked the presidential palace in Saigon with bombs and machine-gun fire in an evident attempt to kill President Nguyen Van Thieu, who was unhurt, military sources said. He reportedly was making phone calls from the palace soon afterward. The plane flew away quickly and panic followed in the streets of downtown Saigon. [New York Times]
- Phnom Penh's defense perimeter shrank again as insurgents overran some outposts four miles north of Pochentong Airport and attacked the airport with rockets and artillery shells. But the American airlift of food, fuel and ammunition that is keeping the government alive continued. [New York Times]
- An informal conference in Washington organized by a congressman in the hope of speeding the airlift of South Vietnamese children was jarred by charges of elitism and racism. A Vietnamese woman who said she had been involved in refugee aid accused many of the 250 people at the meeting of being on a "guilt trip" for supporting the airlift and argued that the babies should be given American-financed foster care in Vietnam instead. Several blacks in the predominantly white meeting challenged the notion that half-black, half-Vietnamese children would be better off in the United States than in Indochina. [New York Times]
- The Soviet Union's balance of trade with the West swung into a surplus last year after years of deficits. The surplus resulted from much higher prices for oil, gold and other Soviet exports, a study by the Central intelligence Agency has concluded. The surplus is expected to continue for the rest of this decade, and the Soviet Union is expected to be able to pay for a much larger volume of imports from the West without having to rely on credit. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 742.88 (-4.38, -0.59%)
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* |
| April 4, 1975 | 747.26 | 80.88 | 14.17 |
| April 3, 1975 | 752.19 | 81.51 | 13.92 |
| April 2, 1975 | 760.56 | 82.43 | 15.60 |
| April 1, 1975 | 761.58 | 82.64 | 14.48 |
| March 31, 1975 | 768.15 | 83.36 | 16.27 |
| March 27, 1975 | 770.26 | 83.85 | 18.30 |
| March 26, 1975 | 766.19 | 83.59 | 18.58 |
| March 25, 1975 | 747.89 | 82.06 | 18.50 |
| March 24, 1975 | 743.43 | 81.42 | 17.81 |
| March 21, 1975 | 763.06 | 83.39 | 15.94 |