News stories from Wednesday June 13, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Former Nixon campaign fundraising director Maurice Stans completed his second day before the Senate Watergate committee, ending his testimony with a plea to the committee to restore his good name.
Stans insisted that there is no connection between the destruction of campaign contribution receipts and the Watergate cover-up; the receipts were destroyed to protect contributors' privacy. Stans stated that absolutely no campaign funds were sent to foreign countries for laundering. Senator Sam Ervin accused Stans of being John Mitchell's "puppet" and said that Stans' actions were ethically wrong, if not legally wrong. Senator Howard Baker wants to widen the committee's investigation to include Democrats' campaign financing, and Senator Edward Gurney admonished chairman Ervin for harassing the witness. Ervin said he is sorry that Gurney disapproves, but he must find the truth in his own country-lawyer way.
There are too many inconsistencies in Stans' testimony, and he failed to recall key meetings with high administration officials. Even so, Stans asked the committee to have confidence in the innocence of the Nixon re-election finance committee, and said that he hopes the Watergate committee's report will restore his own good name.
[CBS] - Some of the questioning at the Watergate hearing today concerned Hugh Sloan's involvement in a $50,000 loan for Vice President Agnew's fund-raising dinner to make it seem more successful than it was. One person, whose identity has been withheld, was indicted by a Maryland grand jury for filing a false report on that campaign dinner. [CBS]
- Former White House aide John Ehrlichman told a closed House hearing about Daniel Ellsberg's psychiatrist's office burglary. Committee chairman Lucien Nedzi said that Ehrlichman claimed not to recall any memo concerning the Ellsberg burglary. There may have been a proposal for some other action, but not burglary. [CBS]
- Clark MacGregor, John Mitchell's successor as President Nixon's campaign director, gave a deposition in the Watergate civil case. MacGregor said that key campaign officials denied any involvement in Watergate, but he contended that the truth was not revealed to him. MacGregor said he will wait for the truth from the Ervin committee or court procedures before commenting. MacGregor stated that the original "Watergate 7" were thought to be the only wrongdoers. [CBS]
- The President will announce new anti-inflation measures to American at 8:30 p.m. EDT. There is an air of confidence around the White House. Some say that "Phase 2½" will be put into effect, as the plan is similar to Phase II's mandatory economic controls. The move halts congressional pressure on President Nixon to act; the decision has been made, but now its effectiveness must be proven. [CBS]
- The Senate killed the nomination of former oil company attorney Robert Morris to the Federal Power Commission because of concerns that he would favor the industry's side. South Carolina Senator Ernest Hollings stated that anything but an oil attorney is needed on the FPC. [CBS]
- The government's oil policy committee is considering mandatory versus voluntary allocation of oil by major companies; the companies testified today. The large oil companies claim that they are making an all-out effort to stop the gasoline shortage. Exxon vice president W.T. Slick said that price controls at the retail level should be initiated and should include gas and home heating oil. W.R. Pierson of Amoco stated that the charge that a shortage is deliberately being created by the major oil companies in order to create a monopoly for themselves is false and irresponsible. Union Oil representative William McConner said that a moratorium on pollution controls would help alleviate the fuel shortage. [CBS]
- The chairman of the Council on Environmental Quality defended pollution controls. Russell Train stated that environmental controls have become the whipping boy for the energy crisis. He said that emission controls are not the reason for higher gasoline consumption; it's the size and luxury features of cars. Americans should shift to smaller, more economical cars. [CBS]
- The fuel shortage has seemingly reached the island of Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts. Cars wait in line to fill up at Bill Luce's Texaco station. There is not actually a gas shortage here yet, just the fear of one. Luce noted that people are telling their friends that there's a shortage, so everyone is getting in line. Luce has reduced his station's hours. [CBS]
- Before Memorial Day weekend, the Texaco Oil Company asked the Ohio turnpike commission to allow limits to be placed on gasoline sales. The commission refused, and a Cleveland judge issued an injunction barring Texaco from limiting gas sales on the turnpike. [CBS]
- The U.S. and Hanoi have announced a second peace agreement. Fighting is to stop in 36 hours. The United States will resume minesweeping in North Vietnamese harbors. Four and a half months after the first agreement, a second agreement has been signed by Henry Kissinger, Hanoi's Le Duc Tho and delegation chiefs for South Vietnam and the Viet Cong. Kissinger stated that the U.S. bombing of Cambodia is not affected by the agreement. He added that peace in Vietnam cannot be guaranteed, but if this new accord is carried out with the same amount of energy that was put into the peace efforts, it will work. [CBS]
- Westminster Abbey will be the site of the November 14 wedding of Princess Anne and Lt. Mark Phillips. [CBS]
- Spring rains have caused fast-growing Kudzu vines to flourish in many areas of Mississippi. [CBS]
|
Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 915.49 (-11.51, -1.24%)
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* |
| June 12, 1973 | 927.00 | 108.29 | 13.84 |
| June 11, 1973 | 915.11 | 106.70 | 9.94 |
| June 8, 1973 | 920.00 | 107.03 | 14.05 |
| June 7, 1973 | 909.62 | 105.84 | 14.16 |
| June 6, 1973 | 898.18 | 104.31 | 13.08 |
| June 5, 1973 | 900.81 | 104.62 | 14.08 |
| June 4, 1973 | 885.91 | 102.97 | 11.23 |
| June 1, 1973 | 893.96 | 103.93 | 10.41 |
| May 31, 1973 | 901.41 | 104.95 | 12.19 |
| May 30, 1973 | 908.87 | 105.91 | 11.73 |