News stories from Tuesday August 12, 1975
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The kidnappers of Samuel Bronfman II were reported to be demanding a $4.5 million ransom and to have buried the 21-year-old son of the head of the billion-dollar Seagram Company, Ltd., with a 10-day supply of air and water, according to law enforcement officials. One such source familiar with the investigation declined to say anything about the timetable put forward in a ransom letter but indicated the arrangements were to be concluded before the end of the week. A spokesman for the family said it would have no comment on the ransom letter or the sum demanded. [New York Times]
- The Army disclosed that a 42-year-old patient at the New York State Psychiatric Institute died in an Army-sponsored experiment with hallucinogenic drugs in January, 1953. Elizabeth Barrett, a Manhattan widow, said that the man was Harold Blauer, her father, a tennis professional. She said that she was sure the drug was LSD, but the Army indicated that the patient had been given derivatives of mescaline. She said that she had been told the fatal dose was administered over her father's objection the day before he was to be discharged. A heart attack was given as the cause. [New York Times]
- Urban police departments are increasingly using civilians in many positions. Figures collected by the Federal Bureau of Investigation show that the percentage of civilians has increased from 7 percent in 1970 to 13.2 percent in 1972. A study by the Urban Institute projects further sharp increases, explained by the desire of police managers to free officers for "critical" functions. [New York Times]
- Military officers petitioned President Francisco da Costa Games to end what they view as efforts by Premier Vasco Goncalves to turn Portugal into a Communist state on Eastern European lines. The petition's sponsors claimed 90 percent support in the armed forces. It was drawn up by nine officers suspended Saturday as members of the High Council of the Revolution for creating divisions within the armed forces. The widespread and often violent campaign to oust the Premier and the four-day-old cabinet picked up speed. [New York Times]
- Black and white leaders of Rhodesia announced after nearly 10 years of stalemate that they would meet within two weeks to discuss a new constitution for the racially divided country. The talks will start in railway cars on a bridge over the Zambezi River forming the border between Rhodesia and black-controlled Zambia. White-ruled South Africa has been applying heavy pressure to the white Rhodesian Government of Prime Minister Ian Smith to reach a settlement and end the small but growing guerrilla war south of the Zambezi. [New York Times]
- The elders of the town of Oberammergau in West Germany have decreed that the next enactment of the Passion Play in 1980 will not use a text that has been sharply criticized for blaming Jews for the death of Jesus. The new script will ascribe the condemnation and Crucifixion not to the Jews but to Lucifer, the fallen angel of evil. A majority of the town council voted to give up the century-old text and revert to a 1750 version, which will need some modernization of the language and new music. [New York Times]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 828.54 (+4.78, +0.58%)
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 11, 1975 | 823.76 | 86.55 | 12.35 |
| August 8, 1975 | 817.74 | 86.02 | 11.66 |
| August 7, 1975 | 815.79 | 86.30 | 12.39 |
| August 6, 1975 | 813.67 | 86.25 | 16.28 |
| August 5, 1975 | 810.15 | 86.23 | 15.47 |
| August 4, 1975 | 818.05 | 87.15 | 12.62 |
| August 1, 1975 | 826.50 | 88.75 | 13.32 |
| July 31, 1975 | 831.51 | 88.75 | 14.54 |
| July 30, 1975 | 831.66 | 88.83 | 16.15 |
| July 29, 1975 | 824.86 | 88.19 | 19.00 |