News stories from Thursday August 10, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- The House tentatively rejected an effort to legislate an end to the Vietnam war. The measure called for the withdrawal of U.S. forces from southeast Asia by October 1, subject to the release of American POW's. Charles Whalen proposed moving the date to December 31 in order to remove the issue from the 1972 election; Gerald Ford refused to allow the date change. House Speaker Carl Albert did not encourage the pull-out legislation. Rep. Richard Bolling said that only the President can speed up the peace process. [CBS]
- The drive of South Vietnamese marines to recapture Quang Tri city has met with only limited success. Communist forces overran two South Vietnamese positions in the Central Highlands near Pleiku. [CBS]
- Seven Americans were killed in Vietnam last week and 36 were wounded. 463 ARVN were reported dead, along with 2,250 enemy. [CBS]
- U.S. Ambassador William Porter says that the tone at the Paris Peace Talks has improved. But Communists claim that Americans are bombing North Vietnamese dikes, citing statements by Senator Edward Kennedy, actress Jane Fonda and Former Attorney General Ramsey Clark. [CBS]
- The House Internal Security Committee voted to request a report from the Justice Department regarding Jane Fonda's actions in North Vietnam. Rep. Fletcher Thompson wants her to be subpoenaed and questioned about her radio broadcast from North Vietnam, which he called treasonous. Rep. Richard Ichord replied that a subpoena would be premature. Fonda says that there is no basis for criminal charges against her. [CBS]
- Democratic vice presidential nominee Sargent Shriver charged that President Nixon had a chance to end the Vietnam war in 1969, but he blew it. Shriver was the U.S. ambassador to France at the time. George McGovern returned to New Hampshire, where his presidential candidacy began, for the outset of his "listening tour".
In Manchester, McGovern asked workers in a shoe factory what they think is the most urgent problem facing the nation, and said that his wife Eleanor suggested that the first bill aiding working people be signed here, where he first got the support of working people. McGovern attacked President Nixon's silence, saying that Clark MacGregor, John Connally and others do his talking; McGovern proposed a debate with the President.
Shriver toured his home state of Maryland, trying to smooth the rough edges that were left by his abortive race against Marvin Mandel for governor in 1970. Shriver stated that he stayed on as ambassador to France when President Nixon came into office in order to help with efforts toward a negotiated peace in Vietnam. When Nixon introduced "Vietnamization", Shriver decided to leave the foreign service.
[CBS] - Defense Secretary Melvin Laird and Nixon campaign manager Clark MacGregor attacked McGovern's policies. Laird presented a report criticizing McGovern's defense cut proposal; Laird noted that Americans supported President Eisenhower's defense budget which, adjusted for inflation, was more than Nixon's. MacGregor parodied McGovern's acceptance speech, calling on McGovern to "come home" to the Senate; he also criticized McGovern's welfare reform proposals. [CBS]
- Clark MacGregor stated that the $25,000 campaign check which was found in the bank account of one of the men who was caught in the Democrat headquarters break-in has been properly and lawfully accounted for. MacGregor said that campaign finance chairman Maurice Stans reported the contribution to the General Accounting Office. [CBS]
- President Nixon has ordered a temporary halt to White House criticism of newsmen and the media. Speechwriter Pat Buchanan told the New York Times of the President's decision and press secretary Ron Ziegler confirmed it. Times reporter Robert Simple quoted Buchanan as saying that such attacks would be counterproductive during a campaign. [CBS]
- The Senate voted to make the federal election day a national holiday. [CBS]
- Excessive costs and mechanical problems have forced the Army to scrap its Cheyenne helicopter program. It was to supposed to be a "supercopter", used for air support of ground troops and for making attacks on tanks. The test program cost $400 million, but the program has been killed. Rep. Otis Pike says that the development of the helicopter has been a series of disasters. Cancellation of the program cost 600 workers their jobs at Lockheed Aircraft. Lockheed official Larry Smith noted that the development of new things can result in cost overruns, but the equipment is now ready for production and the new technology which was developed for the Cheyenne can be used on other projects.
The Army still needs advanced helicopters, and has requested $40 million for the development of a new one.
[CBS] - Police in Algeria are closing in on Eldridge Cleaver and the Black Panthers in that country. The Panthers have criticized the Algerian government for not giving them the $1 million ransom which was recently obtained by five black American hijackers. [CBS]
- The 13th game of the world chess championship in Iceland has adjourned; Bobby Fischer submitted some new demands, but they were rejected. Fischer leads Boris Spassky 7 games to 5. [CBS]
- Silence from political leaders can win more votes than talk; President Nixon is keeping quiet and improving his standing in the polls. Democrats are talking more (about the Democratic headquarters break-in, for example) to try to force the President to reply. Nixon does not encourage TV debates with McGovern because he does not look good on television like John Kennedy did in 1960. [CBS]
- The Houston Chronicle polled 12 people who were baptized by Senator McGovern when he was a Methodist pastor 25 years ago. Seven will vote for President Nixon, three for McGovern, two are undecided. [CBS]
- Irving Chase, the president of the National Association for Mental Health, said that the cause of better mental health has been helped by the controversy over Senator Thomas Eagleton's psychiatric record. [CBS]
- Reverend Charles Filson of Springfield, Illinois, has come up with a more effective method to promote adoption. Increasingly, only racially-mixed, black or handicapped children are available for adoption. Filson learned about the power of advertising with pictures; he catalogs available children for prospective parents and lists the children's backgrounds in frank terms. 53 adoption centers in 18 states are now using Filson's catalog. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 952.89 (+1.73, +0.18%)
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 9, 1972 | 951.16 | 110.86 | 15.73 |
| August 8, 1972 | 952.44 | 110.69 | 14.55 |
| August 7, 1972 | 953.12 | 110.61 | 13.22 |
| August 4, 1972 | 951.76 | 110.43 | 15.70 |
| August 3, 1972 | 947.70 | 110.14 | 19.97 |
| August 2, 1972 | 941.15 | 109.29 | 17.92 |
| August 1, 1972 | 930.46 | 108.40 | 15.54 |
| July 31, 1972 | 924.74 | 107.39 | 11.12 |
| July 28, 1972 | 926.70 | 107.38 | 13.05 |
| July 27, 1972 | 926.85 | 107.28 | 13.87 |