News stories from Thursday March 22, 1973
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- A snag developed in the planned weekend release of American POWs. All U.S. troops and prisoners were to be out of Vietnam by this weekend, but the deal collapsed in a dispute over nine POWs being held in Laos. North Vietnam says it knows nothing about those captives.
The peace agreement mentions nothing about POWs held in Laos, but the U.S. claims that Henry Kissinger reached an understanding with North Vietnam that Laos-held prisoners would be released along with others who were held in Vietnam. It is possible that the Pathet Lao didn't go along with North Vietnam's agreement.
[CBS] - Admiral Noel Gayler, commander of American forces in the Pacific, says that the U.S. won't remove all mines from North Vietnamese waters. He stated that the agreement only requires that North Vietnamese harbors be cleared. [CBS]
- South Vietnam and the Viet Cong accused each other of cease-fire violations. South Vietnamese forces relieved the siege of Rach Bap. The village had been surrounded by the V.C. for the past 10 days. [CBS]
- L. Patrick Gray admitted that White House attorney John Dean probably lied to FBI agents investigating the Watergate case. Under questioning by Senator Robert Byrd, Gray said that Dean told an FBI agent he didn't know Watergate defendant E. Howard Hunt had a White House office. This was after Dean had Hunt's office raided and Hunt's files transferred to his own office. Byrd said he's amazed that Gray continued, and would still continue, to supply raw FBI files to Dean in the face of the fact that Dean lied to the FBI. The White House condemned Byrd's questioning. [CBS]
- Common Cause announced that John Dean has agreed to testify in a court case regarding the financing of the Nixon re-election campaign, a matter intertwined with the Watergate case. [CBS]
- The National Commission on Marijuana and Drug Abuse says that the nation's worst drug problem is alcohol, then heroin. It recommended that the criminal penalty against marijuana usage be removed. The Commission's chairman is former Pennsylvania Governor Raymond Shafer. [CBS]
- President Nixon sent his proposals for anti-crime legislation to Congress. He proposes that the leaking of classified government papers be made a crime. Presently this is not so unless the papers are harmful to national security. This is the subject of the Pentagon Papers trial of Daniel Ellsberg. Another of the President's proposals would make obscenity criminal. Other sections recommend the restoration of the death penalty, a limitation of the definition of insanity, and long mandatory jail terms for drug pushers. [CBS]
- The ban on swimming and fishing in Biscayne Bay, Florida, was lifted. Scientists said that blue-green algae killed fish in the Bay, but the algae are harmless to humans. [CBS]
- The Senate continued hearings on ITT's involvement in Chile. ITT vice president Edward Gerrity testified about the suggestion from CIA official William Broe on stopping the flow of dollars to Chile's Marxist government of President Salvador Allende. Gerrity confirmed that the suggestion was intended to create economic problems for Chile. Gerrity stated that $1 million which was offered by ITT for use in Chile was designed to placate Allende by starting farm and housing projects. But former company director John McCone testified that the money was to be used to oppose the Allende government. Senator Charles Percy called Gerrity's story "not plausible".
Documents indicate that former Attorney General John Mitchell helped ITT in its fight with the Justice Department in 1971. Those documents tend to show that Mitchell lied in his testimony about the case.
[CBS] - The Cost of Living Council ordered meat packers to pass along to consumers any decreases in costs. Economic adviser Herbert Stein said that a consumer boycott may be affecting meat prices. Wholesale prices for meat are down. [CBS]
- UAW president Leonard Woodcock announced that his union won't be held to wage settlements dictated by the Nixon administration. [CBS]
- Senator William Proxmire had a hair transplant. The cost was $2,700, according to his income tax returns. [CBS]
- Black lung is one disease among many which is caused by industrial processes. Brown lung is a concern in the cotton industry. Many cotton mill workers are disabled with brown lung at an early age; the disease causes premature death in some cases. Disease sufferers cough up cotton, which is inhaled when the machines are cleaned. British cotton mills recognize the disease and compensate workers who become disabled from it. But American mills don't.
Mills say they can't afford machinery that would keep down the level of cotton dust in the air. Former assistant Secretary of Labor George Guenther stated that the government is seeking a solution that will protect workers and yet not cost cotton mills too much. William Poteat has brown lung and was forced to retire at an early age because of it. He gets a pension of $31.50 a month. Cotton workers are mostly non-union and the government is not pressuring the industry to get better safety standards.
[CBS]
|
Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 925.20 (-13.17, -1.40%)
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 21, 1973 | 938.37 | 110.49 | 16.08 |
| March 20, 1973 | 949.43 | 111.95 | 13.25 |
| March 19, 1973 | 952.06 | 112.17 | 12.46 |
| March 16, 1973 | 963.05 | 113.54 | 15.13 |
| March 15, 1973 | 969.82 | 114.12 | 14.45 |
| March 14, 1973 | 978.85 | 114.98 | 14.46 |
| March 13, 1973 | 976.07 | 114.48 | 14.21 |
| March 12, 1973 | 969.75 | 113.86 | 12.81 |
| March 9, 1973 | 972.23 | 113.79 | 14.07 |
| March 8, 1973 | 976.44 | 114.23 | 15.10 |