News stories from Monday July 24, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- United Nations Secretary General Kurt Waldheim accused U.S. bombers of destroying dikes in North Vietnam. Secretary of State William Rogers reacted angrily, accusing Waldheim of joining a worldwide propaganda campaign led by Hanoi. Rogers denied that the U.S. is deliberately bombing dikes. [CBS]
- The Vietnam war debate in the Senate is as complicated as the Fischer-Spassky chess match; the difficulty of legislating an end to the war is apparent. Mike Mansfield says that the Senate doesn't want to face up to the issue. Howard Cannon moved to condition U.S. withdrawal from Vietnam on the release of American POWs. Republicans, organized by Hugh Scott, voted for Mansfield's change of a withdrawal date from August to October. Edward Brooke offered a compromise which tentatively passed: pull out from Indochina within four months of the actual release of the POWs. Senator Alan Cranston says that the decision is being passed to the voters of America. Cranston stated that if McGovern is elected, the war will end. But if Nixon is re-elected then Congress will act to end it. [CBS]
- South Vietnamese paratroopers attempted to wedge through a wall of the citadel in the center of Quang Tri city; North Vietnamese troops are well-entrenched inside. North Vietnam again blocked Highway 1 between Hue and Quang Tri so that ammunition convoys cannot move to resupply troops. South Vietnamese troops attacked North Vietnamese positions along the road as refugees from farther north raced southward. [CBS]
- George McGovern says that if he is elected president, he would not resume the bombing of North Vietnam in order to force the release of American POWs. He said that President Nixon's policy of bombing while trying to negotiate is the height of folly. Still vacationing in South Dakota, McGovern announced a reorganization of his campaign staff -- Jean Westwood as chairman of Democratic national committee; Basil Patterson, treasurer; Lawrence O'Brien, campaign chairman; former Robert Kennedy aide Fred Dutton as traveling campaigner. McGovern was said to be furious at reports that O'Brien will only play a figurehead role. He noted that the President's use of the Secretaries of Defense and State to attack him is an indication that Nixon doesn't think the McGovern-Eagleton ticket will be so easy to beat. McGovern also claimed that the use of cabinet members to make political attacks breaks with the tradition of Eisenhower and Johnson. [CBS]
- President Nixon won't begin campaigning until after Labor Day, but Vice President Spiro Agnew is running already. Agnew raised money for Republicans at a cocktail party in Anchorage, Alaska, where he stated that the President has launched constructive programs and should be returned to office to finish them. Agnew also said that any amnesty for draft dodgers must be selective, and he criticized George McGovern's proposals for reductions in military spending.
Agnew says that this year Republicans will stick to the issues, and he will be satisfied with factual media coverage of the presidential campaign. Senator Hugh Scott said that President Nixon has instructed Agnew to conduct an affirmative campaign, stressing the accomplishments of the administration. Nixon is proud of his foreign affairs record on Vietnam, Russia and China, and hopes that having Agnew attack McGovern won't be necessary in order to keep high ratings in the polls.
[CBS] - Rep. John Rhodes, chairman of the Republican platform committee, stated that a poll shows law and order, drug abuse, the economy and welfare reform are the primary campaign issues. 58% do not consider busing to be a major concern. [CBS]
- A federal narcotics agent reported to President Nixon that the number of drug violators who were arrested has doubled in the last three years. [CBS]
- The administration is bolstered by the rise in the economy and the drop in inflation. Dr. Herbert Stein, chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, said that the impending budget problems cannot be solved by increasing taxes. Treasury Secretary George Shultz stated that the administration is committed to reducing government spending, and he criticized Congress for spending too freely. The Nixon administration in effect is blaming Democrats for possibly making more taxes necessary. [CBS]
- Rep. Henry Reuss challenged the administration's claim that the vast majority of wealthy people pay large amounts of income tax. Reuss says that Treasury Undersecretary Edwin Cohen used misleading statistics in last Friday's testimony. [CBS]
- President Anwar Sadat said that Egypt will take on Israel alone, and Russia has been overcautious in giving Egypt needed arms. Egyptian rockets fired on Israeli planes over the occupied Sinai desert. [CBS]
- A British soldier in Belfast and a civilian in Londonderry were killed in Northern Ireland violence. British troops raided IRA hideouts and seized explosives. A huge bomb factory was uncovered in Belfast. A British officer linked the bomb factory to the massive bombings in the city on Friday. A bomb disposal expert removed the detonators; the explosives were disposed of in a quarry. [CBS]
- Five British longshoremen were jailed for picketing a dock facility in violation of a court order. In protest, thousands of British workers have walked off their jobs. [CBS]
- China has become the second nation to order the supersonic transport jet. The Chinese ordered two Concordes to be delivered by 1977. BOAC, which ordered five SSTs, paid $47 million per plane. [CBS]
- The Supreme Court has been asked to reconsider its decision declaring the death penalty unconstitutional. Prosecutors for the states of Georgia and Texas and the city of Philadelphia asked for a hearing to consider reapplying the death penalty to 16 formerly condemned prisoners. [CBS]
- In Blacksville, West Virginia, efforts to rescue nine trapped miners have been abandoned due to a gas explosion. [CBS]
- One month ago, floods caused by Hurricane Agnes swamped the east coast. In Pennsylvania, the Susquehanna River was swollen to a width of six miles. Near Wilkes-Barre, Pa., the suburb of Kingston has hard a time recovering from the flood. All but 20 of 6,600 homes in the community were flooded, and relief efforts for providing temporary shelter are being called unsatisfactory. The government is paying those who have been left jobless to help with the cleanup, however many flood-hit workers have not signed up for the program. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 935.36 (+14.91, +1.62%)
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* |
| July 21, 1972 | 920.45 | 106.66 | 14.01 |
| July 20, 1972 | 910.45 | 105.81 | 15.05 |
| July 19, 1972 | 916.69 | 106.14 | 17.88 |
| July 18, 1972 | 911.72 | 105.83 | 16.82 |
| July 17, 1972 | 914.96 | 105.88 | 13.17 |
| July 14, 1972 | 922.26 | 106.80 | 13.91 |
| July 13, 1972 | 916.99 | 106.28 | 14.74 |
| July 12, 1972 | 923.69 | 106.89 | 16.15 |
| July 11, 1972 | 925.87 | 107.32 | 12.83 |
| July 10, 1972 | 932.27 | 108.11 | 11.70 |