News stories from Saturday September 13, 1975

Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:

President Ford told a meeting of the National Federation of Republican Women in Dallas that he was fed up with pessimism about America and was determined to reverse a trend toward social spending that "literally threatens our whole economy." He said that he would use his veto "again and again and again" to prevent liberal Democrats from enacting new and larger social programs. He indirectly criticized New York City's Democratic administration as one that "hasn't or won't responsibly manage its fiscal affairs," and he brought his audience to its feet by pledging to "find a better way" to provide quality education than through court-enforced busing. [New York Times] Vice President Rockefeller completed his second trip to the South in less than a month, having in two days visited three states, made five speeches, held four news conferences and a television interview, attended four receptions for Republican dignitaries, sat through half a University of Oklahoma football game, presided over a fundraising dinner and shaken countless hands. Mr. Rockefeller also said repeatedly that he is not a candidate for the Vice Presidency or any other office next year, and that he toured the South not to seek support for his own nomination but for President Ford's programs and the Republican party. [New York Times] Boston's new desegregation program is the focus of the most extensive and far-reaching involvement by colleges and universities, as well as business, ever undertaken in a public school system in the United States. Their effort has had conflicts and tensions, but even some opponents of desegregation see the collaborative effort as an unprecedented opportunity for the improvement of a long-troubled school system in which only 15 percent of its pupils went on to college. [New York Times] Scientists believe it is possible that fluorocarbon aerosol sprays could alter world climates. The role of the fluorocarbons has hitherto focused mainly on public health questions. According to calculations by a staff member of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., fluorocarbons in the atmosphere could have a "greenhouse effect" similar to that caused by carbon dioxide. This view has been supported by a growing number of stratospheric observations. [New York Times] The gravest financial crisis in New York City's history has shifted the Democratic party in the nation's most liberal city and state markedly toward fiscal conservatism and also has rebuilt the state's political-power structure. The Democrats' new fiscal policy is so pronounced that differences with the traditionally conservative Republicans are becoming blurred. "I don't see any difference between a hard-nosed reactionary and myself on how you work the City of New York now," Paul O'Dwyer, president of the City Council and a liberal Democrat, said. He was one of the Democratic and Republican politicians who gave their views on the consequences of the city's financial upheaval. [New York Times] The Defense Department has deferred a planned 8,000-man reduction in support troops in West Germany because it believes the reduction would weaken the combat strength of the United States Army in Europe. The decision, disclosed by a high-ranking Army officer, is the first reversal of a much-publicized Pentagon policy in recent years of getting rid of "fat" in the armed forces through the elimination of support troops and headquarters staffs. The policy has been an important part of Defense Secretary James Schlesinger's budget strategy in trying to persuade Congress to accept a larger defense budget and to endorse an increase from 13 to 16 Army divisions. [New York Times] The Defense Department said that a United States Navy installation near Asmara, Ethiopia, had been attacked and that eight persons, including two Americans, were missing. The announcement said that the attack took place "in what appeared to have been a series of attacks by unknown forces against various locations in and around the Ethiopian city of Asmara." It did not identify the missing Americans, except to say that one was from the Army and the other from the Navy. The others missing were Ethiopians employed at the installation. [New York Times] The euphoria that erupted in Britain six years ago over the discovery of North Sea oil has evaporated. Bitter feuds over Britain's energy policy, unforeseen costs and technical delays -- even the weather -- have combined to tarnish what was once a vision of new riches for the oil industry and a new era for Britain. Oil production in the British sector of the North Sea is less than a tenth of the 500,000 barrels a day that had been expected by the government. [New York Times] Aroused by French public opinion, the French government has begun to act to rescue Francoise Claustre, a 38-year-old French archeologist and anthropologist, who for 17 months has been held hostage under the threat of death by a band of rebels in northern Chad. The rebels have demanded a ransom of $2.4 million, some of it in arms, and have said that they will kill Mrs. Claustre if their demands are not met. They have set Sept. 23 as the deadline. On Friday night, the French government, under public attack for alleged reluctance to help Mrs. Claustre, said it would agree to pay the ransom, but did not say whether the ransom would include arms. The government apparently had delayed taking action because it did not want to antagonize the Chad government of Gen. Felix Melloum by giving in to the rebels' demands. [New York Times] Portugal's new Premier, Vice Adm. Jose Pinheiro de Azevedo, announced that the Socialist Popular Democratic and Communist Parties of that country had reached agreement on a general program that would take a more moderate revolutionary course and guarantee a representation of the major political parties. Admiral Azevedo said that while there were still more difficulties, he hoped to name the ministers of a new cabinet at the beginning of this week. [New York Times]