News stories from Saturday September 19, 1981
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Tens of thousands of union members gathered in Washington to protest President Reagan's deep cuts in social and safety programs their unions had strongly supported. The A.F.L.-C.I.O. organized the demonstration, which was also an effort to regroup its scattered forces and halt the decline of organized labor's political influence in Washington. It was represented by virtually every major union, and joining in were leaders of groups representing women, blacks and Hispanic Americans, the aged and the disabled. [New York Times]
- The naming of a conservative professor by the Reagan administration to head the National Endowment for the Humanities is being opposed by more moderate conservative supporters of the administration, among them Irving Kristol, a new conservative writer. The nominee is Prof. M. E. Bradford of Dallas, a political theorist known for his criticism of Abraham Lincoln. [New York Times]
- A rules change for House caucuses has been proposed, raising an ethics controversy. The proposal by the Committee on House Administration would prohibit special interest caucus groups, such as the Congressional Black Caucus, the Travel and Tourism Caucus and the New England Congressional Caucus, that use public funds and facilities from also receiving aid from lobbyists and other outside interests. The committee is attempting to cut the proliferation of special interest caucuses. [New York Times]
- Simon and Garfunkel held a reunion concert in Central Park, drawing a crowd of about 400,000. Officials said the audience was largest ever to attend a free concert in the park. [New York Times]
- The arrival of El Salvador's leader in Washington is expected tomorrow. The visit by Jose Napoleon Duarte, head of the Salvadoran governing junta, was described by his aides as an attempt to seek support in Congress and from the American people for the Salvadoran government's position in its conflict with rebel forces. He is expected to meet with President Reagan on Monday and to appear before the United Nations Sept. 29. [New York Times]
- Shortages of food and goods are among the symptoms of Poland's economic collapse. Hardship among Poles is so severe that Western economists are comparing Poland's situation to the Depression of the 1930's in the United States. A rationing system for meat that began last March now includes most consumer goods, from diapers to detergents, and has failed to insure that there is sufficient or equal amounts of food and other essentials for everyone. Physicians report that malnutrition cases are increasing, especially among the aged. [New York Times]
- Moscow confirmed the deaths of two Soviet "military specialists" who had been reported killed in a South African attack in southern Angola earlier this month. Soviet officials had ignored the reports, but now they have acknowledged that in addition to the dead, South Africa had taken a Soviet specialist captive. Tass, the official Soviet press agency, demanded the "immediate return" of the captured man along with the bodies of the military men. [New York Times]