News stories from Monday May 15, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Alabama Governor George Wallace was shot and critically wounded at a campaign rally in Laurel, Maryland. Wallace, as he finished speaking, left the stand to shake hands. A gunman fired at close range. [CBS]
- The shooting came after Wallace addressed a generally friendly crowd. Governor Wallace is currently at Holy Cross Hospital in serious but stable condition. He has internal bleeding with some indication of paralysis. Five surgeons worked on the governor, and one of the President's personal doctors, Dr. William Lukash, was standing by. Wallace had to undergo exploratory surgery due to possible spinal involvement.
In Laurel, Governor Wallace had spoken from behind a bulletproof podium at an outdoor rally. Later, he stepped into the crowd to shake hands. There were five shots, and Wallace fell. Mrs. Wallace hovered over her husband as security men wrestled with the assailant. A Secret Service agent and an Alabama state trooper in plainclothes were also injured in the shooting.
An eyewitness, Mrs. George Mangum, said that someone yelled "Governor Wallace, come shake my hand", and he did. Mrs. Mangum thought the shots were firecrackers; she then saw the governor fall, bleeding. Press secretary Billy Joe Camp rode to hospital with the governor, who was conscious but in pain. The hospital says that Wallace suffered wounds to the chest and to the abdomen near the spinal column.
Police report that the suspect is a white male, 25 to 30 years old. The others wounded were Nick Zarvos, a Secret Service agent who was shot in the throat and is in serious condition; Alabama police captain E.C. Dothard, whose injuries are not serious; and a local woman, Gloria Thompson.
[CBS] - George Wallace encountered several hostile audiences while campaigning in Maryland prior to today, and physical demonstrations against Wallace were frequent. Three people were arrested at a rally in Hagerstown; in Frederick, a brickbat was thrown, denting the governor's car. In Cambridge, security was tight; objects were thrown at the governor. Wallace never taunted the crowds of protestors, however he criticized those who advocate free speech only for themselves. [CBS]
- Governor Wallace had feared an attack upon himself since his first presidential campaign in 1964. Last Friday he spoke to a group at the Harvard Club in New York City and mentioned the problem of security. He, like all presidential candidates, travels with a contingent of Secret Service men and he had his own private bodyguards as well. He routinely spoke from behind a bulletproof podium.
Senator Edward Kennedy has now accepted President Nixon's offer of Secret Service protection on a temporary basis, because of today's shooting.
[CBS] - Assassination is not unknown in American politics. Four presidents (Lincoln, Garfield, McKinley, Kennedy) have been killed. Both Roosevelts and Harry Truman were targets of unsuccessful attempts. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, who served in the Kennedy administration, says that Kennedy's assassination ushered in a new age of violence in America. Black civil rights leader Medgar Evers, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Senator Robert Kennedy all were killed. Now an attempt on Wallace has been made, as one was on Huey Long, whom he resembles. [CBS]
- The nation's capital reacted to the shooting of George Wallace. President Nixon termed the shooting a senseless and tragic incident; he called Mrs. Wallace at the hospital to offer his prayers and hope for her husband's recovery. The President has offered Secret Service protection to Senator Edward Kennedy and Rep. Shirley Chisholm. Kennedy said that his heart and prayers go out to Governor Wallace and his family, and added that democracy in America is scarred by senseless and unforgivable violence. George McGovern in Michigan canceled his plans to campaign until further notice, saying that he is shocked and dismayed. Hubert Humphrey, campaigning in Maryland, rushed to the hospital. Edmund Muskie said that he shares the outrage of every citizen, and he called the attack detestable.
Governor Wallace was favored in the Maryland and Michigan primaries, and still is. A large sympathy vote is expected.
[CBS] - Wallace hoped to win the Maryland and Michigan primaries in order to soften his image as a purely Southern candidate. The busing issue kicked off his campaign with a victory in Florida, but Wallace then broadened his appeal to get victories in Tennessee and North Carolina and second-place showings in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Indiana. [CBS]
- The Pentagon reports that rivers and canals, in addition to harbors in North Vietnam, have now been mined. [CBS]
- Three wives of American POWs met with President Nixon, who assured them that steps are being taken to free the POWs and he stated that the mines won't be removed until then. [CBS]
- South Vietnamese government forces, with U.S. air support, have recaptured Fire Base Bastogne near Hue. South Vietnamese raiders were airlifted behind enemy lines. The counter-offensive north of Hue was also successful. South Vietnamese marines were flown in by American helicopters for a brief confrontation with the enemy. They killed 250 North Vietnamese soldiers, destroyed several tanks and sent a regiment into hiding or retreat towards the north; 60 government troops were killed or wounded.
Three more U.S. planes were lost over North Vietnam; six crewmen are missing. Since the latest enemy offensive began, 142 Americans have been killed or are missing. Vietnamization is still proceeding, as the U.S. Air Force Base at Cam Ranh Bay was turned over to South Vietnam. 400 Americans were withdrawn from South Vietnam last week, but more U.S. ships are reported in Vietnamese waters.
[CBS] - Gun control legislation which was passed in 1968 makes gun dealers subject to federal searches for unlicensed weapons without a warrant. Today the Supreme Court upheld that provision of the law. [CBS]
- The Supreme Court also upheld the right of Amish parents to keep their children out of school after 8th grade in spite of compulsory attendance laws. [CBS]
- West coast dockworkers agreed to accept the Pay Board's reduction of their negotiated wage increase. [CBS]
|
Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 942.20 (+0.37, +0.04%)
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* |
| May 12, 1972 | 941.83 | 106.28 | 13.99 |
| May 11, 1972 | 934.83 | 105.77 | 12.90 |
| May 10, 1972 | 931.07 | 105.42 | 13.87 |
| May 9, 1972 | 925.12 | 104.74 | 19.91 |
| May 8, 1972 | 937.84 | 106.14 | 11.25 |
| May 5, 1972 | 941.23 | 106.63 | 13.21 |
| May 4, 1972 | 937.31 | 106.25 | 14.79 |
| May 3, 1972 | 933.47 | 105.99 | 15.90 |
| May 2, 1972 | 935.20 | 106.08 | 15.37 |
| May 1, 1972 | 942.28 | 106.69 | 12.88 |