News stories from Monday September 1, 1980
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- Freedom for the hostages was asked by Secretary of State Muskie in a letter sent to Iran's new Prime Minister. The appeal represented the first direct high-level contact between Washington and Teheran since the failed United States attempt to rescue the 52 Americans last April.
A plan for resolving the hostage crisis, presented in Iran's Parliament, called for acknowledgement by the United States of its past role in Iranian affairs and for the return of the late Shah's wealth. The proposal was made by a parliamentary commission in a draft reply to a letter from 187 American Congressmen who appealed for the release of the captives.
[New York Times] - President Carter assailed the Klan at a rousing Labor Day rally and declared that the United States had been "inspired and gratified" by the gains made by workers in Poland. The President opened his general re-election campaign before a cheering crowd of 20,000 to 30,000 gathered in the Alabama town of Tuscumbia. [New York Times]
- Ronald Reagan began his fall drive for President with an attack on President Carter's economic policies. With the Statue of Liberty providing a background, the Republican nominee spoke in Jersey City and was joined on the podium by the father of the leader of strikers in Poland. Mr. Reagan told the crowd of several thousand that the young Pole provided the kind of leadership that Mr. Carter lacked. [New York Times]
- John Anderson pressed his drive with a swing through Illinois, his home state, and Wisconsin. At a parade in Calumet City, a largely blue-collar community north of Chicago, residents were friendly but reserved toward the independent presidential candidate. He also delivered attacks on his rivals that were well received. [New York Times]
- Despite predicted Democratic losses in Congress as a result of the Nov. 4 elections, the party is expected to retain control of both chambers. The most vulnerable Democrats are some long-time incumbents, according to House Speaker Tip O'Neill, who said that "their organizations are failing." [New York Times]
- Bess Myerson is running well ahead of her opponents in the four-way New York contest for the Democratic nomination for the Senate, according to the latest New York Times survey. It showed that Miss Myerson was viewed by liberals as a liberal, by moderates as a moderate and by conservatives as a conservative. She is reinforcing her public image with a $1 million television advertising campaign. [New York Times]
- A modest baby boom is predicted by population researchers, who say they expect more American births this year than in any year since 1971. The increase is attributed in part to the still growing number of women of child-bearing age resulting from the nation's high birth rate after World War II. Specialists predict an increase of nearly 2 percent over 1979 births nationwide and a 10 percent rise in California. [New York Times]
- Philadelphia teachers went on strike four days before the start of fall classes. The walkout by the teachers and other union employees was called to press demands for staff rehirings and increased wages. In Iowa, all 13 teachers at the University of Dubuque Theological Seminary struck for higher salaries. [New York Times]
- Polish strikers returned to work, ending an 18-day protest that wrung from the government major political and economic concessions. Thousands of coal miners were also reported to have reached a tentative accord to end their walkout. The government, honoring a pledge, freed dissidents who had supported the strikers.
Poland's first independent trade union since the Communists seized power after World War II opened its offices, although it took 10 minutes before a key was obtained to unlock the door. The office has almost no furniture, but the leader of the country's strike said softly, "These are empty rooms, but they are full of hope."
Moscow reported the settlement of the strikes in Poland after a 24-hour delay. A dispatch from Warsaw by the Soviet press agency Tass gave no details, but its tone indicated Soviet acceptance of the accord.
[New York Times]