News stories from Monday July 31, 1972
Summaries of the stories the major media outlets considered to be of particular importance on this date:
- George McGovern will announce his decision on whether or not to keep Thomas Eagleton as his running mate; McGovern has returned to Washington, DC from the Louisiana funeral of Senator Allen Ellender and he is slated to meet with Eagleton in the Capitol building tonight. Democrat party chairman Jean Westwood has called for Eagleton to resign. If Eagleton resigns, McGovern's new choice will have to he approved by the Democratic national committee. Democratic party counsel Joseph Califano said that there will be a consensus between McGovern and Eagleton, and the vice-presidential nominee will resign if so requested.
Missouri Governor Warren Hearnes believes that dropping Eagleton from the ticket would be disastrous for the Democratic party in Missouri. He said the events of the past week show that Eagleton can stand up under pressure and he hopes that McGovern can do the same. In Chicago, Reverend Jesse Jackson said that Eagleton, having undergone psychiatric treatment including electrical shock, is a risk. Jackson stated that national interests must transcend personal or party interests.
Possibilities to replace Eagleton include Boston Mayor Kevin White, Sargent Shriver, Lawrence O'Brien and Senators Gaylord Nelson and Frank Church. Eagleton stayed in his office and did not attend Ellender's funeral as scheduled. 750 telephone calls to Eagleton favored his staying on ticket; only 50 opposed it. 3,000 letters favor his remaining in the race; 800 oppose it.
[CBS] - President Nixon will begin his re-election campaign on Labor Day weekend in southern California. UPI reports that he will campaign mostly on weekends, stressing his presidential role during the week. [CBS]
- President Nixon and Senator McGovern headed a list of dignitaries at the funeral of Senator Allen Ellender in Louisiana. Services were held in the St. Francis All Souls Catholic Church in Houma. Mourners included Senators Mike Mansfield and Edward Kennedy, and Vice President Spiro Agnew. There was no direct politicking at the funeral. [CBS]
- Senator McGovern will introduce an amendment to hold next year's Pentagon spending to this year's level, which is $4 billion less than President Nixon has budgeted. [CBS]
- The Hatch Act forbids federal employees from taking part in politics; a three-judge federal court declared the act unconstitutional today. [CBS]
- The Nixon administration urged the Supreme Court to overrule Justice William O. Douglas and let the Pentagon Papers trial resume, otherwise the government may lose the right to prosecute Daniel Ellsberg and Anthony Russo because of the law prohibiting double jeopardy. Douglas halted the trial over a dispute on government wiretaps. [CBS]
- The British Army tore down barriers to Catholic strongholds in Londonderry. 4,000 British soldiers have joined the 17,000 who were already in Northern Ireland. Troops met little resistance in destroying the barricades to Catholic ghettos. In Belfast, Protestants assisted soldiers in tearing down barricades to their neighborhoods. Troops occupied Catholic neighborhoods and carried out selective searches. In Claudy, the IRA set off bombs in a hotel, a post office and a bar. Six people were killed, 30 wounded. [CBS]
- An American B-52 crashed during a storm over Thailand; five of the six crewmen were killed. Two bombers ran out of fuel over North Vietnam and crashed in the Gulf of Tonkin; all four crewmen were rescued. [CBS]
- The allies shelled Quang Tri city, continuing efforts to retake it. [CBS]
- Greek Premier Papadopoulos fired 11 cabinet members and reassigned 11 others, but increased the size of his cabinet from 37 to 41 by adding 12 officers who helped him seize power in 1967. [CBS]
- Arthur Bremer pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to charges that he shot Alabama Governor George Wallace. Bremer will live in the Upper Marlboro, Maryland, courthouse until his trial is over. Security is exceedingly strict; persons entering the building are searched. The sheriff received a letter threatening to kill him and Bremer, signed "K.K.K." Bremer appeared in court with a beard. The jury was selected quickly. The defense attorney will present doctors who will testify that Bremer has a mental disorder. [CBS]
- A gang of hijackers took over a Delta Airlines jet, demanded and got $1 million ransom in Miami, stopped in Boston to pick up a navigator, then headed for Algeria. The jet from Detroit was taken over by eight passengers. An FBI agent in bathing trunks handed over ransom, after which the 82 passengers and two stewardesses were allowed to deplane. Three men, two women and three children, all of them black, made up the hijack group. One man was dressed as a priest. [CBS]
- A woman smuggled two pistols to her husband in the Norfolk, Massachusetts, prison. Convicted murderer Walter Elliott shot a guard, ran with his wife into the prison yard and shot a worker and wounded another guard. Elliott then barricaded himself and his wife in a prison dormitory. Police later found Elliott dead and his wife critically wounded in an apparent murder-suicide attempt. [CBS]
- At 4:00 this morning five men arrived at the Plaza Hotel in New York City, handcuffed the employees and broke open safety deposit boxes. They escaped with $50,000, a relatively small haul. [CBS]
- A final decision on the Eagleton matter might not come hard to a ruthless politician, but it comes very hard for George McGovern. Dropping Eagleton will cause sympathy for McGovern; keeping him will fragment the party organization. Not so many years ago, Dwight Eisenhower was advised to drop Richard Nixon as vice president. [CBS]
- George McGovern will announce his decision regarding Thomas Eagleton at 9:00 p.m. EDT tomorrow night. [CBS]
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Stock Market Report
Dow Jones Industrial Average: 924.74 (-1.96, -0.21%)
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 28, 1972 | 926.70 | 107.38 | 13.05 |
| July 27, 1972 | 926.85 | 107.28 | 13.87 |
| July 26, 1972 | 932.57 | 107.53 | 14.13 |
| July 25, 1972 | 934.45 | 107.60 | 17.18 |
| July 24, 1972 | 935.36 | 107.92 | 18.02 |
| 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 |