This Day In 1970's History: Monday November 27, 1978
- Mayor George Moscone was slain in his office at San Francisco's City Hall, and several minutes later Supervisor Harvey Milk was also fatally shot in the office once occupied by a former Supervisor, Dan White, who was charged with both murders. Mr. White had resigned, but then sought to withdraw his resignation. The Mayor had been scheduled to announce his selection of a successor to Mr. White. [New York Times]
- Guyana has begun releasing some of about 80 cultists taken into custody in the investigation of the Jonestown murders and suicides, but United States authorities say they expect "a large number" to be further detained by the Georgetown government because of the extent of the inquiry.
Jonestown will forever evoke the dread of horror. The Guyanese village of the dead will remain a ghost of pain, of a people gone mad, of dreams gone wrong. The cultists murdered their babies, their leader called for the sacrifice of the people who worshiped him and death was seen as the answer to the problems of modern man. An apparent suicide note by a woman follower of the Rev. Jim Jones was found on the cult leader's body. The F.B.I. released the contents, which said in part, "I am more than tired of this wretched, merciless planet & the hell it holds for so many masses of beautiful people -- thank you for the only life I've known." Top aides of the Rev. Jim Jones conferred at least twice in Georgetown, Guyana, with a Soviet Embassy official who held out the promise of approval for the exodus of the entire Jonestown colony to the Soviet Union, according to a document. [New York Times]
- An inquiry into insurance fraud has concluded that elderly Americans are paying about $1 billion a year in premiums for health insurance policies they do not need. In many cases, according to a House committee, those among the 15 million people eligible for Medicare who also buy supplementary insurance are sold many extra policies that contain fine print denying payment from more than one. [New York Times]
- President Carter told mayors not to expect new federal initiatives to aid "our troubled cities," but he promised to preserve useful programs and not to make "wholesale, arbitrary spending cuts." Mr. Carter urged the nation's mayors to join him in the fight against inflation, not to buy from concerns that fail to comply "with our wage-price standards" and to abide by his wage guidelines in negotiating contracts with unions. [New York Times]
- Cheerful Republican governors and governors-elect held their annual meeting, heartened by Election Day gains. The gathering of the 16 delegates reflected increased self-confidence among the moderates and omitted the traditional argument about how conservative the group should be. Hard-line conservatives now have less power in the group, and some conservatives just stayed away. [New York Times]
|
