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''In recent months it has become clear to me that the foreign policy on which we embarked together was shifting from that careful course which we laid out. Under these circumstances, I feel it necessary to request that you accept my resignation.'' - Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr., in letter to President Reagan. (4:4.)

Haig's Resignation Alexander M. Haig Jr. resigned as Secretary of State because, he said in a letter to President Reagan, foreign policy had departed from ''the careful course'' that he and the President had initially set. Mr. Reagan made the announcement without giving any reasons for Mr. Haig's departure. George P. Schultz, a former Treasury Secretary, was named to succeed Mr. Haig. It was unclear, even to some of Mr. Haig's closest advisers, whether his resignation was at his own initiative or had been forced upon him. (Page 1, Column 6.) Mr. Haig's abrupt resignation followed long-standing animosity between him and the White House staff that recently boiled over into questions of style and substance on Middle East and Soviet policies, White House aides said. The officials said that disputes over the crisis in Lebanon and President Reagan's decision to tighten economic sanctions against the Soviet Union were exacerbated by a multitude of petty disputes that infuriated the Presidential staff. (1:5.)

The Supreme Court ruled today that the First Amendment's guarantee of freedom of speech limits the discretion of public school officials to remove books they consider offensive from school libraries. In a fragmented ruling on a Long Island case that did not produce a majority opinion, the Court did not define the precise limits of the constitutional right it recognized. The ruling was nevertheless hailed as an important constitutional victory by book publishers and civil liberties lawyers. In it, five Justices did agree that school officials who are sued by students for taking particular books off the shelves may be required to defend their motives in Federal court. 'Access to Ideas' The case involved a suit brought by students against the school board of Island Trees Union Free School District in Nassau County, which six years ago removed from the high school library nine books that a politically conservative parents' organization had objected to.

Haig's resignation ends, for now, stormy Washington career 4 Transcript of statements on resignation announcement 4 U.S. foreign policy analysts differ on effect of departure 5 Dispute over Soviet gas sales to Europe 6 Bechtel loses another officer to Reagan's Cabinet 6 International Angola rejects linking Cuban pullout to Namibian settlement 2 Around the World 3 London subway system is snarled by strike 3 Argentine politicians hail new President after meeting 3 Millions in Italy strike to protest economic policy changes 3 Israel asserts Syrian buildup east of Beirut has collapsed 7 Syrians give up ground to advancing Israelis on key road 7 Refugees flee Beirut into Israeli-held southern Lebanon 7 Israel reportedly will bar transmissions for U.S. networks 8 P.L.O. leaders, under siege in Beirut, try to remain busy 8 Palestinians in Egypt worry over the fate of the P.L.O. 8 Government/Politics Supreme Court upholds laws on officials' new candidacies 11 Reagan casts second veto on spending bill 12 Democrats discuss electoral tactics 12 Democrats strive for unity at convention in Philadelphia 12 Essex County Prosecutor calls for medical examiner's ouster 28 Washington Talk Briefing 12 State Department sad and puzzled by Haig move 12 General Around the Nation 9 Debate arises on Salvadorans' motive for moving to U.S. 9 John Holmes found not guilty of murder 19 A fifth suspect is held in the seizure of 610 pounds of cocaine 28 Man manacled and slain in East Side apartment 29 Motorist is killed driving in wrong lane on Tunnel ramp 29 Education/Welfare L.I. school board unsure of its next step in book-banning case 10 Private school enrollment is rising rapidly in Alaska 19 The city's high school on a ship comes to an end 28 Board of Regents changes rule on hiring high-school coaches 28 Arts/Entertainment Kool Jazz Festival off to a warm start 13 Benny Goodman Quartet in reunion session at Carnegie Hall 13 Tommy Flanagan gives first major piano concert 13 Danes dance ''Folk Tale'' 15 ''Felix Frankfurter and His Times'' reviewed 17 WABC-TV is threatened with F.C.C. disciplinary action 51 ''Kangaroo'' moved to weekend to make room for news 51 Style Consumer Saturday: Keeping the pool sanitary 52 Endangered breeds: Curbing the market 52 De Gustibus: Chervil is unsung among the basils and thymes 52 Sports Pages Gilder, on 63-127, leads by 3 strokes at Westchester 21 Players: Pepitone taking Yankee tension in stride 21 Pam Shriver wins after easing sting of opponent's bee bite 21 Yankees beat Indians, 11-3, as Gamble gets 3 hits 21 Mets lose doubleheader to Phillies and drop to .500 21 Quotation of the Day ''In recent months it has become clear to me that the foreign policy on which we embarked together was shifting from that careful course which we laid out. Under these circumstances, I feel it necessary to request that you accept my resignation.'' - Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr., in letter to President Reagan. (4:4.) Grand jury indicts ex-Saint a second time in drug case 22 Scouting: New Jersey bedeviled about name for hockey team 22 Gerald Eskenazi on the Yankee bat boys 23 Samuels is named president of the N.A.S.L. 23 Northern Ireland gains in World Cup with only 10 men playing 23 Cooper's 3 hits lead Brewers in 9-3 rout of Red Sox 23 Features/Notes Man in the News: George Shultz, Reagan's choice for State 1 Going Out Guide 16 Saturday News Quiz 17 Sports People 23 New York Day by Day 28 About New York 29 News Analysis Leslie H. Gelb examines Haig's departure from Government 5 Wendell Rawls Jr. on Texas prison conditions 9 Tamar Lewin on legal aspects of U.S. curbs on Soviet gas line 31 Editorials/Letters/Op-Ed Editorials 24 A major loss Presidents above the law A little lift, at least, for housing No OPEC's for doctors Letters 24 Sydney H. Schanberg: Westway cover-up 25 Russell Baker: bedtime for Midas 25 Solomon Volkov: Soviet schizophrenia toward Stravinsky 25 Phyllis Myers: me-too'ing the cities 25 Roger Hurwitz and Gordon Fellman: U.S. Jews and Lebanon 25

Congressional leaders expressed surprise and dismay today at the announcement of the resignation of Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr., whom they praised as a moderate and a professional. But they also voiced confidence in George P. Shultz, who was nominated to be his successor. Members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said they expected confirmation hearings to begin next week but there was speculation that they might be postponed until mid-July, when Congress returns from its Fourth of July recess. Several senators speculated that Mr. Haig's departure was prompted by his disagreement with the President over sanctions imposed on American companies to hinder the building of the natural gas pipeline from Siberia to Western Europe.

George Pratt Shultz, President Reagan's choice to succeed Alexander M. Haig Jr. as Secretary of State, is a labor economist whose service in government during the Nixon Administration led him into the international business world, including significant involvement in the Middle East. While there are some questions about how this experience will help shape policies on the Middle East, East-West relations and other matters, there seems no doubt that Mr. Shultz will operate well in the Administration. And there is also no doubt about his experience in government. ''I am very high on George Shultz,'' said Walter Heller, a liberal economist who was chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers in the Kennedy and Johnson Administrations.

Alexander M. Haig Jr. resigned today as Secretary of State. In a letter to President Reagan, he said the Administration's foreign policy had moved away in recent months from the ''careful course'' he and the President had laid out. Mr. Reagan made the first, surprise announcement of the change at 3 P.M. without giving any reasons for Mr. Haig's departure. He said he would nominate George P. Shultz, a former Treasury Secretary, to the State Department post. It was unclear, even to some of Mr. Haig's most intimate advisers, whether his resignation was at his initiative or had been forced upon him.

Israeli fighter-bombers, warships and artillery unleashed a nonstop barrage today against Palestinian camps and residential areas of western Beirut, the heaviest since the invasion of Lebanon began on June 6. Israeli armored units also drove Syrian tanks and troops off the Beirut-Damascus highway up to a point near the village of Bhamdun, 16 miles east of the capital. This would apparently eliminate any military threat to the Israelis from the rear if they assaulted Palestinian positions in west Beirut. Israel then agreed to a new cease-fire, Philip C. Habib, President Reagan's special envoy to the Middle East, told Lebanese leaders tonight, according to the Lebanese state radio.

Democrats, all but tasting victory in November, denounced the Reagan Administration today as unfair to the poor, insensitive to the risk of nuclear war and unconcerned about women's rights. Five of the party's 1984 Presidential hopefuls addressed the opening session of a three-day national party conference. Former Vice President Walter F. Mondale summarized the common theme when he said that the Administration had divided the nation and that it was up to the Democrats, ''who stand for one strong, caring America'' to heal those divisions. Mr. Mondale, who was interrupted by applause 27 times, with cheers on seven of those occasions, won the most enthusiastic reception from the audience of about 3,000 people. Charles T. Manatt, the chairman of the Democratic National Comittee, said he had never heard the Minnesotan give a better speech.

Before negotiations on ending the guerrilla war in South-West Africa begin, Angola today renewed its objection to Western suggestions that a settlement in the territory on its southern border be conditoned on the withdrawal of Cuban forces from Angola. The rejection, made at an African regional conference here, followed an official Angolan statement this week that implicitly rebutted the Reagan Administration's insistence that the establishment of diplomatic relations between Washington and Luanda also depended on the withdrawal of the 15,000 to 20,000 Cubans on Angolan soil. The Angolan position - that how and when the Cubans withdraw is purely an Angolan affair - has been stated in the past. The significance of this week's statements, however, seemed to be that they drew, in part, the lines for negotiations in New York on South-West Africa, which is also known as Namibia. Participating in the talks will be South Africa, which rules the territory; the South-West Africa People's Organization, the territory's insurgent group, known as Swapo, that contests South Africa's rule from bases in southern Angola; the so-called front-line African countries that support the guerrillas, and the so-called contact group of Western nations that have been involved in long and so far fruitless mediation in the dispute.

Emergency Special Session on the Question of Palestine - 10:30 A.M. and 3 P.M.

Millions of Italian workers paralyzed traffic and services today in a general strike protesting Government austerity and the scrapping of an agreement that protected their wages from inflation. Officials estimated that more than 10 million workers, about half of the work force, took part in the eight-hour protest that shut down industries, banks, schools, postal services and garbage collection. It was the first general strike since 1969.