November 22, 1970

Lenzner's and Jones's abrupt dismissal stirs storm of criticism from natl legal groups, prompts Sen Poverty Subcom to set hearings on case; officials of legal orgns score Nixon Adm, charge it with sacrificing needs of the poor to pol interests; Lenzner and Jones voice similar views, news conf, Washington, in hotel room paid for by dept colleagues; Lenzner says, Pres statements to the contrary, 'the Adm has proceeded to serve the ends of pol rather than the needs of the poor whenever the two nave come into conflict'; cites series of specific instances in which he claims pol outcries to White House succeeded in blocking efforts to provide legal aid to the poor; charges pol interference even in hiring lawyers for program; Jones charges Rumsfeld's White House role conflicts with his antipoverty position; calls on him to resign; Poverty Lawyers for Effective Advocacy (PLEA) asks Rumsfeld for a meeting, urges him to reinstate Lenzner and Jones; 5 pub interest law firms send him lrs urging their reinstatements; they and Sen Mondale liken dismissals to recent IRS proposal on pub interest lawyers; J J Shestack, Amer Bar Assn official and member of Legal Service Advisory Com, terms Rumsfeld's action 'highly duplicitous' and a serious blow to integrity of program; Natl Legal Aid and Defenders Assn pres Douglas lauds Lenzner for fighting for program; critical statements by many Cong members and others noted; Rumsfeld says such statements do not represent views of organized bar; cites joint statement of Amer Bar Assn and antipoverty agency in which assn pres Wright offers supports for Adm's legal services effort; bar assn repr says Wright cleared statement before dismissals were announced

A new step in the city's austerity campaign — pressure on agency heads to “expose some frills and some excesses” — was pledged yesterday by Deputy Mayor Richard R. Au relio.

Article notes move by students at Harvard and Stanford Univs to set up their own, self-financed orgns to help them find employment with small and medium-sized cos; they seek more freedom and opportunity offered by such cos

article on Sugarman adm describes his and top aides stress on efficient mgt of sprawling soc services activities; team faces budget of more than $2-billion next yr, continuing effort to clean up backlog of auditing records back to HRA founding 5 yrs ago, readjustment of manpower policies that have given 75% of jobs to women; stresses commitment to strengthen adm, planning and budgeting procedures; Sugarman, assts J Dean, J Forrer, E N Barker, H Rosenzweig comment on goals

Article on boom in post-hs vocational educ notes nearly 2-million persons are enrolled full time in vocational or technical training; Educ Office estimates as many as 25-million Amers need some form of vocational training and repts about 10-million are receiving it; authoritative sources in office expect substantial rise in Fed aid to expand and improve vocational educ; illus