March 12, 1971

Herbert drafts mil charges against Maj Gen J Barnes and Col J R Franklin and accuses them of covering up war crimes in S Vietnam; says he plans to file formal charges and specifications tomorrow; accuses Barnes and Franklin of dereliction of duty, misprision (concealment) of a felony and failure to obey regulations; says as comdr of inf bn in Vietnam, he reptd total of 8 criminal allegations to Barnes and Franklin, but nothing was done about repts until he was relieved of his command in Vietnam and shipped back to US last fall; says he forwarded same repts to Office of the Army's Inspector Gen when he returned, and Army began inquiries; sources say Criminal Investigation Div of Army has confirmed all incidents did occur; statute of limitations, in effect for specific charges Herbert plans to file, ends April 4; Herbert notes delays he has had to go through for 2 yrs; discusses, in int, account of his experiences at village of Cu Loi on Feb 14, '69; says he reptd subsequent incidents to Barnes and Franklin; Herbert illus

Gandhi wins majority in Parliament as New Cong party, with 3/4 of returns in, gets 296 of 394 seats reptd; Gandhi's triumph leaves most of other major parties in disarray, is complete in almost all 18 states; she says she is not surprised by results, news conf; says people voted for New Cong program to lessen disparities between rich and poor and that she was made symbol of that program; Old Cong party pres Nijalingappa charges Gandhi fixed elections with money; Old Cong candidates Mrs T Sinha, S Reddy and R S Singh defeated; V K Krishna Menon elected as independent from Trivandrum

Nixon's proposed merger plan for volunteer agencies, which would dismantle VISTA, would include proposed formulation of Pub Safety Corps which would put volunteers to work in police‐community relations, counseling and other nonhazardous activities

Amer officials say Saigon Govt's plan to move refugees from northern part of S Vietnam to southern part has been quietly set aside in favor of resettling refugees within their native provs; plans to move some refugees in Mil Region I to Mil Region III are still being considered

Nixon, in effort to accelerate campaign to reform nation's justice system, endorses series of proposals for judicial reform including taking 'victimless’ crimes out of ct to be handled by other agencies, s, Natl Conf on Judiciary, Williamsburgh, Va; says, in giving encouragement to efforts by Chief Justice Burger and other judicial readers who have been urging strong measures to make justice faster and more efficient, that system of criminal justice that can guarantee neither speedy trial nor safe community cannot excuse its failure by pointing to elaborate system of safeguards for accused