April 15, 1972

Fed Reserve Bd repts Mar retail sales show robust gains, giving evidence that econ is in strong expansionary phase after long period of sluggishness; sales based on preliminary estimates rose 2.5% from Feb

Sup Ct Appellate Div, Bloemfontein, S Africa, reverses conviction of Anglican Dean Right Rev G A ffrench-Beytagh on subversion charges and quashes his 5-yr prison sentence, Apr 14; ffrench-Beytagh leaves Johannesburg for London after his passport is returned; says he has no plans to return; Dean's term of office expired during his trial and appeal; church official says he will not accept new term; 3-man ct rejects state's contention that ffrench-Beytagh sought violent overthrow of S African Govt; he was convicted in Nov '71 on charges that he had incited members of Black Sash, anti-apartheid women's orgn, to violence and that he distributed $70,000 to banned orgns on behalf of London Defense and Aid Fund, orgn prohibited in S Africa under Suppression of Communism Act; judges reject much of evidence against him as unsatisfactory; rule that he had not been on trial for his pol views and that there was no evidence that he is a Communist; concede that he disapproved of S Africa's legis and Govt's policy of apartheid; hold that expression of his views cannot necessarily be equated with participation in terrorist activities; church officials express relief at outcome of case, which has lasted 15 mos; illus

US Adm officials say, Apr 14, that Nixon orders large B-52 strikes throughout 200-mi long southern panhandle of N Vietnam and that the objectives are diplomatic and pol as well as mil; up to 150 bombers will participate in attacks, representing the most extensive use of them in the war; among objectives are to cut off supplies from north to the south, to employ heavy firepower to help S Vietnamese and to create a new bargaining chip--an offer to stop heavy bombing of the North--either to obtain release of Amer POWs or to achieve a broad negotiated settlement

Nixon, in address to Canadian Parliament, Ottawa, notes his planned trip to Moscow but cautions against any 'unrealistic euphoria' about it

Sen Ervin insists on Apr 14 that White House aide P M Flanigan and other aides J D Ehrlichman, W E Timmons and C W Colson testify publicly under oath before Sen Judiciary Com, investigating D D Beard memo linking Justice Dept settlement of ITT antitrust case to ITT pledge to Repub Natl Conv; Sen Mathias on Apr 13 proposed that Flanigan appear informally before com; Ervin says he will not accept 'whispered' testimony; says 'nobody is ever anxious to supress the truth unless the truth will hurt him'; Adm officials insist that to have Flanigan testify would prompt Cong to demand testimony of officials in more sensitive positions, such as Nixon foreign policy adviser Kissinger; ITT vp Gerrity testifies that Beard did not categorically deny having written memo published by Anderson; says she said 'I think I wrote it, it looks like mine-but I couldn't have written it, it isn't true'; says Beard thought she could convince Anderson's assoc B Hume that 'memo didn't mean what it said' and he advised her to be int by Hume; says during early ints in NY 'we were not getting a straight story' from Beard and so ITT attys said she should not have any communication with Geneen or anyone else; Dept of HEW chief counsel W R Hastings says through spokesman that he phoned Asst Atty Gen L P Gray 3d during wk of Mar 13 and told him of investigation of Beard's dr L M Radetsky on charges of Medicaid violations; Gray says he has no recollection of call