July 21, 1972

July 21: (McGovern Campaign--Labor Role--Campaign Outlook) Sen McGovern, on July 20, names L F O'Brien as chmn of his Pres campaign and assigns him to make peace with labor and party Establishment; McGovern's sr advisers privately indicate that campaign title will be largely hon; apptmt seen overture by McGovern to elements of party that opposed his nomination; McGovern, in Washington for crucial vote on minimum wage improvements, says that Dem unity is essential to victory in Nov; O'Brien says that McGovern has already surmounted skepticism by winning nomination and avoiding nightmare at conv; McGovern illus with O'Brien and Vice-Pres candidate Sen Eagleton; McGovern says that O'Brien's staff will not have direct control over McGovern's grass-roots pol orgn; says that G Hart will remain campaign mgr and that F Mankiewicz will continue as natl pol coordinator; describes O'Brien's functions; says he is confident that he will soon have AFL-CIO's backing; Transport Workers Union pres M Guinan gives McGovern union's backing; UAW exec bd unanimously votes to urge its local officials to back Dem ticket; both unions act without apparent prodding from O'Brien; Gallup Poll, released on July 20, reveals that Pres Nixon is leading McGovern by 46%-22% with 18% favoring another 3d-party candidacy by Gov Wallace; margin is slightly larger than that Sen Humphrey failed to overcome in '68 Pres elect; poll was taken immediately after Dem conv; figures in '68 poll were 43%-31%-19%; possibility of Wallace foregoing 3d-party candidacy, move that is expected, would widen Nixon's lead to 56% compared to McGovern's 37%; McGovern staff to take over 8 floors in bldg where Sen Muskie had his campaign hq

B Fischer wins 5th game of world chess champ match when Spassky resigns after 27 moves; game is preceded by release of new set of demands by Fischer, including request for private swimming pool, private tennis court, new car and more reading material; score of match is now 2 1/2 to 2 1/2; chess experts analyze game; illus; chart of moves

Nation's rrs and UTU, on July 20, announce agreement which will eventually eliminate job of fireman on diesel freight locomotives, ending 35-yr labor-mgt dispute which is believed longest in Amer history; contract permits long-term attrition in number of firemen employed by rrs; rr officials hint they may seek to eliminate firemen on passenger trains; labor experts say pact marks long step toward elimination of featherbedding in rr indus, and may be important precedent for bargaining in other industries; UTU pres A H Chesser, chief rr negotiator W H Dempsey and Labor Sec Hodgson hail agreement; agreement detailed; 2 panels set up to study work rules and ramifications of new agreement noted

July 21: US civilian and mil sources disclose that in effort to clear away enemy-controlled forests, the US made a number of attempts to set huge fire storms in S Vietnam in '66 and '67, but finally abandoned project because moist tropical rain forest would not burn; project was undertaken with collaboration of fire-prevention experts from US Forest Service, detached from service's Northern Forest Fire Lab in Missoula, Mont, and according to some repts, from Pacific SW Forest and Range Experiment Station in Calif; in final attempt, called Operation Pink Rose, area about size of Philadelphia in Iron Triangle region NW of Saigon was defoliated and bombarded with magnesium bombs; pacification program had never succeeded in eradicating Vietcong influence in this region; result of this and earlier attempt aimed at Boiloi Woods near Saigon were so disappointing that no further efforts were made; disclosure comes at time of mounting concern among some scientists and Govt officials that yrs of defoliation, bombing and burning have inflicted irreversible damage on the Vietnamese environment; details on ints with fire experts; map

“SUPER BRUCE” 13 IN YOUR RADIO! GET HIM IN YOUR MORNING! BRUCE BRADLEY. 6–10 A.M. WHN/1050.—Advt