November 13, 1972

allied officials in Saigon say, Nov 12, that Pres Thieu has modified his total opposition to the draft peace settlement, but is still unwilling to accept it fully; says he told Haig that he could agree to the pact if Hanoi would at least pledge in principle to withdraw its from S Vietnam; after such a public pledge, Saigon would be able to accept a gradual withdrawal of what it estimates to be 300,000 N Vietnamese soldiers; US intelligence puts the number at 145,000; Haig leaves Saigon for Cambodia and then will go to S Korea; Nguyen reptdly gave Haig a lr for Nixon which reptdly is one of 'courtesy' and does not indicate that Thieu is prepared to accept a settlement; UPI says lr told Nixon he could negotiate his own accord with Hanoi as long as it does not include anything Thieu objects to; a US officials says key question now is how long Nixon and Kissinger will be willing to put up with Thieu's objections; says Kissinger may have purposely avoided demanding that Hanoi withdraw all its troops, since it would be almost impossible to enforce such a provision; Haig reptdly told Thieu US was given indications that Hanoi would voluntarialy withdraw at least some of its troops

Shenyang Acrobatic Troupe of Manchuria tour of US beginning Dec 16 seen as another Chinese move toward normalizing relations with the US; initiative for tour came from Chinese Govt; troupe illus

Comment on series of strikes in Italy, some of which are ordered by postal union, notes that direct phone dialing covers most of Italy; state‐controlled phone network has promised to improve service by installing new equipment and as result has sharply increased rates

Officials who operate Nixon Adm's econ controls program indicate in private talks that they expect program to continue beyond Apr 30, '73, expiration date; favor narrowing program as gradual step toward decontrol; fear program becomes excessively complex; favor decontrol of retailing, wholesaling and rents, but fear adverse reaction from organized labor; Commerce Sec Peterson says on Nov 12 that he has heard nothing to suggest that Nixon will end controls quickly, int on ABC TV show Issues and Answers; some Dem Cong analysts expect that Nixon will seek simple extension of controls to minimize possibility of getting from Dem Cong bill broadening program; recent indication by Treas Sec Shultz that he expects continued wage and price stabilization in '73 noted

passengers aboard craft are returned to Miami on Nov 12; describe ordeal; hijackers reptdly will face charges in Cuba; airline indus experts score shooting‐out of craft's tires by FBI; injured co‐pilot, stewardesses and passengers illus