March 18, 1973

TORONTO, March 17—The New York Rangers, who needed a victory to regain a second‐place tie with Boston in the National Hockey League's East Division, frittered away a 4‐1 first‐period lead tonight and then lost to Toronto, 7‐5.

WASHINGTON‐Four months after the Nixon landslide, money is still moving in and out of the President's Re‐election Campaign Committee. But it is not the record, amount—nearly $50‐million collected, nearly $5‐million left over—that keeps the issue in the headlines. The intriguing questions are: Why did the committee recently return $655,000 to three big contributors? Why, long after the election was over and the giant surplus was well‐known, did an additional. $246,000 dribble into the Nixon treasury in January and February?

counter budget being prepared by Sen Dems as alternative to Pres Nixon's budget differs in that it would allocate more money for domestic purposes and less for mil and foreign aid and would not attempt to specify allocation of funds for each item in Nixon's budget but would set spending amounts for each of broad outlay categories in budget; counter budget, which will not call for deficit any larger than $12.7-billion projected by Pres, is being prepared with assistance of outside consultants including C L Schultze, budget dir during Johnson Adm

article on doctrine of exec privilege notes that Pres Nixon hopes Sen will not hold FBI Acting Dir Gray's confirmation as 'hostage' to decision on whether J W Dean 3d will be allowed to testify

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla., March 17—“What will it take for the Mets to beat the Pittsburgh Pirates for the Easterr championship?” Tom Seaver asked today, echoing the big question of spring training here. “It'll take a maximum effort by our regulars and especially by our pitchers—nothing less.”