September 1, 1973

Plight of 500 residents of Elmhurst Towers apt bldg, who spent 3 days without power or water because of Aug 29 blackout, described; residents score Con Ed; co asserts bldg's plight was untended because of more pressing problems; illus

NJ Public Utilities Comm on Aug 31 appeals for curtailed power use as heat wave enters 5th day; Atlantic City and Camden cut voltage

Ford dies, Aug 31, Palm Springs, Calif, at age 78; career detailed; illus

China makes public on Aug 31 Premier Chou En-lai's rept to recent 10th natl Cong of Chinese Communist party in which Chou speaks out against both US and USSR, charging they are 'contending for hegemony,' but clearly indicates that China now considers USSR greater threat than US; Chou says recent Soviet charges that China is not for relaxation of tensions are meant to win money and favors from 'monopoly capitalists'; challenges USSR to show its good faith in relaxation of tensions by, among other things, withdrawing its armed forces from Czech; says US and USSR will always contend with each other, that their 'collusion' is only temporary; alleging that West seeks to divert Soviet threat toward China, says 'China is an attractive piece of meat coveted by all. But this piece of meat is very tough and for yrs no one has been able to bite into it'

7 antiwar veterans and 1 supporter are acquitted of charges of plotting violent disruption of Repub 72 natl conv after jury deliberates less than 4 hrs on Aug 31; trial of Vietnam Veterans Against the War is latest case Govt has lost in series of conspiracy cases against radicals and dissenters brought by Justice Dept's Internal Security Div; Gainesville Eight illus

Observers see US Treas Sec Shultz's decision to head high-level delegation to USSR in Moscow as sign that Nixon Adm wants to maintain momentum in relations between 2 nations despite new round of highly publicized crackdowns in USSR on dissident intellectuals

Highly qualified source repts on Aug 31 that Pres Papadopoulos has asked S Markezinis to set up Cabinet in Oct and hold 'fair' elections in '74; Markezinis career revd; says Papadopoulos has consented to give Markezinis free hand as Premier on foreign policy and on defense budgeting, in addition to choice of most Cabinet members; all are to be civilians, although Pres may appoint trusted former mil men to Defense and Public Order posts; sources also say Papadopoulos has obtained pledges from 13 former officers of junta who now hold Cabinet posts to resign; notes that some former junta officers are expected to be given positions in new 11-man Const ct that will screen pol candidates for Parliament; says Pres will appoint directly 20 members of 200-seat chamber; doubts whether many former politicians will take part in election, not only because Const ct may exclude them, but because many may be unwilling to participate in const system they regard as undemocratic

White House deputy press sec Warren says Vice Pres Agnew has requested meeting with Pres Nixon and that Nixon will fly to Washington from San Clemente, Calif, for Sept 1 meeting to be held in White House; Agnew's press sec J M Thompson says he knows that Agnew is not intending to discuss resignation; says they are talking about Agnew's situation, and allegations and investigations thereof; Nixon, in San Clemente, is reptd to have discussed Agnew situation by telephone or in person with some of his long-time pol associates, including J B Connally and H Brownell Jr; some sources believe 1 of crucial questions at this time is whether Nixon White House, in event of Agnew indictment, will insist that Vice Pres take position that he cannot be prosecuted and that legal recourse provided in Const is impeachment; Thompson says it is 'entirely possible' that Agnew is meeting with his attys; 1 long-time Agnew confidant suggests that Agnew's purpose in asking for meeting with Nixon is to 'rule out for all time' any thought that he might be prepared to resign under fire

NYS Controller A Levitt on Aug 31 announces approval of contract for petroleum supplies with Gulf Oil and Mobil Oil; scores 40% increase in contract costs

HR Govt Activities Subcom chmn Repr Brooks charges on Aug 31 that some documents pertaining to Pres Nixon's property at San Clemente, Calif, released earlier this wk, were previously altered, news conf; says dates on documents containing legal description of 23 acres of property, sold by Pres to 2 friends, were erased and changed by surveying co involved on orders from Nixon's personal atty F DeMarco Jr; White House deputy press sec Warren says on Aug 31 that Brooks is making 'much ado about nothing'; releases lr from Pres counselor B N Harlow to Brooks that, he says, shows 'there is nothing whatever improper or irregular about the transaction'; Brooks says he wrote to Harlow asking for explanation of 'inconsistencies and inaccuracies' in some of documents and emphasizes that he was making 'no charge or accusation'; raises questions about sales agreement dated Dec 15 '60 between Pres and Mrs Nixon and R H Abplanalp and C G Rebozo, who helped finance Nixon's purchase at San Clemente and to whom Nixon sold large part of property; questions dating on attachments to sales agreement that contain legal description of parcels of property reserved to Pres and those transferred to B & C Investment Co, co organized by Abplanalp and Rebozo; says his staff discovered that surveying co South Coastal Engineering Services Corp had, on Jan 8 '71, erased original date on attachments and sutstituted Dec 15 date; says DeMarco insisted, when asked, that no change had been made; says records in com's possession indicate that descriptions of property were not actually prepared until about Dec 28 and 29 '70 and that some data contained in Dec 15 sales agreement were not even in existence on that date; suggests change might have had something to do with Nixon's taxes; says his com is interested in fixing exact date of transfer because it is concerned with who owned property when Govt was paying for improvements on it in name of Pres security; Harlow, in lr, explained altered dates by saying that descriptions of property contained error and had to be changed; asserts that date of descriptions was 'irrelevant to effective date of sales agreement' which was prepared and executed before Dec 15 '70; Brooks says this assertion has been disproved by documentary and testimonial evidence collected by his staff; calls 'false' assertion in Harlow's lr that DeMarco gave explanation of changed date to investigator from com; says DeMarco refused to make available for review documents regarding transaction and denied Dec 15 date had been changed; illus of Brooks

renewed attempt to rescue R Mallinson and R Chapman from Pisces III enters critical stages as oxygen supply in minisubmarine dwindles; Aug 31 attempts are delayed when 2 submarines involved in operation develop tech problems and return to Atlantic's surface; Vickers co pres Sir L Renshaw says of internatl rescue plan which currently involves midget submarines from Scotland, Canada and US, that if pilots, currently 'conscious and coherent,' are brought up successfully, it will be 'by a very narrow margin indeed'; present plan entails attaching rope to Pisces's hatch and winching submarine to surface; crew has been told to remain silent to conserve oxygen, although they had earlier been 'singing for their lives' in attempt to guide searchers

Dr L McLaughlin, 61, former pres and chancellor of Fordham Univ and Jesuit priest for 28 yrs, married S Gombos, 26, in civil ceremony in June; marriage was revealed on Aug 31 ; McLaughlin applied to Jesuit authorities in Nov '72 For return to layman's status and dispensation to marry, but says he has not recd such permission and both he and his wife were automatically excommunicated; McLaughlin illus