December 19, 1973

US's breeder reactor program, nation's most costly energy-research project, is suffering delays and large cost overruns that have forced re-examination of effort's pace and scope; AEC advisory panel under Dr H Bethe has strongly endorsed basic objectives of breeder program but has harshly criticized recent US steps toward this goal; Bethe int on issue; panel recommended changes in design and emphasis of test reactor being built at Hanford Works in Washington and of demonstration power plant to be built in Tenn; Bethe says Tenn plant should be built in commercially-oriented fashion desired by indus contractors, Westinghouse Elec Co, GE and Atomics Internatl Div of Rockwell Internatl Corp; among those serving with Bethe on panel were Dr C Starr and W Zinn; Hanford reactor, called Fast Flux Test Facility, is being built by Westinghouse Hanford Co, which took over project in '70 fron Battelle-Northwest, an arm of Battelle Memorial Institute; original and current cost estimates discussed; AEC Chmn D L Ray recent acknowledgement of cost problems noted; recent statement by W B Behnke, chmn of Project Mgt Corp, which is managing Tenn project, on costs there also noted; Prof M Driscoll comments on problem

Sen and HR negotiators, having agreed to give Pres Nixon far-reaching power during energy crisis, are still debating whether to include 1-yr or 2-yr extension of '75 'interim standards' on auto emission control devices

Watergate special prosecutor L Jaworski has decided not to call former ITT lobbyist Mrs D D Beard as witness before Watergate grand jury following 2 psychiatric examinations of her by ct-apptd psychiatrist; details of psychiatric repts are not disclosed; examinations became known on Dec 18 when Chief Judge J J Sirica unsealed 'stipulation and order' that was filed by special prosecutor's office in Nov; document stated that psychiatric repts on Beard had been prepared by drs selected by both Beard and Govt; says after examination subpoena requiring Mrs Beard to appear before Watergate grand jury was withdrawn; notes instead she was int by reprs of Jaworski's office; Beard's testimony is considered important in Govt's investigation into controversial antitrust settlement that allowed ITT to retain Hartford Fire Ins Co; memo said that pledge of up to $400,000 toward Repub Natl Conv was made by ITT in order to obtain favorable ruling from Govt; recently old friends of Beard have seen her in various parts of US, apparently in good health; about 2 mos ago Denver Post reptd that Beard had said she had been subpoenaed to appear before special Watergate grand jury but would try to avoid testifying for med reasons; por

Dem Congressmen up for re-election in '74 fear that Watergate scandal will spur voter backlash against incumbents in both parties; campaign consultant M Shields points to polls showing govt is being viewed increasingly as alien force; R J Keefe, exec dir of Dem Natl Com, says best course for Dems is to avoid trying to take advantage, overtly, of Watergate and to concentrate on more customary issues, such as inflation and law and order, which he feels Repubs have 'booted away'; unnamed consultant to Dems expresses hope that Pres Nixon stays in office, to dramatize Watergate issue; Sen L Bentsen, chmn of Dem Sen Campaign Com, says if Dems adopt 'go slow' strategem on HR's inquiry into possible impeachment of Pres, it would be 'counterproductive and transparent'; forecasts minimum 3-seat gain for Dems in Sen; Repr W L Hays, chmn of Dem Natl Cong Com who is 'shooting for' 40-seat gain for Dems in HR, also foresees backlash against incumbents, but only if gas rationing is put into effect

Louis A. Reiter, former head of the Municipal Loan Program for slum rehabilitation, was found guilty in State Supreme Court on larceny charges stemming from the scandal that shook the program two years ago. Details on Page 60.

Teamsters' union demands on Dec 18 that its natl contract with trucking indus be reopened to increase wages of over-the-rd truckers whose earnings are being eroded by reduced speed limits imposed as fuel conservation measure; labor experts predict that demand could be forerunner of intensive action by other unions in '74 to protect members from impact of energy crisis; effect of lower speed limits on truckers described

illus of N A Rockefeller at Lt Gov M Wilson's inaugural ceremony as NYS Gov

Dec 19: Arab terrorists who staged attack at Rome's Leonardo da Vind Internatl Airport and hijacked Lufthansa Boeing 737 airliner to Athens fly to Kuwait on Dec 18 and release their hostages in exch for 'free passage' to unknown destination; 5 guerrillas debark at Kuwait and surrender to authorities; 12 hostages reptdly debarked from plane; no bodies are found aboard Lufthansa plane and stewardess C Poinsard says only killing aboard plane in Athens Internatl Airport was that of Italian hostage whose body was dumped on runway in Athens; it was believed that hijackers killed 5 hostages, including plane's co-pilot, when Greek authorities refused to release 2 Arab terrorists who were held since Aug 5 for attack on Athens airport; Poinsard describes how Arabs faked killing of hostages aboard plane; Lufthansa spokesman says terrorists left behind 2 submachine guns, 5 pistols, 6 hand grenades and 'some kilos of nitroglycerine'; hijackers tell newsmen in Kuwait that 'we are Palestinian Arabs, proud of what we did'; Pan Am World Airways spokesman says that 14 of 31 passengers who died aboard co's Boeing 707 when Arabs attacked it on Dec 17 in Rome airport were employes of Arabian-American Oil Co or their dependents; says also among dead is wife of plane's pilot, A Erbeck; Jordanian King Hussein and Egyptian Pres A Sadat's spokesman score assault; Pres Nixon on Dec 18 warns against appeasing terrorists and calls for swift prosecution of killers; map

GAO, reptg on its review of Fed spending on Pres Nixon's private residences, calls on Dec 18 for Cong action to provide closer control over and greater public disclosure of such expenditures in future; asks Cong to consider ltg number of a Pres's private residences protected at public expense; rept puts total spending by GSA at Pres's homes at Key Biscayne, Fla, and San Clemente, Calif, at $1.4-million; says most of amount was, in fact, spent for Pres's protection; finds some of expenditures by govt were questionable and perhaps should have been paid by Pres; finds some of protective work did in fact improve property; that procedures used 'fostered casual attitude' in authorizing work at homes and 'invited GSA to do more than simply execute Secret Service requests'-meaning that work was carried out in way that went beyond needs of security; figure does not include expenditures on office complex adjoining San Clemente, on mil communications support at 2 residences or at Grand Cay Island, home of Nixon's friend R H Abplanalp; these items could bring total Fed spending on private property in name of Pres security and support to more than $10-million; audit finds that all of spending by Secret Service on security devices, and most of spending by GSA on fences, lighting, command posts and guardhouses did serve protective purposes; finds some of spending served 'nonprotective functions,' and that 'architectural considerations' stipulated by Pres's personal reprs added substantially to cost of providing protection in number of cases; items questioned by GAO noted; GAO, in discussing dangers of 'casual attitude' in authorizing work paid for bu public, says that although law requires Secret Service dir to request assistance from other Govt agencies to protect Pres, there had been no lr from dir asking work by GSA on homes; says vague verbal requests by Secret Service invited GSA to go beyond simple needs of security; rept recommends appropriations for expenditures at private residences should be made only to Secret Service; that expenditures for security at such homes be authorized only by Service's dir or deputy dir; that Service should make annual public rept to Cong describing such expenditures in detail; and that this rept be subject to annual audit by GAO, which would have access to all relevant documents

Syria, accusing US and Israel of 'maneuvers that would lead us into an endless wilderness,' declares on Dec 18 that it will not attend Middle East peace conf in Geneva; US and USSR formally announce that conf will begin on Dec 21; Syrian announcement following visits to Damascus and discussions with Syrian Pres H Assad by US Sec of State H A Kissinger on Dec 15 and Egyptian Foreign Min I Fahmy on Dec 17; indicates that serious differences have developed between Egypt and Syria over acceptance of US plan for negotiations toward peace settlement; Egypt and Jordan have said that they are prepared to go to conf under aegis of UN Sec Gen Waldheim; Kissinger, who is to serve as co-chmn of conf with Soviet Foreign Min A A Gromyko, will arrive in Geneva on Dec 20 to confer with Gromyko in advance of conf set for 10:30 AM at Palais des Nations; separate English and Russian texts of agreement on date and place of peace conf in form of lrs are delivered to Waldheim; agreement gives UN only minor role in actual peace conf, condition that Israel demanded before agreeing to participate; sr US officials traveling with Kissinger party refuse to accept Syrian decision as final; speculate that ruling Syrian Baath party decided that it could not agree to conf that did not guarantee in-advance complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from all Arab lands--including its Golan heights--and that did not promise to take up Palestinian question immediately; opening meetings reptdly will be primarily concerned with organizational questions; US and Soviet reprs will sit in on organizational meetings, meeting Egyptian Pres A Sadat's insistance that he will not negotiate directly with Israel

The Soviet Union launched Soyuz 13 into earth orbit, its second manned space mission in three months in a new demonstration of confidence in its modified craft. Page 85.

ex-Vice Pres Angew on Dec 18 asks Md's judiciary to suspend rather than disbar him--chance, he says, to resume useful place and, perhaps, 'attempt to bring credit' on his state and his profession; makes his plea before 3-judge panel shortly after attys from Md State Bar Assn told panel that Agnew should be disbarred because of his conviction last Oct for tax evasion; panel overrules Agnew's attys on key point--it decides to admit into record the full transcript of proceedings in which Agnew entered plea of no contest in Fed Dist Ct, Baltimore, Md, to single Fed charge of tax evasion; transcript includes summary of evidence presented by then-Atty Gen E L Richardson chronicling illegal payments that Agnew allegedly accepted during his yrs in public office; Agnew's attys argue that only misbehavior before judges is single count of tax evasion and that Agnew's conviction on this count does not indicate that he could not be proper atty; assert crime was committed while Agnew was working as Govt official rather than as atty and therefore Agnew has done nothing wrong insofar as his clients are concerned; Agnew illus