August 20, 1974

Armed with a valise he said was filled with eight sticks of dynamite, a young holdup man walked into a Yorkville savings bank last night; calmly waited 120 minutes while a terrified bank officer made two trips to the vault to fill an attaché case with money and then walked out with $157,000 in cash.

3d and last in series of articles on Vietnam discusses police tactics of arrest, torture and imprisonment to control pro-Communist dissidents in S Vietnam; sees police tendency toward believing all opponents of Govt of Pres Nguyen Van Thieu as being Communist; many RC priests see anti-Communist cause as excuse to 'shut mouths of people'; some S Vietnamese, including prominent civilian judge, see martial law as reaching 'too many innocents and transforming them into Communists because of anger against unjust measures taken against them'; other police tactics short of arrest, including preventing writers from finding publishers willing to take risks, described; case of ex-Saigon newspaper editor Ky Ninh detailed; por of Ky Ninh; police tactic of influencing student elections by arresting anti-Govt candidates and filling important univ-wide exec councils with pro-Govt candidates described (L)

US Amb Davies shot and killed in attack by mob on US Embassy in Nicosia, Cyprus (L)

Pres Ford says he favors 'leniency' for nation's estimated 50,000 draft evaders and mil deserters and proposes study to determine how group may work its way back to full citizenship, speech before 75th annual VFW conv, Chicago; says attitude of total opposition to amnesty he held as Vice Pres has changed in face of problem of how to 'bind up nation's wounds'; discloses he has directed Atty Gen William Saxbe and Defense Sec Schlesinger to submit rept before Sept 1 on status of men charged with draft evasion and desertion and on public opinion on issue; terms exiles 'casualties,' saying he will devise method of dealing with individual cases; VFW natl comdr Ray Soden says Ford may find himself at odds with orgn, whose 1.8-million members remain stanchly opposed to any type of amnesty; Sen George McGovern, in telephone int, says he is encouraged by Ford's stance; Ford tells newsmen in Washington that decision stemmed from discussions with Cabinet members; illus (L)

Judge John J Sirica rules that trial of Watergate cover-up defendants will begin as scheduled on Sept 9, notwithstanding requests by both prosecution and 4 of defendants for delay; ruling may put pressure on Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski to decide within next few wks how to resolve legal status of former Pres Nixon; attys for John D Ehrlichman appeal Sirica's ruling to US Appeals Ct, Washington, DC; attys for H R Haldeman to join appeal; grounds on which Ehrlichman's atty Andrew C Hall and attys for John N Mitchell, Haldeman and Robert C Mardian have asked for delay noted; Haldeman's atty John J Wilson, Mitchell's atty William G Hundley comment (M)