November 1, 1974

Asst Atty Gen Thomas E Kauper, in speech prepared for delivery before Chicago Bar Assn's Antitrust Law Com, says Cong will be asked to enact legis increasing maximum penalties for price-fixing and other criminal violations of antitrust laws, now 1 yr, to 5 yrs; voices hope that stiffer penalties will have deterrent effect; Justice Dept official says cts generally impose sentences of much less than 1 yr (M)

NYC Controller Harrison J Goldin, in annual rept on city's fiscal situation, expresses 'serious concern' over widening gap between city's spending and revenues and warns that NYC cannot continue to close gaps with ever larger and more expensive borrowings; Wall St informants say later that Goldin's concern developed out of increasing reluctance of banking and brokerage syndicates to underwrite city's bond and note offerings; rept notes growth in size of city's short-term indebtedness from $747-million in '69 to $3.4-billion in June '74, and further growth to $5.3-billion between June and Oct; notes 57% increase in debt-service cost in '74 to $1.798-billion, or 16% of $1.1-billion expense budget; cites statistics on delinquency rate on real-estate taxes in fiscal '74 and depletion of city's rainy-day fund (L)

Prices of raw farm products climbed 4 per cent from Sept. 15 to Oct. 15, more than offsetting a decline in the preceding month, the Agriculture Department reported yesterday. Page 55.

MTA Chmn David L Yunich announces that completion of 2d Av subway will be delayed at least 5 or 6 yrs, until about '86, because 'costs have spiraled greatly'; says there will be major delays in finishing most other projects in 'priority' construction program originally scheduled for completion in '80-81; says long delays in Manhattan construction will principally affect 2d Av subway south of 63d St and 'cup handle' shuttle route between 2d Av line and Lower East Side; Yunich's comments are made after he and auth officials met with Mayor Beame and Estimate Bd; Yunich says construction costs of priority programs, approved by city in '68, have risen from $1.2-billion to $4.7-billion; says his financial projections are based on 'optimum conditions' of obtaining Fed money, which is counted on for 80% of financing; official who attended meeting says there is gap of $750-million in auth's projected construction funds for 4-yr period beginning in '78; Yunich denies assertions by Lower East Side residents that 'cup handle' route has been abandoned; says auth has recently recd Fed grant to study its feasibility; City Council Pres Paul O'Dwyer and Manhattan Boro Pres Percy Sutton issue statement criticizing auth; say contractors are taking advantage of inflationary spiral in their bidding 'to develop greater profits than they would be normally entitled to' (M)

1 in series of articles on world food situation notes that scientists in Asia are confident that rice harvests can increase faster than needs of rice-dependent population, which is expected to double by yr 2,000; holds confidence is based on revolution in rice growing techniques that continues spread in Asia, offering what scientists believe is only pathway of escape from agr of mere survival; points out that many observers of rice growing tropics dispute optimism, pointing to widespread hunger and continuing threat of famine in region as reasons for their pessimism; observers doubt that problems of land-holding, credit mktg and poor farming practices can be overcome quickly enough to win race against such disasters; claim that revolution in rice-production methods has failed to overcome many soc and physical problems and has kept hardly ahead of population growth; also point out that fertilizer shortage has stalled green revolution; scientific insts have made several improvements in rice production, including armoring new rice types genetically against pests and finding ways to grow fertilizer-responsive dwarf rice varieties with as little as 1/3 of previously recommended amts of fertilizer; have developed varieties able to grow in cool seasons or to stand long immersion in deep water and have made practical demonstrations on farms of methods for growing new rice types outside irrigated zone; article notes that new rice varieties have increased yields from world avg of 1,300 lbs of milled rice an acre to between 1,700 and 2,100 lbs; estimates that increased yield will provide annual rice intake of 40- to 80-million people in non-Communist Asia and perhaps 17- to 35-million more in China; chart superimposed on map shows world rice acreage (L)