November 22, 1974

Meeting

Senate and House conferees Were unable to reach a compromise on a strip mining bill last night, apparently dooming passage of.a measure this year. Page 18.

HR, prodded by Pres Ford and Cong leaders from both parties, passes landmark mass‐transit bill that would provide $11.8‐billion over 6 yrs and authorize Fed funds for operating subsidies; legis, approved by 286 to 108 vote, is heralded as energy‐saving, anti‐inflationary measure; Port Auth Chmn William J Ronan lauds Sen Harrison A Williams, Repr Joseph G Minish, Repr Edward I Koch and NYC Mayor Beame for their efforts in support of bill; bill arrived on HR floor with surprising speed, building on momentum of recent victories in Sen and HR Rules Com; bill's sponsors feared that delay would enable their major opponents, members of HR Public Works Com, to rally their forces in broad‐based assault; Urban Mass Transit Admr Frank C Herringer calls bill ‘fundamental change in mass transit'; Reprs William H Harsha, Jim Wright, John A Blatnik, Transportation Sec Claude S Brinegar and San Francisco Mayor Joseph L Alioto comment (L)

bombs destroy 2 crowded pubs in heart of Birmingham, Eng, on Nov 21, killing 17 persons and injuring about 120; it is worst attack in series of bombings that have hit GB over past 2 yrs, an offshoot of violence in N Ireland; Brit Prime Min Wilson meets with Home Sec Roy Jenkins, who is expected to go to Birmingham Nov 22; no immediate statements are issued naming group responsible for bombings, but there is little doubt that it is work of Provisional wing of IRA; police round up number of members of Sinn Fein, IRA's pol arm, in Birmingham and ‘amber’ alert goes out from Scotland Yard to police forces around country, signaling them to provide added protection for sites and persons thought to be potential targets of IRA; 4 days ago David O'Connell, IRA Provisional leader, warned in TV int that violence will be stepped up in GB; man with Irish accent phoned Birmingham Post to warn of bombs only minutes before 1st bomb went off; Sinn Fein leader in GB Brendan Magill calls bombings ‘disgraceful'; says he does not speak for IRA; bombings occur as Brit Airways plane waits at Birmingham's Elmdon airport to fly to Belfast body of James McDade, guerrilla who blew himself up in bomb attack in Coventry 1 wk ago; police had forbidden planned march to airport by Sinn Fein; bombings will be interpreted as response to ban; McDade's body is transferred to Aer Lingus plane and flown to Dublin; in what appears to be isolated militant reaction to terrorist attacks, gasoline bomb is thrown at Roman Cath church in Aston, Eng; bomb cause little damage and no injuries; illus of firemen removing bodies from pub and of wreckage (L)

NYC Met Opera names former Met Opera Assn pres Anthony A Bliss exec dir and chmn of bd of dirs adm com in move that places him above gen mgr Schuyler G Chapin; move will dilute authority of Chapin, who had been in charge of artistic and adm matters of financially‐pressed orgn; bd cites need to strengthen orgn's mgt team; Chapin lauds move; decision seen underlining Opera's precarious econ position; some of orgn's econ problems revd; Bliss illus (L)