December 14, 1974

NYC Mayor Beame proposes 6-yr transit-construction program providing no further money for 2d Av subway, but emphasizing completion of new Queens trunk lines and modernizing city's existing subway system; plan involves massive use of newly available Fed aid to 'stabilize' transit fare; Beame adm's major shift in transit-spending priorities casts grave doubts on future of 2d Av line; new lines to be completed will provide new trunk connection from Manhattan through 63d St tunnel to Queens and include southeast Queens line to Springfield Gardens; Queens lines known as 63d St route, super-express bypass to Forest Hills, Jamaica Ave elevated replacement, Archer Av sec and Southeast Queens route will be pushed to completion by '81 to '83; NYC Planning Comm Chmn John E Zuccotti outlines plan during closed meeting of Estimate Bd; says 6-yr plan envisions $5.1-billion expenditure in Fed, state and local funds; says $2.3-billion will be allocated for 'stabilizing' fare, $1.35-billion for upgrading system and $1.47-billion for new routes; Bronx Boro Pres Robert Abrams says his boro is being short-changed with decision to delay extension of 2d Av subway (M)

OPEC stabilizes world oil prices for next 9 mos at about level set by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and United Arab Emirates in Nov; sets avg of equity and buy-back prices at $10.12 a bbl, in case of Arabian light crude, basing actual price for 1st time on govt revenues rather than posted price; effectively raises world oil prices in that all OPEC countries will now adopt higher Saudi price; will not increase price to offset inflation in next 9 mos; say increase is designed to cut profits of internatl oil cos; Iranian Oil Min Jamshid Amouzegar says direct sales by OPEC govts will be based on buy-back price of $10.46, but Saudi Oil Min Sheik Ahmed Zaki Yamani says his Govt is prepared to make direct sales at prices even lower than $10.12; says that after Govt acquistion of Arabian Amer Oil Co, which he says will be completed shortly, Saudi Arabia will establish single price for oil sales to both present Amer partners in Aramco and ind buyers; OPEC calls for conf of producers and consumers on worldwide inflation commodity prices and financial imbalance and condemns all actions aimed at confrontation (M)

WASHINGTON, Dec. 13—The House of Representatives gave final approval today to a bill that would curb the most flagrant environmental abuses of strip mining for coal, but President Ford announced that he would veto it.

Egypt's Foreign Min Ismail Fahmy declares that Israel must 'freeze' her present level of population and suspend immigration for next 50 yrs if she wants peace in Middle East (M)

US Labor Dept official Frank Mercurio, in lr to NYC Mayor Beame, warns that Beame's plan to force retirement of 860 city workers aged 63 to 65 to save jobs of younger employes could be in violation of Fed Age Discrimination in Employment Act of '67; Mercurio and NYS Gov-elect Hugh Carey, who says legis action would be needed to implement proposal, both emphasize they do not oppose plan but are merely raising questions about its legality; Beame passes lr to Corp Counsel Adrian P Burke while city goes ahead with implementation of lay-off plan; spokesman says 510 Civil Service workers scheduled for dismissal on Dec 20 in first wave of lay-offs could have dismissals rescinded if Burke rules that forced retirement of older workers is legal; Jack Bigel, pension consultant who devised plan, and Human Rights Comr Eleanor H Norton insist plan is legal; meanwhile, Beame continues to press members of Bd of Estimate to contribute 10% of their salaries to city; several members indicate such voluntary cuts would be contingent on similar cuts among other elected officials, ind agency heads and apptd dept heads (L)