January 17, 1975

HR Dems vote, 133‐152, to unseat HR Armed Services Com Chmn Repr F E Hebert and, 141‐144, to unseat HR Agr Com Chmn Repr W R Poage; reject recommendations of their leaders to depose HR Banking and Currency Com Chmn Repr W Patman and HR Adm Com Chmn W L Hays; actions are viewed as either ‘chaotic’ or a ‘revolution in the dem process'; Repr T S Foley says he will seek chmnship of Agr Com; Hebert says he will fight to retain his 4‐yr long chmnship; attributes his defeat to ‘propoaganda show led by Common Cause'; Repr M Price says he will seek nomination as Armed Services Chmn; sources in freshman delegation say overnight Hays made agreement with HR Dem Caucus chmn Repr P Burton to provide group with funds and office space for 1st time; Burton supports Hays; Reprs J V Stanton, J Brademas and R L Ottinger comment; illus of Hebert (1)

Soviet press agency Tass denies Soviet blame for collapse of ‘72 trade agreement between US and USSR and says country still seeks trade with US when it is ‘mutually beneficial'; statement is apparently made to rebut Western press speculation that Soviet unwillingness to carry out agreement means swing away from its policy of accommodation with US; supports contention of unofficial Soviet sources that USSR does not want to retreat from its over‐all relationship with US, but feels it had to draw line at what it considered Cong interference; some Western diplomats see statement as Soviet attempt to discredit US Sen Henry M Jackson and suggest that USSR did not want to enhance involuntarily Jackson's Pres campaign when trade bill's emigration provisions come up for rev in 18 mos; Soviet sources say USSR also felt that $300‐million Export‐Import Bank credit ceiling over 4 yrs was insultingly 'small change'; Tass commentary notes that during ‘hullabaloo’ in West over US Sec Kissinger's disclosure, there was only passing mention that trade bill's conditions were in ‘flagrant contradiction’ with agreement originally worked out between former Pres Nixon and Soviet Communist party leader Leonid Brezhnev (M)

Ford Motor Co chmn Henry Ford 2d announces that co will follow lead of Chrysler Corp in offering large rebates in attempt to improve slumping sales; says co will include $200 rebates on small econ cars and $500 rebates on small luxury cars; says program, which will run through end of Feb, will differ from Chrysler's in that it will be on whole car lines and not just individual models; Ford decision puts further pressure on GM to offer similar program; Chrysler repts that it has sold 3,200 small cars since rebate program was introduced 2 days ago; says in addition to gen rebate it will give another $100 to its own employes who purchase new car during program; auto indus has 20 car plants and 8 truck plants closed this wk; closed plants include 10 at Ford, 7 at GM and 3 at Chrysler; US auto production is expected to total 68,222 cars this wk, 41% decline from last wk (M)

several shooting incidents are reptd from Belfast and other parts of N Ireland on Jan 17, only minutes after IRA ends its cease‐fire at midnight; Brit soldier guarding electricity substation near Tandragee in County Armagh is shot and wounded; 2 shooting incidents are reptd from Ardoyne and Falls Rd dists of Belfast, both known to be IRA strongholds (S)

The W. T. Grant Company which expects to report a net loss of about $175‐million for the fiscal year, is involved in a heavy retrenchment in which it will discharge 12,600 employes by April 1 and tlose 126 stores during the year. The expected loss is probably the largest retailing deficit on record. Page 45.

Finance Mins representing IMF announce agreement on Jan 16 to establish $6‐billion special ‘oil‐facility’ for ‘75 and $25‐billion financial 'safety net,’ open to participation by OECD nations, to help internatl econ cope with vast flow of money to oil‐producing countries; interim com approves increase of 32,5% in members’ quotas and loans in monetary fund and makes progress, but does not reach final agreement, on series of important amendments to fund's charter, including settling future monetary role of gold; other important issue left to be decided in coming wks is what share of any help proferred would be from natl treasuries and what would be in form of guarantees of loans on world capital mkts; $25‐billion stand‐by fund will be for period of 2 yrs and must be approved by all parliaments concerned; loans from facility will be made only as last resort and borrowing countries will be required to show that they are encountering serious balance‐of‐payments difficulties and are making fullest possible use of their own reserves and of resources available to them through other channels; weighted voting system will be used, based on country's quotas, and 2/3 vote will be needed to approve any loan; exact quotas are not disclosed, but US officials say US share will be about $7‐billion; Canadian Min John N Turner and US Under Sec Jack F Bennett hail agreement (1)

Mayor Beame will meet with city's Cong delegation on Jan 17 to seek support for establishment of Fed‐munic financing agency to buy city bonds at low rates (S)

list of answers to questions that are being most widely asked about Pres Ford's tax and energy proposals (M)

ACLU wins $12‐million damage suit against Washington, DC, for what a jury says was false arrest and infringement of rights of 1,200 antiwar demonstrators on Capitol Hill in May ‘71; award is believed to 1 of largest ever in a civil liberties suit; Washington, DC, to appeal decision (1)

Commerce Dept repts that residential construction declined from $46.2‐billion in 3d qr to $40.5‐billion in 4th qr, although nonresidental construction rose from $51‐billion to $54.3‐billion (S)

NY Sec of State Mario M Cuomo says Jan 16 in rept on nursing home inquiry that there is good evidence that there exists number of powerful syndicates which own multiple homes and operate them as big business; cites ‘dramatic proliferation’ of repts on conditions in nursing homes that indicate ‘widespread and intolerable abuse of service, massive profiteering, administrative inadequacy, legislative deficiency and pol impropriety, if not corruption'; rept was submitted to Gov Carey Jan 5 but was not made public until several of its recommendations had been carried out; recommendations include immediate and substantial increase in number of NYS Health Dept auditors checking such insts, study of possible overcharges, possible creation of nursing home ombudsmen and apptmt of special repr of Gov to act as liaison between his office, special prosecutor and chmn of special state study comm, to be known as Moreland Comm; Carey has named Charles J Hynes as special prosecutor and Morris B Abram as special comr; rept lists cases of abuses and irregularities; cites investigation by John L Hess of NY Times, and work by Jack Newfield of The Village Voice and William Sherman of The Daily News, as well as studies by Amer Jewish Cong and US Sen Special Com on the Aging as sources for charges outlined in rept (M)

TRENTON, Jan. 16—Warning that the state faced an immediate fiscal crisis, Governor Byrne ordered today the impounding of $66‐million in the current budget, in an effort to head off a mounting deficit.