February 11, 1975

NYSE, signaling possible change in financial health of ailing brokerage indus, repts most of its member firms recorded strong profits during final ′74 qr and finished yr solidly in black; improvement is attributed largely to 2 increases in commission rates granted stockbrokers since Sept ′73; of 425 member firms, 290 reptd profits totaling $154.1‐million for 4th qr, while 135 reptd losses of $16.5‐million; exch chmn John J Needham repts over‐all 4th qr profits of member firms, on pretax basis, climbed 22% to nearly $138‐million, from $113‐million in ′73; says strong 4th qr pushed pretax profits for yr to $45.8‐million in contrast to ′73 loss by members of $49‐million; chart compares qrly earnings of brokers for ′73 and ′74 (L)

Arnold Constable Corp, NYC's oldest specialty store, will close in Mar after 150 yrs of existence and 50 yrs on 5th Av; pres Merwin Bayer cites increasing expenses and need to spend ‘large sum’ for modernization; co will concentrate on its more successful NoName apparel shops in suburban shopping centers; history of Arnold Constable store revd; Arnold Constable ended its fiscal yr Jan 31 with small operating profit and sales of about $5‐million; illus of Arnold Constable sign and storefront on 5th Av (L)

HR Ways and Means Com seen entering new era because of new chmn, Repr A Ullman, and fact that 1/2 of its 37 members are new to com this yr, which makes com more liberal; some of individual and group characteristics that have emerged so far noted; several of more sr liberal Dems are fighting on every issue now that they detect possibility of victory; this is particularly true of Reprs S Gibbons and W J Green; Repubs, who now constitute less than 1/3 of com's membership, are as cohesive as before and ‘scrappier’; debates in com stay on the point, are seldom frivolous and are sometimes eloquent; among new members, those who have recd highest marks so far for incisiveness are Dems O G Pike, A J Mikva and M Keys and Repubs W A Steiger, B Frenzel and G Vander Jagt; Ullman seen running more open operation than his predecessor W D Mills; illus of Ullman talking with Fed Reserve Bd Chmn Arthur F Burns (L)

Interior Min Rogers C B Morton on Feb 10 says that if Cong should repeal oil depletion allowance Ford Adm would have to reconsider its proposal for windfall profits tax against oil cos, speech to Houston Chamber of Commerce (S)

Nassau and Suffolk Counties and 5 LI communities file Fed suit to block Interior Dept plans to sell or lease 10‐million acres of offshore lands to oil cos in ′75; assert dept violated Natl Environmental Protection Act by not conducting adequate impact studies on drilling; say Interior Sec Rogers Morton and dept are in conflict of interest because of support for offshore drilling by private cos; suit, which names Morton and Land Mgt Bur dir Curtis J Berklund as defendants, is assigned to Judge Jack B Weinstein; dept hearings on leasing are scheduled in begin in Trenton, NJ, on Feb 11; Mobil Oil Corp exec Henry K Holland says Atlantic outer continental shelf offers great potential for new oil and gas discoveries and should be opened to development by oil cos (M)

Kissinger illus with Israeli Premier Rabin and Defense Min Peres

Pres Ford tells energy office to consider ways of reimbursing farmers for increased cost of fuel they will bear as result of his energy program, which seeks increased import fees on oil (S)

Survey finds that 80% of NYC felony cases were cut to misdemeanors and settled in Criminal Ct in ′74; ct disposed of 81,351 of 101,748 felony arrests through plea bargaining or dismissal, compared with 7,3’ ; of felony cases in ′73; criminal cts have come to supervise plea and sentence bargaining, with tacit aim of reducing felonies to misdemeanors as often as possible at defendant's 1st appearance; ints with judges, prosecutors, defense lawyers, police officers and defendants indicate that effort to prevent criminal case load from becoming unmanageable has generated a system of concession and compromise that puts adm ahead of justice; NYS Select Com on Crime repts that in Manhattan, Bronx and Bklyn, only 22% of adults arrested for felony robberies in ′73 by anticrime police units were convicted of felonies; others were either dismissed, discharged, placed on probation or sent to drug treatment centers; com chmn Sen Ralph J Marino says plea‐bargaining situation has become so serious that he will hold public hearings to estab guidelines for felony reductions; 20% of felony arrests in NYC in ′74 reached grand jury for possible felony indictment; judges point out, however, that arrests have increased staggeringly and consequences of overcrowded jails is so fearful, that there is pressure on everyone in criminal justice system to keep cases flowing but not to trial; say objective is to stop certain cases at intake because budgets do not provide enough funds for courtrooms, judges and prosecutors to try them all; plea bargaining process described; adm judge David Ross comments; chart compares felony case records in ′73 and ′74 in 5 boros (L)

Monthly analysis of econ conditions in South published by Fed Reserve Bank of Atlanta shows region has been hit harder by recession than any other region; study by Fed Reserve economists led by William D Toal links econ woes to inflation, energy shortage, and to slump in unusually large construction indus; sees econ recovery, when it begins, taking longer in South than elsewhere; notes over‐all rise in unemployment and slowing in job growth has been greater in Southeast than elsewhere nationally; notes sharply reduced amt of cash available for consumer spending (M)

NYS Health Dept begins crackdown on secret ownership of nursing homes, violation of state Medicaid code that is reptdly widespread in the indus; Deputy Comr Frank T Cicero discloses that he directed 4 homes to submit copies of recent income‐tax returns, which should identify all ownerships; Park Crescent and Genesee Nursing Homes list Bernard Bergman as partner; Cicero says Park Crescent has not yet complied with request for lax returns; says Genesee has complied with similar request but that last return will not shed light on Bergman's sale of his interest in Genesee to his partner Emanuel Birnbaum; says he has also sent for tax returns of Park View Nursing Home in Massapequa, NY, where Birnbaum is listed as a principal, and the Promenade in Queens, where Moses Vogel, Rebecca Vogel and Pearl Altman are listed as operators; Moses Vogel says he has not recd request; no progress reptd in inquiry ordered by Mayor Beame on Jan 7 that involves allegations that Al Schwarz asst city health comr, ordered inspectors to cancel critical repts about nursing homes and substitute ‘love letlers’; allegations followed publication of correspondence by Schwarz with State Health Dept that contradicted negative repts in NYC files (M)

About $120,000 in NYC's parking meter receipts is stolen from Finance Dept safe by burglars who escape with 3 tons of loot in Wells Fargo trucks that would have been used to move money to bank; money, representing 2 days of receipts from meters in 5 boros, was removed in 65 money sacks from dept's lower Manhattan office; Police Lt Harold F Smith, Finance Depty Admr Harry S Tishelman and Holmes Protection spokesman Robert McDermott comment (M)

Internatl Music Council releases Feb 6 cable from Leonard Bernstein to its pres Yehudi Menuhin asking council to boycott UNESCO for its ban of Israel from its activities, and cable from Mehuhin rejecting boycott; Menuhin defends UNESCO criticism of Israeli excavations in former Arab sector of Jerusalem; Harry Kraut, Bernstein's manager, says Bernstein will reserve comment pending receipt of cable (S)