March 21, 1975

RCA Corp chmn Robert W Sarnoff says corp has developed microprocessor controls that are now being tested by major unidentified auto makers and are estimated to be able to boost gasoline mileage efficiency up to 40% in standard-size and large cars, Mar 20 address, annual business conf of Indiana Univ School of Business; says electronics indus would be able to mass produce microprocessors by millions at cost of no more than $100 a unit; microprocessor, a grouping of thousands of tiny transistors and other electronic components into chip measuring as small as 1/4 in, can govern use of fuels to their maximum efficiency; GM, Ford and Chrysler acknowledge that they are testing variety of electronic controls, including microprocessors, but have not yet achieved 40% fuel-econ figure mentioned by Sarnoff; Gen Instrument Corp, Honeywell Inc, Natl Semiconductor and Rockwell Internatl say they are producing devices and aiming them specifically at auto indus, although they have other computer and energy-saving applications; electronics stocks rise; Pres Ford's goal of 40% improvement in auto mileage noted; Lewis Solomon (Gen Instrument), Dr W Dale Compton (Ford) and Charles Heinen (Chrysler) comment; microprocessor illus (M)

NYS Gov Hugh L Carey says restrictions on scope of 51 emergency narcotics cts will be dropped, enabling them to handle seriously backlogged homicide cases and other crimes of violence, news conf; new policy entails shift from Carey's original budget plan to discontinue financing for 18 of cts on grounds that only 33 were needed to meet caseloads under strictures of special narcotics program; was developed with co-operation of State Adm Judge Richard J Bartlett

Evacuation of civilians from Hue south to Danang is reptdly nearing completion despite public pledge from Pres Nguyen Van Thieu to hold line against further large Communist advances; conversations with refugees arriving in coastal city of Tuy Hoa indicate that N Vietnamese forces are attacking some of refugees as they flee; such attacks were not evident during earlier part of exodus; immediate fate of Hue is uncertain in light of apparent halt of N Vietnamese tanks that had been advancing toward city; Govt troops reptdly have withdrawn from all of Quang Tri Prov; S Vietnamese Govt spokesman says withdrawal was prompted by wave of Communist tanks that crossed Thach Han River; river had formed demarcation line between both sides since cease fire; uncertainty over whether S Vietnamese troop withdrawals are occurring only after battles, as Govt asserts, noted; well-placed mil sources say N Vietnamese troops have assisted S Vietnamese soldiers evacuate citadel of Quang Tri; rumors are increasing over allegations that drastic S Vietnamese withdrawals are not result of mil pressure but rather stem from arrangement that may have been made with Communists whereby territory is being exchanged for southward movement of northern populations; S Vietnamese officials and some Westerners reptdly are concerned that Saigon may be dangerously threatened; repts of large Communist demolition units near capital noted; Govt spokesman says N Vietnamese tanks have been spotted 21 miles northwest of Saigon; early curfew in Saigon is still in effect; Thieu discusses fall of Ban Me Thuot and abandonment of Pleiku and Kontum, natl address; says he is determined to hold southern areas of S Vietnam; concedes for 1st time that Ban Me Thuot was overrun by Communists; says rumors about abandonment of Thau Thien and La Lat are groundless; ambush reptdly was mounted against refugees from Da Lat to Hau Bon; motives and intentions of S Vietnamese Govt reptdly are not clear; Air Vietnam flights from Da Lat have doubled in effort to speed up evacuation efforts; fighting in Hoai Due and Tay Ninh described; illus; maps (L)

Mil situation in Saigon (S Vietnam) assessed in light of mounting pressures from Communist attacks in area; N Vietnamese armored forces reptdly are near Tay Ninh, 80 miles northwest of Saigon; S Vietnamese troops have pulled out of An Loc; deployment of S Vietnamese units around perimeter of Saigon assessed; number of N Vietnamese divisions deployed in S Vietnam estimated to be between 19 and 22; establishment of defense perimeter around Saigon reptdly is being hampered by flood of refugees southward from central highlands; repts that some columns of refugees have been shelled by N Vietnamese troops adds credence to US assumption that Communists will attempt to drive refugees onto roads S Vietnamese troops must use to defend capital; sizable deployment of N Vietnamese forces from Cambodia also poses serious threat; psychological impact on S Vietnamese troops of loss of at least 20% of S Vietnam and spectacle of hundreds of thousands of refugees pouring into south seen as major threat (L)