June 10, 1976

Blue Cross to extend full coverage to subscribers for comprehensive, nonhosp treatment of alcoholism; has contracted with Natl Inst on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to undertake study to determine factors involving employment and health (M)

Rand Corp study of more than thousand alcoholics admitted to treatment programs throughout US suggests that sizable percentage of alcoholics can return to normal, moderate drinking without relapsing into alcohol abuse; finding already has aroused dissent among leading alcoholism groups, which maintain that abstinence is only reliable form of recovery from disorder; rept's authors Drs David J Armor, Harriet B Stambul and J Michael Polich caution against assumption by alcoholics that it will be safe to resume drinking, warning that at present there is no way to distinguish between those who can safely drink again and those for whom soc drinking will be 1st step back to alcohol abuse; study, supported by grants from Natl Inst on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, is based on information gathered from 14,000 persons admitted to 44 NIAAA alcohol treatment centers in US; former NIAAA dir Dr Morris E Chafetz and Natl Council on Alcoholism bd vice chmn Dr Luther A Cloud comment (M)

Syrian armor, after meeting stiff resistance, is reptd halted in mts east of Beirut and outside port of Saida; negotiations for cease-fire are reptd being conducted by Jalloud and Algerian Min Mahmoud; reptdly meet with Syrian Air Vice Marshall Naji Jamil, Deputy Prime Min Mohammed Haidar and Al Fatah deputy leader Salah Khalaf, also known as Abu Iyad; newly arrived US Amb Francis E Meloy Jr comments; clashes reptd in Tripoli between Lebanese leftist groups and followers of Farouk Moukadam; Assad reptdly sent reinforcements into Tripoli area in recent days; Syrian positions in Lebanon noted; illus; map (M)

Carter, virtually assured of Dem Pres nomination, discourages speculation about running mate; among those mentioned for post are Sens Frank Church, Adlai E Stevenson 3d, Walter F Mondale and Henry M Jackson; Carter is reptdly annoyed at Repr Morris K Udall and Gov Edmund E Brown Jr (S)

Mayor Beame, in his strongest complaint yet about Gov Carey's fiscal prodding, insists that Carey and NYS Legis should return to NYC in form of special aid for CUNY some of $271-million 'state windfall' from city budget cuts; notes that Carey has proposed ending matching formula so that state can increase its support; Beame with financial chart illus (S)

Syria agrees to stationing of some troops from other Arab nations in Lebanon to help establish durable peace; announcement follows meeting in Damascus between Assad and Arab League reprs; Assad reptdly agrees only to dispatch of some Algerian and Libyan troops; Syrian spokesman, quoted by AP, says Syrian forces began observing truce, halting 12 miles east of Beirut, just outside Saida and inside Tripoli (M)

James A Farley, who achieved fame as pol organizer for Pres F D Roosevelt, who was 1st elected in '32, dies on June 9 at age 88; career noted (M)

NY Times/CBS News Poll of Ohio and Calif primary voters and NY Times poll of NJ primary voters indicate that an unusually large proportion of Repub voters who backed Pres Ford or Ronald Reagan in primaries will abandon party in Nov to vote for Jimmy Carter if their choice loses nomination and Carter is Dem candidate; find that Carter is winning back 2/3 of Dems who defected to Pres Nixon in '72, while keeping 3/4 of those who voted for Sen George McGovern; suggest that unless Repub Party patches up internal differences, it may well suffer largest defection in recent history; graphs of potential Repub defections to Carter (M)

Carter wins 52% of Ohio primary vote and 126 conv delegates (S)

Thorndike, Sybil (Dame)

NYS Assembly Majority Leader Albert H Blumenthal announces that, to spend more time with his family, he will retire from Assembly this fall at end of 7th term; announcement by 47-yr-old Manhattan Dem, one of early leaders of West Side reform movement and among Capitol's most popular and respected legislators, takes all but closest colleagues by surprise; Blumenthal receives prolonged ovation from members of both parties when Assembly convenes; Gov Carey makes surprise appearance on Speaker's rostrum and lauds Blumenthal (L)

The State Assembly voted 87 to 55 last night to pass the Democratic leadership's $24‐million program to allow the City University to reopen. The plan now goes to the State Senate. Page 23.