March 16, 1977

Illus of Jagjivan Ram and Prime Min Gandhi doing last-minute campaigning

Appraisal of Howard R Hughes estate at $168,834,615 is filed in Clark County (Nev) Dist Ct by William Morse, atty representing family group that must pay taxes on estate; Hughes had been presumed to be billionaire; appraisal was based largely on affadavit from Merrill Lynch vp Albert J Fitzgibbons 3d; Merrill Lynch contracted to make appraisal for fee of $400,000; in Houston, Tex, appraisal of estate is filed in Harris County Probate Ct by atty William T Miller, signed by William R Lummis and his mother, Annette Gano Lummis; Mrs Lummis is aunt of Howard Hughes and closest living relative (L)

Walter H Annenberg has withdrawn proposed gift of $40-million to finance Fine Arts Center of Annenberg School of Communications at Met Museum, 1 day after public hearing on project; withdrawal was announced in 1-sentence lr to museum pres Douglas Dillon; Dillon charges that opposition by small group of uninformed or misinformed individuals Drought about withdrawal; museum dir Thomas Hoving lays blame on City Council Pres Paul O'Dwyer, and Council members Carter Burden and Carol Greitzer, who expressed opposition to project; Boro Pres Percy Sutton says he thinks it imperative that center be located in NYC; Annenberg says he has no immediate plans to relocate center but he has reptdly recd offers from San Francisco inst and several univs; Annenberg por (M)

US approves urgent request by Zaire for spare parts aand other mil equipment to help repel invading forces from Angola; unconfirmed repts say Cubans, based in Angola, are leading invaders; operation will cost about $1-million in funds already approved by Cong for other mil aid for Zaire; sources say aim is to show US friendship with Zaire, which has reptd seizure of border towns in Shaba Prov; map (M)

Gov Carey proposes Taylor Law revisions to curb injunctions and penalties against striking munic employees when employer provokes strike; would permit unions to negotiate for agency shop; would separate supervisory employees' bargaining units, permit employers to threaten to cut promised benefits as bargaining tool; union leaders oppose most provisions (M)