July 24, 1981

The White House sought today to dampen public statements about Israel, backing away from personal criticism of Prime Minister Menachem Begin and focusing attention on the diplomatic drive for a cease-fire in southern Lebanon. As a matter of diplomatic strategy, White House and State Department officials today put their stress on an even-handed American call for military restraint by both Israel and Palestinian forces and voiced some hopes about moving toward the cease-fire that has so far proved elusive. But Administration officials acknowledged that in spite of this public stance, President Reagan and his senior advisers had been privately dismayed over the Israeli air attack on Beirut last Friday and upset at the setback they felt it dealt to peacemaking efforts and to American interests in the region. About 300 people were killed and 800 wounded in the attack on a densely populated Beirut neighborhood that contained Palestinian guerrilla offices.

In recent years, the manner in which American society deals with its youngest criminals has changed in dramatic ways. After eight decades of attempting to put the interests of juvenile offenders first, a number of legislatures and courts have begun to place greater emphasis on protecting the public from violent young offenders and on imposing ''adult'' punishment on those guilty of serious crimes. In the process, children's rights to special treatment in the courts are being severely restricted. In most states and in the Federal courts the judicial system treats as juveniles children under age 18, but in New York, Connecticut, North Carolina and Vermont only those under 16 are so treated. How the New York City courts handled two recent cases, involving somewhat similar homicides by juvenile assailants, illustrates some of the recent changes and the attendant problems. On March 4, 1976, Geraldo Delgado, 15 years old, of the Bronx killed James Leak, 13, after a dispute by stabbing him with a knife. On Dec. 3, 1978, in Lower Manhattan, Arnold Stokes, 15, of Brooklyn killed Irene Maxwell, 31, a Scottish fashion designer, after a robbery attempt by stabbing her with a knife. Both Mr. Delgado and Mr. Stokes were judged in court to have committed second-degree murder. Mr. Delgado was set free. Mr. Stokes was sent to prison.

House and Senate conferees agreed today to retain the Social Security minimum benefit until February. The decision provides six months for Democrats to find a way to stave off the elimination of the provision. ''This is going to affect the life styles of a great many people,'' said Representative Dan Rostenkowski, Democrat of Illinois, chairman of the Ways and Means Committee, in arguing for a delay in eliminating the $122-a-month benefit. He said that Congress needed to give the affected people time to apply for Supplemental Security Income and ''make other adjustments.''

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 1981 International A muting of U.S.-Israeli discord and a halt in public criticism of the policies of Prime Minister Menachem Begin was sought by the White House. Publicly, officials stressed an even-handed appeal for military restraint by both Israeli and Palestinian forces, but privately they acknowledged they had been dismayed by the heavy Israeli air attack in Beirut last Friday and upset at the setback they felt it dealt to peace efforts. (Page A1, Column 1.) New shipments of F-16 jets to Israel were urged by the leaders of 34 American Jewish organizations. They said that President Reagan's suspenion of the deliveries would appear to be ''one-sided punishment of Israel'' that encouraged ''those committed to Israel's destruction.'' (A3:1-2.)

Over the last few decades, the First National Bank of Boston, a proper and prosperous institution, has developed an unorthodox style of specialized commercial lending centered in a ''special industries'' division and catering to more risky or troubled borrowers. While the bank's involvement with special or troubled companies - including unusual fees and extensive bank involvement in the borrower's affairs - has often worked well for both parties, it has also, on occasion, created trouble for the bank. Perhaps most embarrassing for a discreet institution in a discreet profession, this involvement has at times resulted in attention being focused on some of the bank's lending practices. The bank's specialized lending came under a cloud after the slaying on May 27 in Tulsa, Okla., of Roger M. Wheeler, the chairman and chief executive officer of the Telex Corporation, an investor in jai alai and a customer of the bank. Just recently, investigators from Tulsa were reported to be in Boston pursuing information linking Mr. Wheeler's killing to his jai alai investments, which were arranged by First National.