November 5, 1981

The State Department has outlined a need for a strong human rights policy in foreign affairs after a period of inaction on the matter. In a memorandum, which Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. has approved as the basis for a human rights policy, the State Department says that the United States cannot hope to offer a credible alternative to either the Soviet example or what it sees as a rising tide of neutralism unless it takes a strong position on political freedom and civil rights. This policy approach implies evenhanded criticism of rights violations in all nations, according to the memorandum, including those countries friendly to the United States. It was not known whether the State Department memorandum, dated Oct. 27, had been reviewed by the White House, which must approve policy statements. The extent to which the policy outline could be translated into action depends on White House support. The memorandum was linked, however, to the appointment of an Assistant Secretary for Human Rights. That appointment was made by the President on Oct. 30.

The nation's Big Three auto makers said today that sales of new cars fell 19.7 percent in the last 10 days of October and 27.2 percent for the month, to the lowest October selling rate since 1958, despite rebates and other incentive programs. October has traditionally been the time for new-model introduction and as such is usually one of the best selling months in the year. This year, however, with few exceptions, the major new model introductions have been delayed until early 1982, helping to depress sales in comparison with October of last year. Chrysler Made Best Showing Chrysler made the best showing in the final 10 days of last month, with sales off only 1 percent. General Motors reported the biggest decline, a drop of 23.8 percent, while Ford sales were down 15 percent.

A consensus has developed in the Reagan Administration that the civil war in El Salvador has reached a stalemate that will eventually cause the defeat of the Government unless the United States takes decisive action soon, according to key Administration officials. The officials said that Secretary of State Alexander M. Haig Jr. has been pressing the Pentagon to examine a series of options for possible military action in El Salvador and against Cuba and Nicaragua. The Administration has accused those two countries of being conduits of aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador. Most of the officials said that the procedure was more than simple contingency planning, given the short deadlines for producing the plans and the general feeling that something must be done to prevent the collapse of the Salvadoran Government of President Jose Napoleon Duarte. Pentagon Expresses Disapproval The officials said that the Department of Defense opposed use of American forces in combat in Central America or the Caribbean. The position of Defense Secretary Caspar W. Weinberger and his deputy, Frank C. Carlucci, and especially of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is described this way: Almost all of the possible military actions are not likely to be successful; it is highly doubtful that the American public and Congress would support military intervention, and the Soviet Union could respond against West Berlin or in the Persian Gulf without there being much of an American response.

It was completed in 1913, before most of the people who work in it today were born, and its $13.5 million cost was paid for, immediately, in cash. It has never had a mortgage, it has almost always been fully rented and it has never changed hands. The Woolworth Building is still owned by the F. W. Woolworth Company, and after 68 years the company's executive offices remain on the 24th floor, where Frank W. Woolworth's marble-lined corner office still functions. Such a serene history is unusual for any building, but for one of the 20th century's great works of architecture it is nothing short of startling. The Woolworth Building ranks with the Chrysler Building and the Empire State as one of New York's most beloved skyscrapers; it is older than its colleagues, however, and far more significant an event in the history of architecture.

THE scenario goes something like this: A furniture craftsman with little or no experience sees a piece of Shaker furniture in a museum or antique shop or perhaps even in a book. The simplicity of the design encourages him to try his hand at copying it. Whether the task turns out to be as simple as the style or not, he is hooked on Shaker. It seems that from Maine to Kentucky - in many of the same areas where the Shaker religious communities flourished in the 19th century and then died out because they required celibacy - independent craftsmen are busily, recreating Shaker designs for 20thcentury applications. Although most of the new pieces do not have the patina and evocative beauty of the originals, they do offer practical furniture alternatives.