November 17, 1981

''Rather than allow freedom of religion, they'd forbid any religion whatsoever.'' - Senator Ernest F. Hollings, Democrat of South Carolina, supporting the amendment. (A22:4.)

The Essex County Prosecutor said today that Assemblyman Anthony Imperiale had been identified as having been in charge of ''street operations'' for a Republican ballot-security task force in Newark on Election Day. Mr. Imperiale had previously denied any involvement in the security program, which is being investigated by the Prosecutor, George L. Schneider, following complaints by Democratic Party officials that it intimidated voters in the gubernatorial election on Nov. 3. Mr. Schneider said Mr. Imperiale's role in the operation had been disclosed by John A. Kelly, who was the director of the National Ballot Security Task Force in New Jersey. Republican Party officials have said that the task force was created to prevent voting frauds and that no proof of any intimidation of legitimate voters has been presented.

''All we'd be doing is inviting the states and local governments to produce all sorts of unconstitutional prayer programs.'' - Senator Lowell P. Weicker Jr., Republican of Connecticut, opposing voluntaryprayer legislation. (A22:4.)

His manner is reserved, almost stolid, and his dress is conservative - navy blue suit, french cuffs and the metal-framed glasses worn by so many Japanese businessmen. Yet Isao Nakauchi, the 59-year-old president of Daiei Inc., this nation's largest retailer, has been a kind of revolutionary in Japanese industry. Starting in 1957 with just one store and 13 workers, Mr. Nakauchi introduced the supermarket concept to Japan. The measure of his success is shown by the growth of Daiei (pronounced Die-ay) since then. Today it is a $5.5 billion-a-year diversified enterprise employing more than 17,000 people and operating about 170 stores. But in expanding, Mr. Nakauchi has led an assault on a key segment of Japanese society: the intricate network, built up over generations, of more than two million distribution and retail concerns. The retailers in particular tend to be small, family-run operations, with fewer than four employees apiece. There are conflicting pressures. Large-scale, efficient concerns like Daiei can sell goods for less than the small retailers and often set up their own distribution systems.

Amid the deregulatory fervor in Washington these days, Reese H. Taylor Jr., the Reagan Administration's appointee as chairman of the Interstate Commerce Commission, has drawn criticism from Congressional leaders, and even senior Administration officials, for his lack of enthusiasm. Tomorrow, his early stewardship will be scrutinized for the first time, when members of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress hear Alfred E. Kahn, who guided airline deregulation at the Civil Aeronautics Board, examine the actions of the commission and weigh their effect on the course of trucking deregulation. Mr. Taylor will appear, too, along with two former I.C.C. members, Marcus Alexis and Thomas Trantum, and Thomas Gale Moore, an economist. Mr. Alexis served briefly as interim chairman before Mr. Taylor came. Early this year, Mr. Taylor, a Nevada lawyer who specialized in regulatory matters, criticized the policies of Mr. Alexis and Darius W. Gaskins, another predecessor, for liberally handing out operating licenses to trucking companies, often issuing even broader rights than applicants requested.