February 9, 1982

John Hay Whitney, master of one of the great American fortunes and a pace-setting leader in a kaleidoscope of fields, died yesterday in North Shore Hospital, Manhasset, L.I., after a long illness. He was 77 years old. A friend once said that for Mr. Whitney ''money has three purposes: to be invested wisely, to do good with and to live well off.'' Sportsman, investor, publisher, philanthropist, political mover and ambassador, he hated to lose at anything, from polo to racing to golf to bridge to investing. Varied Business Interests Mr. Whitney's business interests were diverse. Through his Whitney Communications Corporat ion, he had significant interests, at one timeor another, i n Parade, a Sunday newspaper supplement; Interior Design, a tra de magazine; Art in America magazine; the International Herald Tribun e Company; 25 small newspapers, five television stationsand six radio stations.

''A $250 billion deficit over the next three years is totally unacceptable.'' - Senator Dan Quayle, Republican of Indiana. (B14:4.)

Britain cut prices of its North Sea oil by $1.50 a barrel today, to $35. The cut, a little over 3 cents a gallon, reflected the surplus of oil in world markets and was the biggest by a major oil-producing nation since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries unified its crude oil price structure last October. Today's announcement by Britain's state-owned oil company represented one of the most dramatic of several indications of the continually weakening oil market. Iran was reported by the Middle East Economic Survey today to have reduced its prices by $1 a barrel in the hope of increasing its sales to finance its war with Iraq. Iran's production is estimated to be about 700,000 barrels a day, about half what it was three months ago, although there have been reports that Iran is prepared to increase its production by as much as 2.5 million barrels a day.

Two Republican supporters of President Reagan - Gov. Thomas H. Kean of New Jersey and Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato of New York - attacked his proposed budget yesterday as one that cared more for the military than for people. Governor Kean, following a briefing by his Washington staff, said at a news conference in Trenton that he was upset by the depth of cuts in human services, especially when defense spending appeared to be ''sacrosanct'' and not subject to the same budget-slashing philosophy. Senator D'Amato said in an interview in Washington that the budget was ''totally unrealistic'' and that it had failed to ''tackle the really difficult issues.'' Kean Sees $700 Million Loss ''The human impact of the proposed budget cuts is severe, and it disturbs me greatly,'' Mr. Kean said in outlining how New Jersey would receive about $700 million less in Federal funds during the coming year than during the current budget cycle.

WHITES? By JOSEPH WILLIAMS STRIKING differences in the suicide rates for various ethnic groups in the United States are shown by Government statistics of recent years. Whites are increasingly likely to take their own lives as they grow older while the suicide rate among blacks and some other minority groups peaks in the 20's and then declines. Among middle-aged and elderly Americans, the overall suicide rate for whites is about three times the rate for blacks. For example, the 1978 figures from the National Center for Health Statistics show 40.8 suicides for every 100,000 white men 65 years of age and older as against 12.1 for nonwhites. For white women the rate was 7.9, compared with 3.1 for nonwhites.