July 21, 1982

The Department of Health and Human Services is proposing to change its procedures so that new rules for Social Security, Medicaid, welfare and other programs could be issued without advance public notice. The proposal, which has drawn fire from some who receive benefits from those programs, would also permit the Government to change the rules for these programs without receiving comment from the public. Department officials said that in most cases they would continue to use the ''notice and comment'' procedures they have been following for 12 years. But under the proposal, the department could choose to ''omit the use of notice and comment procedures for rules relating to public property, loans, grants, benefits and contracts if, in its judgment,'' the delay ''would impair the attainment of program objectives or would have other disadvantages that outweigh the benefits'' of public comment.

The Chase Manhattan Corporation announced yesterday that it lost $16.1 million in the second quarter of 1982 as a result of its dealings with a small New York securities firm and an Oklahoma City bank that failed. The bank holding company also disclosed in a memorandum to its officers that it had reshuffled its senior management as a result of its transactions with the Penn Square Bank of Oklahoma City and Drysdale Government Securities Inc. In the reorganization, an executive vice president and a senior vice president were asked to resign, another executive vice president was demoted, and resignations were accepted from seven lower-ranking officers. Assets of $77.8 Billion It was the first time, at least in recent history, that one of the nation's 10 largest banks reported a quarterly loss. The Chase Manhattan Corporation, with total assets of $77.8 billion, is the third-largest banking organization in the United States, following the BankAmerica Corporation and Citicorp. It owns the Chase Manhattan Bank, the nation's third-largest bank.

Paul A. Volcker, the chairman of the Federal Reserve, said today that the nation's central bank would stick to its relatively tight monetary targets for this year despite the continuing slump of the economy and the strains on the nation's financial markets. But Mr. Volcker, in a break with past policy, said that the Fed had tentatively decided not to tighten the money supply growth rate next year, a move that would allow the Fed some flexibility in helping a recovery continue into next year. Mr. Volcker outlined his monetary targets for the rest of this year and next as he presented the Fed's midyear review of policy to the Senate Banking Committee. Although short-term interest rates have declined in the last two weeks, analysts did not interpret the Fed's announcement, especially the higher-than-expected tentative target for 1983, as a major change in the Fed's overall tough anti-inflation policy.

After a week of heavy fighting, Iraq appears to have achieved a limited but important military victory in its war with Iran by blunting a major Iranian offensive and forcing a standoff in the battle, according to American officials. While cautioning that the eventual outcome of the war remains in doubt, Reagan Administration officials who have been monitoring the fighting said today that Iraq's successful defense of its territory had turned the momentum of the war in its favor. They said that Iranian setbacks in the field were likely to rekindle political dissent about the war in Teheran. Some senior Iranian officials, including Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, initially opposed the invasion of Iraq for fear that it might overextend Iran's military and lead to a costly, protracted battle for foreign territory of debatable strategic importance to Teheran, according to State Department officials.

AFEW months ago Pierre Franey and I were invited to plan a menu and supervise the preparation of quintessentially American food that was to be served to nearly 200 French chefs visiting this country. The vast majority of these chefs had never sampled the native fare of the United States. The dishes we proposed covered the country - the Creole cooking of Louisiana; crabs from California, Florida and the Chesapeake Bay; New York-style pastrami and corned beef with rye; a barbecue from Kansas City, and desserts, from Southern pecan pie to Yankee-style cheesecake. We also wanted to have Mexican-style food from Texas. When we canvassed our contacts for the best cook of the region, we were told that person was, hands down, Zarela Martinez-Gabilondo. She prepared the Mexican-American segment of the meal and her contribution was memorable. A short while ago Miss Martinez-Gabilondo was back in New York for a brief visit, so we invited her into our kitchen to watch her preparation of Mexican food. She arrived, arms loaded with corn tortillas, fresh and dried chilies and sundry other items that, she said, are easily obtainable in the East as well as the West and Southwest.