November 29, 1983

A report in New York Day by Day on Nov. 8 about the mourning period for Terence Cardinal Cooke incorrectly accounted for the four red hats suspended from the ceiling of St. Patrick's Cathedral. Three belonged to Cardinal Cooke's predecessors; the fourth belonged to no one but represented the fourth Cardinal, Francis J. Spellman.

Martin S. Feldstein, the chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisers, today stepped up his campaign to shrink the Federal budget deficits. His office issued several tables of figures that seemed to support the argument for tax increases. That argument has not made headway with the Administration or Congress. The figures show that domestic spending, except for Social Security and Medicare, is falling substantially after adjustment for inflation, and they seem to imply that a further shrinkage in this part of the budget is not likely. They also show that a steady rise in interest payments on the Federal debt is eating up these savings.

GEOLOGISTS now believe that one of the great master rivers of world history once flowed west from the eastern portion of the United States and was responsible for much of the land and stream formation as far west as the Mississippi valley. Its deep gorges and broad valleys, as well as remnants of its many tributaries, now lie hidden under glacial deposits covering the region south of the Great Lakes. Not until recently has the existence of such a river - probably formed more than two million years ago and almost certainly never seen by human eyes - finally become accepted. Yet early explorers of the Ohio River drainage basin did begin to note early on that there was something very mysterious about its topography.

North Korea is stepping up its arms sales and military training in other countries, according to diplomats and other experts on the region. Some experts say that North Korea's need to generate cash may be a reason not only for the new arms sales but also for heightened smuggling by the Pyongyang Government's embassies abroad. The diplomats and experts also say that a power struggle may be under way in the Pyongyang hierarchy that could partly explain the involvement of North Korea in recent violence abroad. On Oct. 9 a powerful bomb exploded in Rangoon, Burma, killing 17 South Koreans, including some of Seoul's highest-ranking officials. Burma blamed North Korea, severing relations, and even allies such as China have expressed dismay.

''I have indicated today, as I have stated time and time again both before and after these hearings, that I will stand behind police officers when they are right and condemn them when they are wrong.