March 22, 1991

The Bush Administration moved today to counter the impression that it callously left April C. Glaspie, the American Ambassador to Iraq, as a scapegoat for failing to prevent President Saddam Hussein's invasion of Kuwait. The public explanation given by the State Department today was that it had known for seven months that an Iraqi transcript of a meeting between Ambassador Glaspie and President Hussein was inaccurate in parts, but did not correct the record because officials did not want to divert attention from organizing the anti-Iraqi coalition.

Sadly, but not surprisingly, not one single elk responded to the magnificent elk calls of Mark Shea here the other night. That's probably because the last recorded elk in Connecticut was shot and eaten some 200 years ago. The lack of elk response could also have been because, while capturing first place in the evening's elk-calling competition, Mr. Shea was inside a noisy motel dining room, not exactly prime elk habitat. But the place was full of elk enthusiasts enjoying an evening of socializing, eating and tax-deductible auction bidding.

THE ECONOMY Seidman said the Administration's plan to shore up the program that protects bank deposits calls for an increase in his agency's borrowing authority of $70 billion, not the $25 billion the Administration proposed earlier this week. [ Page A1. ] The House approved the $30 billion savings bailout that it had rejected last week and sent the measure to the President. [ D1. ]

Now they meet Shredder's new mutant monsters.

Continental Airlines Holdings Inc. announced the largest quarterly loss in American aviation history yesterday: $2.25 billion in the fourth quarter. The main reason was $1.8 billion in one-time charges related to its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, regulatory changes and the collapse of its Eastern Airlines subsidiary. The company also cited high fuel prices and weak demand for air travel.