October 9, 1991

Hoping to cut through the clutter of Christmas catalogues already filling mailboxes, the Hartmarx Corporation is presenting its holiday offerings on videotapes that will be mailed to 150,000 of the clothing company's best customers on Nov. 1. "We wanted to bring the merchandise to life, to show people enjoying giving, enjoying each other, enjoying our clothes," said John Eyler, chairman and chief executive of Hartmarx's specialty stores division.

A House Banking subcommittee today approved the Administration's request for an additional $80 billion to pay for the savings and loan bailout, but included a disputed amendment requiring that the funds be raised on a "pay as you go" basis rather than through Government borrowings. The amendment was quickly criticized by the Bush Administration. Deputy Treasury Secretary John E. Robson said, "We're deeply disappointed by the action of the committee and want to get it corrected."

The Economy Bush approved a series of regulatory measures that he said would encourage banks to make new loans and stimulate the economy, but bankers viewed the move as largely symbolic. [ Page A1. ]

A dancer's professional life begins young and ends early, often before the performer's 40th birthday. But unlike many professional athletes, dancers must wait until they are 65 to collect their pensions, a situation some of them have decided to challenge in court. Led by several of the most prominent names in dance, a group of ballet dancers filed a lawsuit yesterday in Federal District Court in Manhattan against their union over its pension plan, saying that the plan, available only after age 65, "discriminates against dancers."

The group of seven women, all Democratic members of the House, marched purposefully up to the Capitol room where the Democratic senators were in their regular Tuesday caucus. They knocked on the door, hoping to give their colleagues in the room, all men except for Senator Barbara A. Mikulski of Maryland, "the woman's point of view," as Representative Louise Slaughter of upstate New York, put it. They wanted to state their case about why the vote on Judge Clarence Thomas should be delayed to give a thorough airing to Prof. Anita F. Hill's accusations of sexual harassment.