Oregon daily emerald., May 13, 1971, Page 12, Image 12

| World News
House votes to revive
supersonic transport
WASHINGTON AP—The battle over developing
an American supersonic transport plane was
revived Wednesday when the House executed an
about-face and voted $85 million to restart the
project.
The Senate will take up the renewed fight next
and Democratic Leader Mike Mansfield of Montana
predicted the outcome there will be close.
With the leaders of both parties in the House
behind them, backers of a drive to breathe new life
into the 1,800 mile-an-hour passenger plane won an
initial test hy 201 to 195 and nailed down by 201 to 197
on a second vote. Eight weeks ago they lost 215 to
204.
Mansfield said the resurrection will meet “very
extended debate” in the Senate, where the SST was
killed two months ago 51 to 46.
“It might be nip and tuck” this time, Mansfield
said.
In a statement, President Nixon congratulated
the House “for having very wisely reversed their
earlier position,” and addl'd:
“The Congress has today taken an important
first step on behalf of thousands of workers across
the country who have been engaged in the SST
program -and whose vital skills and experience
might otherwise be lost to the nation.”
Nixon restated a pledge“that the SST will not
be committed to production until all environmental
concerns have been thoroughly satisfied.”
The Boeing Company, which has laid off more
than 5,000 workers since its contract to develop the
aircraft was cancelled, said any attempt to
reconstruct the program must be on the basis of an
entirely new contract.
“This new contract must fully recognize the
rights of the parties under the terminated contract
and the large costs which will be incurred in re
establishing and carrying out the new program, the
company said
Speaker Carl Albert of Oklahoma told the
House it would be foolish to kill the plane after
spending $1 billion on it.
House Republican leader Gerald Ford of
Michigan said Congress “was acting in the dark”
when it killed the SST eight weeks ago—and said the
SST workers who have been laid off since then
demanded that decision be reversed.
But Rep. Sidney Yates, I) 111., the SST’s leading
House opponent, said “The American people do not
want the SST.”
The House vote turned an $85.3-million contract
termination fund for the SST into that much money
to revive development of two prototype planes.
Secretary of Transportation John Volpe ex
pressed pleasure at the House action but said the
question will not be decided until the Senate acts.
“Meanwhile, we will continue termination of
the SST program pending final action by Congress
on the supplemental apppropriation bill,” Volpe
said.
In the Senate, the House vote was hailed by SST
supporters who said the issue could reach the
Senate floor again as early as next Wednesday.
Sen. William Proxmire, D-Wis., the leading SST
opponent, said the House reversal “makes a
travesty of the legislative process.”
“There is no more reason now than there was in
March to vote money for this white elephant,”
Proxmire said.
“The house vote today makes no sense what
soever,” he said.
Sen. Warren Magnuson, D-Wash., leading
Senate backer of the project, had another view:
“This is an about face that two months ago no
one expected,” he said. “I believe it does reflect the
second thoughts a lot of people here have felt since
the project was killed.”
Senate sources said the Senate Appropriations
Committee probably would take up the bill next
Monday.
“We’ve got the votes on the Appropriations
Committee to vote it out,” an SST backer said, and
my guess is that it could reach the Senate floor as
early as next Wednesday.”
Proxmire said there have been no technological
breakthroughs since the SST was scrapped to
counter arguments it would have a severe and
harmful effect on the environment.
Rep. Frank Bow, R-Ohio, argued the loss of an
ultimate 25,000 SST jobs on top of the $1 billion spent
on the 10-year program would raise termination
costs above the $1.5 billion originally estimated for
completion of the two SST prototypes.
At the same time, Bow estimated revival of the
already cancelled program would add some $130
million to $150 million to the $1.5 billion costs and
would delay the original schedule for a March 1973
test flight by up to nine months.
Rep. Silvio Conte, R-Mass., said the House vote
would open a Pandora’s box for subsidy of other
hard-pressed industries.
"Unless we resist this attempt to open the
floodgates of government bailout,” Conte said, “our
private enterprise system will be swept away.”
Monetary Crisis
Doubt sends gold prices up
LONDON AP- Widespread
uncertainty over money values
in Europe’s currency crisis sent
the price of free gold to an 1H
month high in bullion markets
Wednesday.
Ixmdon dealers said demand
for the metal was steady and
persistent but far from panic
level
The price was marked up 50
cents an ounce Wednesday
morning in Ixindon to woo sellers
into the market to meet the
growing demand The maneuver
apparently worked The price
backed off 25 cents at the af
ternoon fixing to $40.45 an ounce
The movement in bullion
markets, however, was only
indirectly connected to the
monetary crisis caused by a
massive influx of dollars, dealers
explained It reflected the un
certainty of traders on the future
course* of currency values In
times of uncertainty, gold
represents a solid haven for
money
When speculators see better
opportunities for profit in stocks,
bonds or currency - like last
week's gamble in West German
marks they sell their gold
They are waiting now for some
indication from the West German
Central Bank of the level at which
it intends to stabilize the mark
against the dollar The mark was
set free to drift Sunday to find its
true value in the open market.
The Netherlands followed suit
and Switzerland and Austria
revalued their currencies up
ward
Fluctuations in currency ex
changes were relatively minor
throughout the day with the mark
hovering 24 to 3 per cent above
its pre-crisis value in relation to
the dollar
Speculators want a bigger
profit than that and they were
holding on tight to the marks they
bought by the billion last week
As dollar transactions declined
in European markets, an
Associated Press survey showed
that many European money
experts laid the blame for the
monetary crisis squarely at the
door of the United States,
although West German policies
also came in for some criticism.
They said Europe was having
to pay the price of what they
calk'd the dollar sickness They
warned of worse to come unless
Washington gets its balance of
foreign payments out of the red
I ah) Levy, respected financial
adviser of the Banque de
Bruxelles, expressed the general
feeling when he said: “The deep
cause of what has happened is
that for years the U S. balance of
payments has been in the red . . .
The deplorable fact is that the
Americans don't seem at all
willing to admit they are the
basis for the new monetary
crisis."
The Belgian State Bank an
nounced a move, however, that
brought gold into the currency
crisis. It said it had cashed in
about $80 million for gold from
the dwindling U.S. stockpile at
Ft. Knox Internal conditions
made it impossible to absorb
more dollars, the Belgians said.
A concerted move of this kind
by other European state banks
could wipe out the American gold
supply and undermine the world
monetary system
Officials of the West German
Bundesbank —the Central Bank
wen* quick to say they had no
intention of following the Belgian
example West Germany alone is
believed to hold enough dollars to
wipe out the entire Ft. Knox
stockpile, which stood at the end
of March at $10.9 billion.
News Roundup
from AP reports
ANKARA, Turkey—A giant earthquake struck the
opium-growing lake country around Burdur in southwest
Turkey Wednesday, killing at least 58 persons and injuring
hundreds. The governor of Burdur Province, Esref Ayhan,
said 18 deaths had been confirmed in Burdur and 20 each in
two nearby villages. The quake devastated Burdur, a town of
30,000 about 225 miles southwest of Ankara, and flattened
several nearby villages. Ayhan said late Wednesday the
death toll could rise as digging-out operations by troops and
workmen progress.
WASHINGTON—The White House sought Wednesday to
delay Senate action on a proposal to halve U.S. troop strength
in Europe amid behind-the-scenes efforts to draft an ac
ceptable alternative. Apparently taken by surprise when
Democratic Leader Mike Mansfield of Montana offered the
amendment on Tuesday, the White House passed the word to
use whatever means were necessary to delay action. Both
Mansfield md Sen. Charles Mathias Jr., R-Md., author of a
pending alternative endorsing President Nixon’s plans to
maintain U.S. troop strength in Europe, said they were ready
to vote at any time.
WASHINGTON—The House Ways and Means Com
mittee completed its draft Wednesday of a massive welfare
reform-Social Security bill embracing President Nixon’s
proposal for a federal floor of $2,400 income for a family of
four. The committee finished its basic decisions and plans to
vote on the bill Monday. The committee said the measure
would: Increase payments to the beneficiaries of Social
Security, welfare and re would: ograms by a most $6 billion
in the first full year of operation; save money, because of
federal takeovers, for nearly all states, based on their an
ticipated costs for 1973 and future years. The program would
become fully effective in 1973.
WASHINGTON—A total U.S. political and economic
boycott of South Africa to protest its apartheid policy was
called for Wednesday by Leon Sullivan, first black director of
General Motors Corp. Blacks in America and Africa agree,
he told the House subcommittee on Africa, “That the only
successful way in bringing about the downfall of the un
democratic regime of South Africa is to weaken its economic
foundation.” We ... are willing to suffer by having the United
States and other Western countries impose a complete and
total economic embargo against South Africa,” Sullivan
said. “We know we can suffer no more than we are suffering
now. As black Americans we support a total economic,
political and social disassociation with South Africa.”
LIMA, Peru—An earthquake struck Peru’s isolated
Sihuas Proinve last week, killing five persons and injuring 30,
the national police force reported Wednesday.
CRISIS
FILM FESTIVAL
5 great films and documentaries dealing with
America's social problems
—Oil Strike
—Finally got the news
—The Individual
—Community Control
— The Young Americans
Thursday and Friday (13th & 14th May)
7:00 to 11:00 p.m.
138 CMM
75c only
8ER0
TRAILWISE
NORDIC •
SKI
SHOP
BACKPACKS
Other Camping Accessories
11th & MILL
343-0013