March 1962
March 1, 1962
Premier Khrushchev and Walter Ulbricht, the East German leader, have met in Moscow on a German peace treaty designed to end the Allied occupation of West Berlin. The two-day conference was disclosed by the Soviet Government yesterday after the East German party had left for East Berlin. Western officials viewed the talks as preparation for renewed pressure on the West for a high-level conference on Berlin. (1:1)
The United States will announce within a few days a decision to resume atmospheric nuclear tests. The announcement is expected to be made well in advance of the opening of the Geneva disarmament conference on March 14, but the first test will probably not take place until early in April. (1:2-3)
Attorney General Kennedy returned to Washington from his month's tour of the world and drove immediately to the White House for a talk with his brother, the President. Later the Attorney General said he had found a "tremendous reservoir of goodwill toward the United States." (12:4-8)
After more than a year's study, the Presidential Railroad Commission urged a thorough overhaul of railroad labor practices, revised wage structures and modernized working conditions. The Commission submitted a series of recommendations, including the elimination of up to 45,000 jobs, chiefly those of firemen on Diesel freight locomotives. The five union members dissented. (1:8)
A worker-retraining bill was approved by the House in a 354-to-62 vote. Sponsors of the $262,000,000 measure estimate that under its provisions 410,000 workers could be retrained and put to work in two years. (1:6-7)
The State Department faces a large-scale departure of its senior Foreign Service officers on May 31 because of a deadline set by Congress in two laws that provide higher retirement pay. As many as sixty high-ranking officers may retire. (1:1)
The general level of consumer prices continued steady in January for the fourth consecutive month. (1:8)
The Pentagon appeared to be embroiled in a quarrel between the Air Force and the Administration. A Pentagon spokesman rebutted a statement by Gen. Curtis E. LeMay that planned outlays for Minuteman missiles and B-70 bombers were inadequate. (1:2)
U. S. view on Common Market disturbs British. (Page 9)
U. S. opposes du Pont plan on G. M. shares. (Page 41)
March 2, 1962
A jet airliner crashed in Jamaica Bay, killing all ninety-five persons aboard. The Boeing 707 had just taken off for Los Angeles from Idlewild Airport at 10:07 A.M. It was making a turn three miles southwest of the field when it suddenly went nose down from a height of about 700 feet. No one aboard had a chance to escape as the American Airlines craft plunged into cold blue water fifty feet from shore and then exploded into flaming fragments. (1:8)
President Kennedy called on the Federal Aviation Agency to do everything it could to prevent a repetition of the disaster. The F.A.A. administrator, who flew to New York to begin an inquiry, said that the cause of the crash was a mystery. (1:6-7)
Jubilant New Yorkers poured out their unstinting affection for the space heroes. Police Commissioner Murphy estimated that 4,000,000 people watched the motorcade, shouting praises from La Guardia Airport to a luncheon banquet at the Waldorf Astoria. (1:1)
Kennedy pledges space cooperation with U. N. (Page 20)
U. S. to try to satisfy allies on nuclear weapons. (Page 2)
Kennedy picks committee for arms control agency. (Page 2)
President defined religions "cold war" role. (Page 3)
Senate passes increase in debt limit. (Page 17)
U. S. judge voids all Georgia bus segregation. (Page 60)
U. S. aid planned in fight against measles. (Page 31)
March 3, 1962
President Kennedy announced to the nation last night that he had ordered a resumption of atmospheric nuclear tests in late April unless the Soviet Union agreed by then to an iron-clad treaty banning all nuclear tests. In a radio-television address from his White House office, he said that "no single decision of this Administration has been more thoroughly or more thoughtfully weighed." The President held out to Premier Khrushchev the promise of a summit conference at which such a treaty could be signed, and he said that the West would offer a satisfactory treaty at the disarmament conference opening in Geneva on March 14. Moscow indicated it would reject the proposal as "completely unacceptable." (1:8)
In Berlin, Allied officials considered a Soviet move to bar the United States commander from entering East Berlin to be part of a general buildup for a new offensive against Western rights in the city. (1:6)
Chancellor Adenauer made public a telegram ordering the West German Ambassador in Moscow to return to Bonn immediately. The West German press has been agitated over reports that the Ambassador recommended major concessions to the Kremlin for a German-Soviet accord. (1:7)
Shortly after a swift coup in Burma, Gen. Ne Win announced that he would head a seventeen-man military Revolutionary Council. In a radio broadcast, he said the army had taken over the country to correct a deteriorating situation. (1:7-8)
The Federal Housing Administration announced an agreement under which it would refuse to do business with anyone who violates a state's antidiscrimination law in housing. The agreement, made with Pennsylvania, was termed the first of its kind. (1:2)
All protocol was cast aside as Lieut. Col. John H. Glenn Jr., receiving a rousing, cheering reception at the United Nations, suggested in a brief, informal speech, that the United Nations was the natural center for world cooperation in exploring space. (1:5)
Government investigators theorized that the crash of the jet airliner near Idlewild Thursday was caused by failure in the control system, but there was still no positive evidence of the cause. (1:4)
With the tacit support of Mayor Wagner and over the opposition of the Democratic reform wing, Edward N. Costikyan was elected leader of the party's New York Country Executive Committee. Mr. Costikyan, a 37-year-old trial lawyer, succeeds Carmine De Sapio, who was deposed last fall. (1:3)
U. S. atom tests aimed at missile defense. (Page 2)
U. S. not opposing du Pont case decree. (Page 25)
March 4, 1962
The United States and Britain are not expected to insist on an elaborate detection system for nuclear tests when they discuss this aspect of disarmament at the Geneva conference opening March 14. It is understood that development of long-range detection devices lessens the necessity for an elaborate control system. The Western governments are weighing proposals intended to reduce the Soviet Union's sensitivity to espionage in any control system. (1:8)
Moscow indicated there was little prospect that it would accept President Kennedy's invitation for a summit meeting committed to ratifying a nuclear test-ban treaty. It accused the President of tactics resembling blackmail. (1:7)
After only a week of hearings, the Administration's proposal for setting up a communications satellite system is in serious trouble in Congress. The proposal to create a privately owned satellite corporation, which the Administration views as a compromise that should satisfy all sides is being criticized by the communications industry as well as by Democrats normally friendly to the Administration. Passage of the bill in its present form is now considered impossible. (1:2-3)
President Kennedy also is seeking authority to protect consumers against unsafe or worthless foods and drugs. Accordingly, he will send a special message to Congress on March 12. (1:4)
Democrats in Midwest pin hopes on Kennedy. (Page 51)
Kennedy to press for steel talk resumption. (Page 61)
U. S. acts to reassure foreign shippers. (Page 88)
March 5, 1962
Premier Khrushchev is expected to open a meeting of the Soviet Communist party's leadership today with a major speech on reorganization of Soviet agriculture, which has lagged behind production goals. The meeting also is expected to take up international issues. (13:2-3)
In Washington, the Pentagon reported scientific findings that could have important diplomatic implications if the nuclear powers resume talks on a nuclear test-ban treaty at the disarmament conference in Geneva next week. Extensive seismic research on atomic tests in Nevada in the last five months has confirmed earlier conclusions of American scientists on the difficulties of detecting underground explosions. (1:7)
The new attempt in Geneva next week to negotiate a world-wide disarmament treaty again raised the question of whether the United States, with continuing huge military expenditures, could afford to disarm. Although most Americans doubt that it would cause a major depression and even the Russians agree that the capitalist system could withstand the shock, many persons in the country and abroad have doubts. (1:6-7)
Secretary of Defense McNamara declared that adoption of an Air Force plan to produce the controversial B-70 supersonic bomber in quantity would be a "serious waste of the nation's resources." He estimated the cost at $10,000,000,000. (1:5)
A program for training more American astronauts beyond the initial seven will be announced in about three weeks. The disclosure was made by James E. Webb, chief of the national space agency, who predicted that John H. Glenn Jr., the most celebrated astronaut, would not go into politics. (1:3)
U. S. mission departs for aid talks in Chile. (Page 1)
U. S. to aid arts tours here by foreigners. (Page 27)
March 6, 1962
Premier Khrushchev has apparently dropped his efforts to turn the coming Geneva disarmament talks into a summit conference. In line with Western proposals, Moscow notified the White House that it would send Foreign Minister Gromyko to the parley, which will open March 14. The Soviet diplomatic chief will arrive a few days early for preliminary talks, with his American and British counterparts. (1:8)
France will not send a representative to the Geneva talks. The French had been expected to send at least an observer. Paris believes the meeting should be among the major powers only, instead of many. (1:7)
Soviet farming was criticized by Premier Khrushchev, who said his seven-year plan for agriculture was "in serious danger" because of poor management and an unproductive grass rotation system. (1:4)
A former Soviet general, who also led a Communist corps in the Spanish Civil War, is reported to have taken command of Cuba's rocket forces. The general, Enrique Lister, has often turned up in Western countries where Communists are active. (1:5)
Firing broke out between United Nations and Katangese troops in the Congo, menacing the current truce. Each side said the other had started the fighting. (1:5)
The Supreme Court held that airports must compensate nearby property owners for the noise, vibration and fear caused by low-flying planes. The justices ruled in favor of a Pittsburgh lawyer who had sold his home because planes kept him awake and made plaster fall. The court said that low flights can make property so useless as to constitute a "taking" of the property for public use, for which the Constitution required "just compensation." The decision is expected to spur thousands of suits. (1:2-3)
The sound of one plane - an Air Force B-58 Hustler - boomed across the country as the craft shattered three speed records and lots of windows. The bomber hustled from Los Angeles to New York and back in just four hours and forty-two minutes, with its sonic boom leaving a trail of alarm and damage. (1:3-4)
Labor leader George Meany put a "must" tag on a shorter work-week to curb unemployment. The A.F.L.-C.I.O. chief did not propose any specific cut, but he said hours should be reduced without loss of pay. (29:1)
The railroads called on their operating unions to begin negotiations March 20 on the basis of the Presidential Railroad Commission's report, which urged wholesale revision of work rules and pay systems. (28:3)
Presidential panel opens hearings on harbor labor. (Page 70)
Ribicoff eases public aid to mental patients. (Page 21)
March 7, 1962
President Kennedy sent Premier Khrushchev a mild note in what appeared to be the last exchange leading to a foreign ministers' conference on disarmament. The message urged Mr. Khrushchev to avoid "sterile propaganda" and to work for the success of the talks, which will begin next week in Geneva before the opening of the seventeen-nation disarmament parley. The President's tone reflected Washington's belief that Mr. Khrushchev's last note was not particularly offensive, despite its charges and polemics. (1:8)
Meanwhile in Moscow, it became evident that the Soviet leadership was defending its concept of communism as an affluent social system. A study of Premier Khrushchev's speech Monday to the Soviet Communist party meeting on a farm policy showed that he had the Soviet-Chinese ideological dispute in mind. Defending his program's emphasis on a high living standard, he alluded to the Chinese standpoint by declaring "asceticism" to be alien to communism. (1:8)
Less rigorous communism seemed to be the new order of the day in Hungary. Premier Kadar has announced an easing of the internal class struggle and a new policy of coexistence with the non-Marxist majority of Hungarians. (8:2)
The Senate joined the Central Intelligence Agency in an extraordinary gesture to vindicate the honor of Francis Gary Powers, the U-2 pilot. Absolved by the C. I. A. of any dereliction of duty, the flier was brought before a Senate committee for praise of his conduct. A C. I. A. report stated that Mr. Powers had faithfully fulfilled his instructions after his plane went down in the Soviet Union. It was disclosed that Mr. Powers' orders were to surrender without resistance and to cooperate with his captors, even to the extent of speaking truthfully about his mission. One mystery was not dispelled, how his jet was brought down from 68,000 feet. (1:5)
The pilot's appearance demonstrated one unfailing truth on Capitol Hill - it's a mighty fine thing to come from the South, especially when the witness is a Southerner testifying before Southern lawmakers determined that a "Virginia boy" shall be given a fair hearing.
With the Administration's backing, the Post Office Department urged the Senate to approve a general increase in postal rates to bring in $691,000,000 in extra revenue and end a chronic deficit. First-class and air-mail stamps would cost a penny more. (14:3)
A Pentagon spokesman said that defense officials were more interested in a "reconnaissance strike" version of the B-70 than in the original plans to produce the bomber version, the Pentagon's research and engineering chief is said to be among those who support the proposals for the reconnaissance version. (7:3-4)
The Government charged that the late Senator Bender of Ohio took a $100,000 bribe to quash a stock fraud investigation. An assistant United States Attorney made the accusation in his opening statement at the New York trial of twelve men and four companies indicted on stock fraud charges. (1:1)
U. S. admiral says South Vietnam is on offensive. (Page 9)
A. T. & T. opposes Kennedy's satellite proposal. (Page 13)
F. A. A. sets rules on Boeing jet take-offs. (Page 70)
March 8, 1962
Next week's talks in Geneva between the foreign ministers of the United States, Britain and the Soviet Union may cover Berlin and Southeast Asia as well as disarmament and nuclear testing. This was indicated by President Kennedy, who expressed hope that the disarmament talks would be more fruitful than those of the last fifteen years. (15:1-2)
The seventeen-nation disarmament conference in Geneva was viewed as a major reason for the postponement of a joint television appearance by Mr. Kennedy and Premier Khrushchev. The half-hour program, which had been set for March 25, would have come in the midst of the conference, and it has been postponed by mutual agreement until late this year. (12:3)
Recent statements by Mr. Khrushchev were interpreted by Western observers as indicating that he must now decide whether the Soviet Union is to have more arms or more food. (1:2)
President Kennedy reported to Congress that he had cut a wide range of import duties below a "peril point" level to save American overseas markets and avoid collapse of trade negotiations with twenty-four nations. The peril point is the tariff level below which the Government has found specific duties could not be reduced without risking serious competitive injury to domestic producers. The President disclosed his decision in announcing the results of negotiations with the European Common Market and eighteen other countries, in which the White House claimed a 4 to 3 advantage in tariff concessions received over those granted by the United States. (1:1)
Earlier, the entire membership of the Joint Economic Committee of Congress called for a conference of the major industrial nations to work out a solution to this country's continuing balance-of-payments deficit. (1:2-3)
At his news conference, the President registered concern over the payments problem as well as steel labor negotiations, which broke off last Friday. Mr. Kennedy announced that he had asked both sides to get back to the bargaining table within a week. They agreed to do so. (1:4)
On the subject of employment, the President cited a Government report of a nineteen-month low in the jobless rate and a February high in employment. Unemployment, which normally rises slightly at this time of year, dipped by 120,000 from January to February to 5.6 per cent. Employment rose by 731, 000 to 65,789,000. (1:2-3)
A packed Madison Square Garden echoed to cheers and applause for Senator Barry Goldwater and hisses and boos at references to President Kennedy. (20:1)
Kennedy opposes halt in aid to Brazil. (Page 1)
U. S. prepared to grant Chile alliance aid. (Page 9)
Kennedy backs a limited B-70 plan. (Page 1)
Kennedy asks advertising unit to promote trade. (Page 17)
U. S. launches satellite to study solar rays. (Page 1)
March 9, 1962
Mobs roamed the streets of Santo Domingo and staged protests against the departure from the Dominican Republic of former President Balaguer and a former armed forces chief, General Rodriguez Echavarria. The mobs protested that the two men, who had been flown to Puerto Rico, should have been put on trial. They charged that the State Department abetted the move. (1:1)
President Kennedy's plan to purchase $100,000,000 worth of United Nations bonds narrowly survived its first voting test in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The plan was modified to meet objections from both parties. A hard battle is expected in the Senate and passage by the House is in great doubt. (1:3)
Under a new two-year exchange agreement between Washington and Moscow, the New York City Ballet, the Robert Shaw Chorale and Benny Goodman's orchestra will visit the Soviet Union this year. At the same time, the Bolshoi Theatre Ballet, the Leningrad Philharmonia Symphony Orchestra and the Ukrainian Dance Ensemble will tour several American cities. (1:6)
The visit of Mr. Goodman and his ensemble to the Soviet Union in mid-May will mark the first official invasion of that country by American jazz. (2:1)
A bill to add three seats to the permanent roster of the House encountered unexpected trouble on the House floor and was killed. (1:4)
The Administration moved cautiously to head off a constitutional conflict with the House to direct President Kennedy to move toward production of the controversial plane, which he is unwilling to do. Administration officials met with key Representatives to avoid a constitutional test that might embitter Executive-legislative relations. (1:5)
Mrs. Kennedy starts on her trip to Asia. (Page 1)
U. S. pledges Chile aid of 120 million in 1962. (Page 10)
Kennedy rejects offer of Newport estate. (Page 31)
March 10, 1962
The United States delegation will leave for Geneva today without much hope of reaching substantial agreement with the Soviet Union on either disarmament measures or a treaty to ban nuclear tests. High Administration officials believe that an arms agreement is not likely until there is a settlement of such political issues as Berlin and Southeast Asia. They also see no chance of a test-ban treaty as long as Moscow refuses to accept an international inspection system. On the eve of Secretary of State Rusk's departure, he briefed the Senate Foreign Relations Committee for two hours. (1:8)
As Foreign Minister Gromyko prepared to fly to Geneva, Moscow reaffirmed its position on Berlin in uncompromising terms. Pravda assailed as absurd Mr. Rusk's proposal for setting up an international authority to guarantee free access to Berlin. (1:6-7)
A Congolese official was said to have left Leopoldville for the United States to buy four bombers from an American company. Such an agreement was expected to be opposed by United Nations and United States officials. (1:4)
The Russians plan to extend their activities to international yachting competition. The head of the Soviet Yachting Federation announced that in 1964 it would challenge for the famed America's Cup, which American yachtsmen have held since 1851. (1:7-8)
President Kennedy named Maj. Gen. Marshall S. Carter, a 52-year-old Army officer, to be deputy director of the Central Intelligence Agency, the number two job in the agency. General Carter, who has served on many international assignments, will succeed Gen. Charles P. Cabell, an Air Force officer who recently retired. (1:2)
The President designated coastal areas of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia as disaster areas, making them eligible for Federal aid in repairing damage by the three-day storm this week. (1:2-3)
March 11, 1962
In Geneva, it became known that the Western powers and the neutral and pro-Communist leaders of Laos were nearing agreement on a new Government for that country. Final approval of Cabinet candidates is expected within two weeks. Washington will have to decide how hard to press the Rightists to accept the formula. (29:1)
Western officials in Berlin said the Russians were trying without much success to jam the radar that guides Allied planes in the air corridors to the city. They said tiny metal flakes called chaff had been spread over the airlanes. (1:7)
Premier Khrushchev has decided on a continued high level of military preparedness rather than increase Soviet investment in agriculture. His decision was disclosed in a speech to the final session of a Communist party Central Committee meeting. (1:6-7)
President Kennedy told 3,000 Democrats at a Florida party fund-raising dinner that unless the United States "shoulders the burden" of combating communism abroad, "the whole cause of freedom fails." Speaking in Miami Beach, he conceded that the burden of commitments from Berlin to Laos was heavy, but said that "we must carry that burden whether others are prepared to or not." Turning to domestic politics, the President urged the renomination of Senator George A. Smathers and Representative Dante B. Fascell. (1:4)
Under Mr. Kennedy's proposed Trade Expansion Act, twenty-six major categories of goods ranging from cosmetics to machinery would be eligible for complete removal of tariffs. Hearings will start tomorrow. (1:2)
The Federal Government is considering imposing a ceiling on dividend rates of savings and loan associations. This was made known in a speech in Boston by Joseph P. McMurray, chairman of the Federal Home Loan Bank Board. (1:1-2)
March 12, 1962
Mounting tension over Berlin was discussed by the Big Three foreign ministers in Geneva last night when they met for dinner in Secretary of State Rusk's hotel suite. As they sat around a small table afterward for coffee, Mr. Rusk and Britain's Foreign Secretary, the Earl of Home, told Foreign Minister Gromyko that Moscow must halt its renewed harassment of Allied planes in the Berlin air corridors. Mr. Rusk said that the Western Allies would know in a day or two whether they had got "any satisfaction" from the talk. (1:8)
In Moscow, the Government newspaper Izvestia hinted that the Soviet Union might soon impose a new deadline for the signing of a German peace treaty that would withdraw recognition of the Allied occupation of West Berlin. (1:6-7)
Another incident that focused Western concern on Berlin was the wounding of the driver of a British military car by shots fired by East German border guards near Potsdam. East Germans said the guards had fired at the car after the driver ignored several signals to halt, but British officials said thirty to forty machine-gun bullets had been fired for no apparent reason. (1:6-7)
March 13, 1962
The Administration opened its case for broad new tariff-cutting powers before a favorably inclined House Ways and Means Committee. In five and one-half hours of testimony, Secretary of Commerce Hodges said the legislation was of "paramount importance" to aid foreign policy, national security and the domestic economy. He said the program would let the country deal with the European Common Market from a "position of strength." (1:2-3)
Besides hearing Secretary Hodges, the committee gave final, formal approval to its amended version of the President's tax bill, whose major feature is a device to stimulate business expansion. (22:4)
Mr. Kennedy, meanwhile, renewed his request to Congress for a permanent broadening of the unemployment compensation system, which he called "especially urgent." (1:4)
The chief of the Weather Bureau reported that the Russians had indicated willingness to cooperate in developing and using a weather satellite system. Officials hoped this would be the long-sought bridge to international efforts, in the peaceful uses of space. (17:1)
President to address aged-care rally here. (Page 22)
March 14, 1962
On the eve of the disarmament talks opening today in Geneva, President Kennedy said that as soon as the conference reached agreement on any measures, the United States would act immediately to put them into effect. However, officials were clearly dubious that the parley would be much more than a propaganda exercise. (1:4)
President Kennedy welcomed Ahmadou Ahidjo, the 38-year-old President of the Federal Republic of Cameroon, whom he called "one of the youngest Presidents of the world." (1:5-7)
President Kennedy asked Congress to appropriate $4,878,500,000 for economic and military foreign aid in the next fiscal year. It was the largest foreign aid request since President Eisenhower's first year in office. The sum includes $3,378,500,000 for economic development loans and grants, and $1,500,000,000 for military aid. (1:8)
As the President's request went to Capitol Hill, Congress sent him a $435,000,000 program to retrain workers made jobless by automation and other causes. (24:4)
Kennedy asks funds for U. S. exhibits at fair. (Page 41)
Sit-in held outside Robert Kennedy's office. (Page 29)
March 15, 1962
In a letter to Acting Secretary General Thant, the United States refused to commit itself to refrain from stationing nuclear weapons on the territory of its allies. George W. Ball, Under Secretary of State, said that the West must rely upon both conventional and nuclear weapons for self-defense. (1:7)
President Kennedy said that the Soviet Union was putting more obstacles in the way of a Berlin agreement by its harassing tactics in the three air corridors to West Berlin. He said that both East and West should make every effort to avoid incidents likely "to lead to actions and counter-actions which can only intensify the danger." (1:6-7)
President Kennedy rebuked legislators who seek to cut his $4,878,500,000 foreign aid program. He said that those who wanted to make the deepest cuts in aid were the same persons who "make the most vigorous speeches against communism and call for a policy of victory." (1:4)
The President's news conference heard Mr. Kennedy's prediction that his medical care bill would "definitely" come to a vote in the Senate this year. But he indicated less certainty about the chances of getting it approved by the House Ways and Means Committee, which most observers agree is the major obstacle. (1:3)
Edward M. Kennedy officially began his campaign for the Senate seat once held by his brother, the President. (1:1)
The President, who once called his youngest brother "the best politician in the family" (27:2-3), told his news conference that he would not take part in the campaign and that Edward was running "on his own." (27:1)
March 16, 1962
The Soviet Union rejected yesterday the inspection safeguards that President Kennedy has demanded for changing his decision to resume atmospheric nuclear tests. An American spokesman in Geneva, said that the Soviet delegation at the disarmament conference had rejected the modified proposals "out of hand," declaring that the only basis for a nuclear test-ban treaty was a Soviet draft calling for national rather than international policing. Earlier, Secretary of State Rusk and Foreign Minister Gromyko submitted proposals for disarmament to the first working session of the seventeen-nation meeting. (1:8)
In the Pacific, a Super Constellation carrying 107 persons, including ninety-three American servicemen, disappeared on a night flight from Guam to Manila and was presumed to have crashed at sea. The soldiers were enroute to join American forces in South Vietnam. A vast air and sea search was under way for the four-engined Flying Tiger Line craft. (1:2-4)
Secretary of Defense McNamara confirmed that United States military training personnel in South Vietnam had exchanged fire with Communist rebel forces. But he said that the Americans were "under instructions not to fire unless fired upon." (1:5)
In President Kennedy's fourteenth message to this session of Congress, he proposed a far-ranging plan of executive and legislative action to guard the health and finances of consumers. He requested major legislation dealing with drugs, foods, cosmetics and television sets. (1:1)
Congress approved and sent to the White House legislation to tighten controls over welfare and pension funds of nearly 100,000,000 workers and their dependents. The funds, contained in about 100,000 individual plans, total more than $85,000,000,000. (1:2)
Dr. Arthur Holly Compton, the Nobel Prize-winning physicist, died in Berkeley, California. Dr. Compton, who was also an educator and one of the key scientists in the development of the atomic bomb, was 69 years old. (1:4-5)
Two top U. S. Communists indicted by U. S. (Page 5)
March 17, 1962
Premier Khrushchev departed from the prepared text of a nearly two hour speech in the Kremlin yesterday to assert that Soviet scientists had developed a "global rocket" invulnerable to anti-missile weapons. He said that the new weapon had rendered obsolete the radar and detection devices of the United States' early warning system, though he did not specify whether the rocket was already operational. In the speech calling for disarmament and the early conclusion of a German peace treaty, the Soviet leader warned the United States that it was defenseless against rocket bombardment. (1:8)
Earlier, Mr. Khrushchev interrupted another speaker at the pre-election meeting in Moscow to disclose that the Russians had launched a scientific satellite to gather data for manned space flights. The disclosure elaborated on later by Tass, indicated that Moscow planned a test series before trying to send a spaceship around the moon. (2:1-2)
United States scientists reported a success of their own. The Air Force announced that this country's biggest intercontinental rocket, the Titan 2, had passed its maiden flight. It streaked from Cape Canaveral to a South Atlantic target more than 5,000 miles away in thirty minutes. (1:6-7)
American scientists also plan to beam a powerful red light at the moon soon, hoping it will be reflected back to earth. (4:6)
President Kennedy has suggested to Premier Khrushchev that their two countries jointly launch and operate space satellites for weather forecasting, according to sources at the United Nations. (3:5)
At the United Nations-sponsored disarmament conference in Geneva, the voice of the neutrals was heard for the first time. Brazil called for an immediate halt in nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, in space and under water. (1:7)
The Israeli Army announced that its forces had invaded Syrian territory on the eastern shore of the Sea of Galilee, destroyed fortifications and inflicted heavy casualties on the Syrians. A communique in Jerusalem said the Israeli forces withdrew after an hour-long battle. (1:5)
Backers of a constitutional amendment to outlaw the poll tax produced a supporting letter from President Kennedy. The letter endorsed a proposal by Senator Spessard L. Holland that would prohibit imposition of poll taxes as a prerequisite for voting in Federal elections. The Florida Democrat read the letter to an almost deserted Senate as lackadaisical debate continued. (1:1)
Mrs. Nelson A. Rockefeller entered a courthouse in Reno, Nev., and got a divorce from the Governor. (1:2)
U. S. and Mexico seek irrigation solution. (Page 14)
Foreign policy briefings are opened to public. (Page 23)
March 18, 1962
Soviet diplomats in East Berlin have declared that Moscow will continue to send military planes into the Berlin air corridors "until a German peace treaty has been signed." (3:2)
The Soviet Government accused the United States of fighting an "undeclared war" in South Vietnam. It demanded immediate evacuation of American military personnel from the country and defended the incursions by Communist guerrillas as a "national liberation movement." (1:4)
The White House made public a letter from President Kennedy to Premier Khrushchev, proposing a five-point cooperative program of space exploration and possible joint United States-Soviet exploration of the moon. The President suggested joint space projects involving weather satellites, radio tracking stations, mapping of the earth's magnetic field, medicine and communications. Government officials said that Mr. Khrushchev had not replied to the letter, sent ten days ago, but they added that the proposals were complicated and required much study. (1:2-3)
U. S. and Soviet compete over aid to Brazil. (Page 43)
March 19, 1962
A cease-fire ending the Algerian war after seven years, four months and eighteen days will go into effect today. (1:8)
Benyoussef Ben Khedda, Premier of the Algerian Provisional Government, said the cease-fire did not mean peace in Algeria because of the danger from European Rightists. (1:5)
To France's armed forces the cease-fire means that, almost for the first time since Sept. 1, 1939, they will not be at war with a foreign or colonial enemy. The twenty-two and a half years has been largely a record of lost or, at best, unwon wars. (14:4)
To Mohammed Ben Bella, Vice Premier of the Algerian Provisional Government, and four fellow ministers, the peace accord meant freedom for the first time in nearly five and a half years. They were released from a chateau near Paris and flew to Geneva en route to Rabat. (12:4)
The cease-fire agreement was welcomed in all Western capitals. The White House hailed it as a "historic accomplishment." (1:7)
The United States and Britain plan to offer Soviet diplomats in Geneva this week another refinement of their conditions for international controls in a treaty to ban nuclear tests. Since there is not much hope in the West that Moscow will accept any form of foreign inspection, the offer is being prepared mainly to satisfy world opinion that there is no room for bargaining before American atmospheric tests begin. (1:2)
U. S. bans import of some Hong Kong textiles. (Page 15)
March 20, 1962
Without waiting for actual Algerian independence, Moscow recognized the former rebel leaders as the true government. (15:5)
Argentina plunged into her deepest crisis since the overthrow of the dictator Juan Peron. Amid tension, President Frondizi ordered military commanders to take over five provinces to prevent control by victorious Peronist election candidates. (1:1)
Washington viewed the upsurge by Peronists and their Left-wing allies as a blow to President Kennedy's Alliance for Progress. (9:1)
President Kennedy ordered stiff increases in duties on imported carpets and glass. And in what appeared to be a politically balanced companion move, he rejected proposals for higher duties on baseball gloves and ceramic mosaic tile. The increases for carpets and glass pleased lawmakers from about a dozen states at a time when the White House was seeking wide support for Mr. Kennedy's liberal trade program. (1:5)
"With special enthusiasm," organized labor endorsed the President's tariff-cutting aims. (24:2)
Former Vice President Nixon has charged in a new book that President Kennedy endangered security restrictions in 1960 with his campaign call for intervention in Cuba. Mr. Nixon said the call was made only after Mr. Kennedy had learned from the C.I.A. that the United States was training Cuban exiles for an invasion. (1:2)
The American Bar Association charged that Irving Ben Cooper, a former New York judge, lacked "both the judicial temperament and judicial experience" to be a Federal judge. Mr. Cooper is already sitting on the Federal bench pending Senate action on his appointment. (1:2)
U. S. denies provocation at Guantanamo. (Page 13)
Kennedy moves to ease U. S. rule in Ryukyus. (Page 23)
Kennedy orders reappraisal of nuclear power role. (Page 20)
March 21, 1962
The United States feared that the trouble in Argentina might upset democratic stability in Latin America and damage the Alliance for Progress program of economic development. But Washington officials were hopeful that President Frondizi would avert a coup and preserve legal authority in cooperation with the military. (17:1)
The White House denied former Vice President Nixon's charge that President Kennedy had been briefed on secret plans for a Cuban invasion before he made his 1960 campaign call for American intervention. Press Secretary Salinger said Mr. Kennedy did not learn of the planned invasion until after his election. Allen W. Dulles, former head of the C.I.A., supported Mr. Kennedy's version and said he believed that Mr. Nixon's accusation resulted from "an honest misunderstanding." (1:8)
The President's brother, Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy, told Congress that broad ownership of a communications satellite system was essential to protect the investment of taxpayers and to prevent control by the American Telephone and Telegraph Company. (24:4)
The Attorney General also called for tougher Federal laws against police brutality. (27:4)
U. S. gets support in U. N. for excluding Cuba. (Page 11)
Kennedy intervenes in T.W.A. labor dispute. (Page 78)
U. S. regains big lead over Soviet in steel. (Page 53)
C. Wright Mills, sociologist and author, died. (Page 39)
Kennedy urges aid for coal pipelines. (Page 59)
March 22, 1962
Premier Khrushchev accepted President Kennedy's proposal for United States-Soviet talks on cooperation in space research. In a message to the President, he suggested that experts begin discussing the use of communication satellites. (1:3)
Mr. Kennedy welcomed the Soviet leader's reply and expressed hope that a basis had been laid for "practical cooperation" in the exploration of space. The President told his news conference that the next step would be for United States and Soviet officials to confer on specific proposals. The talks will start Tuesday. (1:4)
Just before the House was due to take up the controversy over the B-70 bomber, President Kennedy and Representative Carl Vinson reached a truce that abruptly ended the battle. Under the agreement, Congress will not pursue an attempt to force the President to spend more money than he wants for the project, and the Administration agreed in turn to spend more money than originally planned if a new review and technological developments warrant an increase. (1:6)
The President commiserated with impatient Reservists who were mobilized in the Berlin crisis last fall and now are clamoring to be released. "There is always inequity in life," he observed philosophically. (16:6)
President deplores exploitation of Algerian crisis. (Page 7)
Kennedy sees no attack on Guantanamo. (Page 13)
Kennedy scores Republican plan on U. N. bonds. (Page 15)
March 23, 1962
In Paris, the French Communist party found itself, for the first time since World War II, technically on the same side of a question as President de Gaulle. Their party called on its members to vote "yes" in next month's referendum on a peace accord ending the Algerian war and granting the General power to carry out its terms. (2:5-6)
Western observers in the Soviet Union have found what they believe to be evidence of an extensive system of bomb shelters in Soviet cities. Soviet officials have derided the shelter construction program in the United States and have denied knowledge of such a program in their country. (1:8)
In Geneva, the Soviet Union was said to have proposed again that an international authority supervise a free city of West Berlin and access to it. The proposal was again promptly rejected by the United States. (1:7)
A sharply revised version of the Administration's big tax bill evoked high praise from President Kennedy as the last barriers to House action were lifted. The President sent a letter of congratulations to Representative Wilbur D. Mills a few hours after his committee approved sharp reductions in business benefits designed to bring the revenue-losing and revenue-gaining provisions of the bill into approximate balance. The last-minute surgery cleared the way for expected House passage next week. (1:5; Text, 15)
The Senate met in night session as leaders sought to wear down a week-long talkathon by Southerners against an amendment abolishing the poll tax. (18:1)
March 24, 1962
East-West division in Berlin was reflected in the work of hundreds of East German workers who reinforced the wall dividing the city with heavy concrete slabs. Platoons of East German border policemen guarded the operation. Western observers said that the Communists might be planning a system of visa controls for West Germans and West Berliners crossing the border. (1:6)
The nation's jobless may soon get good news from the White House. President Kennedy is reported ready to support an immediate public works program calling for a Federal outlay of $500,000,000 in areas where unemployment is high and persistent. (1:1)
The President's view of the direction of history is one of optimism. A crowd of 85,000 packed the University of California's sun-drenched football stadium at Berkeley to hear him speak of "a new confidence" and assert that the tide of history favors freedom. (1:2-3; Text, 10)
Later Mr. Kennedy witnessed his first missile launching -- a perfect blastoff by a slim white Atlas at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Today he will meet with former President Eisenhower at Palm Desert. (11:1)
On Capitol Hill, Senators made public some details of the nation's defense stockpiles and showed a loss of nearly $1,000,000,000. But Senator Stuart Symington, chairman of a special inquiry, declined to say whether there had been "scandal or impropriety" until more facts were known. (1:8)
United States to end loophole in Cuban embargo. (8)
U. S. forbids sale of grain to Communists. (6)
Kennedy wins round in new farm bill. (23)
March 25, 1962
Iceland, once a reluctant NATO member, has begun to display increasingly strong evidence of pro-Western sentiment. United States officials in Reykjavik say the Icelanders have shown a gratifying readiness lately to champion the alliance. (1:6-7)
The United States is encouraging a major program of support for the harassed people of West Berlin. At the suggestion of Gen. Lucius D. Clay, President Kennedy's representative in the city, American concerns are being solicited to start businesses or broaden existing enterprises there. (1:6-7)
Harriman in Laos to spur coalition regime. (3)
March 26, 1962
As a protest against Moscow's recognition of the Algerian Provisional Government, France has recalled her Ambassador in Moscow and is sending the Soviet Ambassador home. The French move is a sharp reproof but not a diplomatic break. (1:6-7)
The seventeen-nation disarmament conference in Geneva, which France is snubbing, may settle down this week into a continuing session that will facilitate periodic high level East-West contact. Secretary of State Rusk and the other ministers plan to make it clear before they leave this week that they will return whenever their presence seems useful. (1:5)
A word-of-mouth campaign of criticism of Soviet leaders has been launched by Communist China. Chinese refugees reaching Hong Kong told of meetings at which the Kremlin leadership had come under the direct fire of Chinese officials. (1:7)
Auguste Piccard, the pioneer Swiss explorer of the stratosphere and ocean depths, died of a heart attack at his home in Lausanne. His age was 78. (1:7)
SEATO exercises start at Mindaro today. (9)
March 27, 1962
Crumpled French flags lay in pools of blood. Spent cartridges littered the pavement of an Algiers square. Firemen gathered up the bodies of men, women and children. This was the aftermath of a tragic moment for France and Algeria, a moment yesterday in which French troops fired point-blank at French civilians marching to break the cordon around Bab-el-Oued, a Secret Army citadel. The civilians were striding gaily, singing "La Marseillaise," when the firing began. Troops emptied automatic weapons into the crowd. One officer cried: "Stop the shooting, in the name of France!" But in the end at least forty civilians were dead. Of about 150 wounded, many were near death. (1:1)
The Supreme Court by a 6-to-2 vote held that the distribution of seats in state legislatures was subject to the constitutional scrutiny of Federal courts. (1:8; Excerpts of opinions, 18-19)
March 28, 1962
After a cheerful luncheon with Foreign Minister Gromyko and Lord Home, Secretary of State Rusk gave a somber farewell statement to the Geneva disarmament parley. He warned that the world's destructive capacity would double by 1966 if it failed to arrest the arms race now. Mr. Rusk said the current "tolerable" balance of power should permit gradual arms reduction. But he said this required adequate international inspection and effective means to settle disputes peacefully. (1:6)
American planning rests on a premise that the United States would not be the first to launch a general nuclear war, the Administration said. But the White House restated the NATO policy providing for possible nuclear warfare to repulse even a non-nuclear Soviet attack in Europe. (1:7)
The Senate approved a Constitutional amendment to ban the poll tax as a requirement for voting in Federal elections. The vote was an overwhelming 77 to 16, with fourteen of the negative votes cast by Southern Democrats. (1:1)
Consumer prices set a new high last month, mainly because of higher food costs. But the Government said this was not a sign of a long-term upward trend. (1:6)
Secretary of Commerce Hodges said the economy would operate below expected levels for the first quarter, but not to a disturbing degree. (24:3)
March 29, 1962
Argentina's armed forces announced early today that President Frondizi had been deposed. The War Ministry said it had taken control of the Government and that Senate President Jose Maria Guido would replace Dr. Frondizi. Military sources said that Dr. Frondizi would be arrested and would be taken to an island prison where Juan Peron was once held. The take-over followed the seizure of vital installations yesterday. There were no reports of armed clashes. (1:1)
Shortly after the Syrian Army took over that country in a bloodless coup, it announced that it would restore "constructive and just socialism" and seek friendship with "dear Egypt and sister Iraq." However, there were no indications that restoration of the union with Egypt was in prospect. (1:2)
Steel industry and union negotiators in Pittsburgh reached tentative agreement on the basic terms of a new two-year contract covering 450,000 steel workers. The tentative settlement was said to call for fringe benefit increases worth about ten cents an hour in the first year, no general wage increase, and to provide for further negotiations on wages at the end of the first year. The terms fall well within the limit suggested by the Government for a non-inflationary accord. (1:8)
In a report to Congress, President Kennedy said the United States had made a start toward balancing its international payments but that the problem remained urgent. He said that the solution rested mainly in "keeping our industry competitive and expanding our exports." (1:4)
Sugar harvest short of goal in Cuba. (12)
Chief Federal Judge John W. Murphy, died. (33)
March 30, 1962
Behind the closed doors of Principe Prison outside Havana the Cuban Government began the trial of 1,182 prisoners captured after last April's unsuccessful invasion. The Castro regime would not let the defendants choose their lawyers and it barred from the trial their relatives and friends and reporters from non-Communist countries. (1:8)
The United States Army has suspended travel by its mission in East Germany because the Russians failed to guarantee the Americans' safety. (1:5)
President Kennedy said that efforts to reach an East-West agreement banning nuclear tests appeared to have reached "a real impasse" as a result of the Soviet refusal to accept international inspection and controls. He reaffirmed his position that if no effective agreement were reached by late April, the United States would follow the Russians and resume atmospheric tests. (1:6; Text, 2)
The President also said at his news conference that he was aware of the aspirations of the Chinese on Taiwan to return to the mainland. But he sought to discourage any belief that the United States would support them in an invasion effort. (2:5)
The House gave President Kennedy a major legislative victory by approving his tax-revision program, 219 to 196. (1:5; Text 12)
The President also used the occasion of his news conference to give unqualified endorsement to the Supreme Court ruling that Federal courts had the power and the duty to consider the constitutionality of apportioning seats in state legislatures. (1:2)
Mr. Kennedy announced the retirement of Justice Charles Evans Whittaker from the Supreme Court. Justice Whittaker, who was appointed to the court in 1957, said that his doctors had warned that staying on would endanger his health. (1:2-3)
In a message to Congress, the President proposed the creation of an Office of Science and Technology in the White House to strengthen the direction of the nation's expanding efforts in those fields. (9:1)
President greets wife as her 20-day trip ends. (1)
March 31, 1962
The United States maintained a cautious attitude toward the Argentine situation and conferred with other Governments in Latin America on recognizing the regime. (2:6-7)
Brazil and the United States are nearing agreement on a $276,000,000 joint aid program for the poverty-stricken, drought-plagued region of Northeast Brazil. Under the agreement, Washington will contribute $131,000,000 in aid and Brazil will provide $145,000,000. (1:2)
In a formal ceremony at the White House, Mr. Kennedy received the credentials of the new Soviet Ambassador, Anatoly F. Dobrynin. The 42-year-old Ambassador spoke in English with hardly a trace of accent and appeared to be affable and urbane. (2:3-4)
Byron R. White, the Deputy Attorney General, was named by President Kennedy to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court. (10:4-5)
Astronauts appealed to Kennedy on Slayton. (10)
Gov. Quinn bids Kennedy act in ship strike. (50)