In the News: April 21-April 27, 1968

April 21, 1968
These are the top stories for today in 1968.

Clifford Confident Talks Will Come: Ultimate Meeting Is Seen by Darrell Garwood
"Defense Secretary Clark Clifford predicted Saturday the North Vietnamese will ultimately agree to peace talks after trying to extract propaganda advantage in the preliminary jockeying over a site." (United Press International)

Trudeau Sworn In As Canadian PM
"Pierre Elliott Trudeau, a casual, 48-year-old French-Canadian batchelor, was sworn in Saturday as the nation's 15th prime minister." (Associated Press)

HHH Sets Theme for Campaign: 'Don't Sell American Short' Is Major Point
"Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey intends to emphasize a 'don't sell America short' theme in his campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Humphrey plans to make his formal entry into the contest at a Washington news conference next Saturday." (Associated Press)

Race Issue Facing Party in England
"Race relations and the problems of Britain's one million nonwhite immigrants threatened Saturday to split the opposition Conservative party wide open." (Associated Press)

Enemy Bastions are Hit by B52s: Raids May Be Prelude to 'Push'
"Air Force B52s struck five times at enemy strongholds in the A Shau Valley Saturday night and early Sunday in a possible prelude to a new allied push in northwestern South Vietnam." (Associated Press)

RFK Claims 'Win' in Iowa
"Backers of Sen. Robert Kennedy were claiming a big vicotry Saturday after Iowa's Democratic county conventions Friday night... State Rep. Harry Beardsley of West Des Moints, head of the McCarthy campaign in Iowa, said McCarthy would probably wind up with only abotu 15 per cent of the state delegates." (Associated Press)

Suburbanites Help In Slum Clean-up
"Some of the middle class flow to the suburbs was reversed for a day Saturday as more than 5,000 suburbanites abandoned their golf and spring gardening to clean up rubbish in 50 New York slum blocks." One participant was quoted as saying, "The institutions, including the government, have failed to make a dent in the poor communities, but people can." (Associated Press)

Nixon Not to Promise Massive Quick Aid Programs For Nation's Poor
"Richard M. Nixon said Saturday he would rather lose the presidential election than promise immediate and massive aid programs to the poor in America, and he called such promises 'dishonest and a cruel delusion.'" (Associated Press)

McCarthy Sees Deep Disagreement in Administration On War Policy
"Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy said Saturday there appears to be 'deep disagreement' within the Johnson administration on the American course in Vietnam, and pledged to intensify his campaign demand for a policy overhaul." (Associated Press)

Kennedy Pledges to Travel Widely, Often Among People If He Is Elected
"... And he told Nebraskans 'no leadership can separate itself from thought or in fact from the people of a Democracy. If I am chosen as your next president, I pledge to you and my fellow citizens to go out among you; to meet with you; to open the channels of communication between a president and a citizenry which we so desperately need in the critical years ahead." (Associated Press)

Assassination Without Penalty? by Russell Kirk
The article makes the point that America has a terrible record for bringing assassins to justice. Malcolm X's murderers were not brought to justice despite hundreds of witnesses. President Kennedy's killer was murdered instead of being brought to justice. The killer of Medgar Evers went free because of hung juries. George Lincoln Rockwell's killer was convicted of murder in the first degree but only sentenced to five years. "...it is difficult to forget Chief Justice Warren's strange remark about the Kennedy assassination may not be made public for a century."

April 22, 1968
These are the top stories for April 22, 1968.

Discrepancies Exist in Galt-Ray Facts
"A ranking Memphis police officer acknowledges there are 'a whole lot of discrepancies' in official descriptions of the man sought as the sniper slayer of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr... The personalities of the two men are sometimes at odds. A prison pal described Ray as virtually a nondrinker. The FBI describes Galt as a fancier of beer and vodka." The article continues to talk about differences in accents and personal hygiene. (Associated Press)

FBI Working Alone on Hunt of Killer by Jack Nelson
"The investigation of the Dr. Martin Luther King assassination has been almost entirely an FBI affair, a fact that could prove somewhat embarrassing to the bureau if its no. 1 suspect, James Earl Ray, isn't apprehended - alive." (The Los Angeles Times)

Censorship Laws Ruled on Today
"The Supreme Court upheld today the power of states to keep sexy magazines from children. At the same time, however, the court struck down a Dallas scheme to shield children from violent or sexy movies on a finding that the particular scheme was constitutionally vague." (Associated Press)

Telephone Employees Defy Court Injunctions: Fifth Day of Strike by Neil Gilbride
"The AFL-CIO Communications Workers defied back-to-work court orders today in two states in the fifth day of the nationwide telephone strike, and said the injunctions blocked chances for an early settlement." (Associated Press)

S. Viet Army Units Put on Alert Basis As Attack Expected
"All South Vietnamese army units in Saigon and the surrounding 11 provinces were put on a 100 per cent alert today because of intelligence reports indicating an impending big attack in the capital, Vietnamese sources reported." (Associated Press)

Gradual Troop Cuts Forecast
"Secretary of Defense Clark M. Clifford said today South Vietnam's increased fighting effectiveness will permit a leveling off of U.S. efforts in the war and 'in due time' permit gradual troop reduction." (Associated Press)

Conservatives Split in Britain on Racism
"Britain's Conservative party was badly split today following a clash between two of its leaders over the racial question." (Associated Press)

Abernathy Prepares for Capital March
"Mule drawn wagons trudging through the South, a shanty town in Washington and three organized caravans from different sections of the country will be features of a planned 'Poor People's Campaign' beginning later this month... (Abernathy) predicted would be 'the most massive and militant nonviolent movement in history.'" (Associated Press)

500 Are Homeless By Fires in Newark
In what has been called "the worst in the history of Newark" and "definitely suspicious," Fire Director John Caufield ordered a 24-hour a day investigation of a fire that burned through the "city's heavily Negro Central Ward." (Associated Press)

McCarthy Favors Mansfield For Position Held by Rusk
"Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy says Secretary of State Dean Rusk should be fired and says one acceptable replacement would be Mansfield. The Democratic presidential candidate also said Sunday that Director J. Edgar Hoover controls the FBI as a 'kind of fief' and should be retired." (Associated Press)

Bobby's Own Credibility Gap by John Chamberlain
"... But when Bobby jumped into the Presidential struggle after McCarthy's moral victory in New Hampshire, I heard youngsters say that such opportunism was 'disgusting.' This is still the attitude of a lot of the young who march under the McCarthy banner."

39-Week Contract Saved Joe Bishop From Failure by Bob Thomas
"This week marks the first anniversary of Bishop's brave foray into Carson country, and he received a handsome anniversary present from the network: a 39-week extension of his contract, putting his show into the fall of 1968." (Associated Press)

Bonnie and Clyde Today Wouldn't Last a Week
"W. D. Jones, 51, who joined Clyde Barrow's gang at the age of 16, says Bonnie and Clyde 'wouldn't last a week' against modern police methods." (Associated Press)

April 23, 1968
In the national news
Report Claims 10 Million Hungry Americans
"Hunger and malnutrition remain prevalent in the United States to a 'shocking and shameful' degree, a blue-ribbon citizens' board of inquiry declared in a report issued here. The board insisted that in 256 counties, conditions are so desperate that President Johnson should immediately order emergency food programs to relieve human suffering." (Associated Press)

Hubert Urges Peace Bridge to Red China: Vice President Makes Broad Survey of U.S. Foreign Policy
"Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey says the United States should concentrate on 'affirmative action to meet human needs throughout the world' and called building 'peaceful bridges' to Communist China." (Associated Press)

Third F111 Plane Crashes on Viet Bombing Mission: New Jet Down in Thailmand It's Believed
"The U.S. Command announced today the third crash of a U.S. Air Force F111 fighter-bomber on its way to or from a bombing mission against North Vietnam. The command said the plane was believed down somewhere in Thailand Monday night. There was no other information on the plane or its two crewmen, the command said." (Associated Press)

200 Stage Trinity Sit-In Over Negro Scholarships
"More than 200 students held the Trinity College administration building today, saying they would stay until a student-proposed Negro scholarship program is approved." (Associated Press)

Hershey Sees Greater Draft: Tells Congress 1969 Call May Exceed 100,000 Figure
"Draft Chief Lewis B. Hershey has told Congress he estimates the 1969 draft call could exceed by as much as 100,000 men the 240,000 the Pentagon is asking. And at the least, the Selective Service Director indicated, the draft call - should the Vietnam war continue - will probably be closer to 297,000 than to 240,000 next year." (Associated Press)

McCarthy Drive, New Law Spur Surge in Registrations by Don Meikle
"An Associated Press survey of the eight largest cities where McCarthy primaries were held April 10 found nearly 6,500 names added to their voting lists this year - and Democrats outnumbered Republicans more than four to one." (Associated Press)

Huge March By Whites Urged By Negro Leader
"Whitney M. Young Jr., executive direcotr of the National Urban League, called today for a massive march on Washington by white people to demand an end to racism." (Associated Press)

Hawks Keeping U.S. From The Negotiating Table - Galbraith
"Harvard economist John Kenneth Galbraith has charged that peace negotiations between Hanoi and Washington are being delayed because those who are committed to military victory 'are saying, once more, that we are winning.' The Harvard professor and former U.S. ambassador to India said Monday night that 'President Johnson promised to go anywhere at any time to talk peace. That was the rule everyone can understand. Let it now apply.'" (United Press International)

China May end Communism: Russia Points Out Clear Possibility of Collapse by Henry S. Bradsher
"The Soviet Communist party said today there is clear possibility Communism might be overthrown in China. In a strong attack on Mao Tse-tung's policies, the Soviet party's theoretical journal said, 'The very existence of the Communist party of China... is now at stake.'" (Associated Press)

Dr. King, Sr. Tells of Threat Call
"Dr. Martin Luther King Sr. says he received a threatening telephone call the day after his son was buried, and 'I'll have to listen now since they did make good. But,' he said, 'I'm still unafraid. I'm going to preach continually as I always have.' He said he has been getting 'dangerous calls' for a long time." (Associated Press)

Write-In Vote Is Eyed In Pennsylvania Primary by Anthony J. May
"With only Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy's name on the ballot, political observers will be watching the size of the write-in vote in today's Pennsylvania presidential preference primary election." (Associated Press)

Javits Challenges Nixon Poll Power by Jack Bell
"Republican Sen. Jacob K. Javits challenges the results of a national opinon poll indicating Richard M. Nixon could defeat any of the three leading potential Democratic presidential nominees." (Associated Press)

Hopes Dim for 'Phone Talks Now
"Hopes appeared dim for renewed negotiations anytime soon in the nationwide strike of some 200,000 telephone workers as union attorneys sought to upset an Alabama court injunction against the walkout."

Handful of GIs Halts New Saigon Invasion: Unit is Rescued from Communists by Jack Walsh
"A handful of GIs fought off about 500 Communists for eight hours until American armor and air power rescued them during battling Monday to save Saigon from a new guerrilla invasion, military spokesmen said." (United Press International)

Polls Indicate Kennedy Is Leading in Indiana by Marianne Means
"Two recent private professional polls indicate Sen. Robert Kennedy is the heavy favorite to win the Indiana presidential primary May 7 over Sen. Eugene McCarthy and the state's favorite son candidate, Gov. Roger Branigan... Sen. McCarthy, for his part, has thus far waged a mini-campaign that is only a faint shadow of the effort he poured into New Hampshire and Wisonsin." The article continues to say that his financial picture isn't so rosy with Kennedy in the race and that he is very, very discouraged.

April 24, 1968
In the national news:
Brothers Visited Ray in Prison by Jack Nelson
"James Earl Ray, the accused assasin of Dr. Martin Luther King, was visited in the Missouri state prison by his brother, John, a day before escaping the prison last year, Warden Harold Swenson said Tuesday." The charge against James Earl Ray includes conspiring with "an individual whom he alleged to be his brother." (The Los Angeles Times)

McCarthy, Nixon Take Pennsylvania by Lee Linder
"Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy, alone on Pennsylvania's presidential preference ballot, was an easy winner in Tuesday's primary over Democratic rivals whose names had to be written in by the voters. Only about one-third of the 5.2 million eligible voters went to the polls." (Associated Press)

An AP Wirephoto shows Miami Patrolman Bill Riley dressed as a hippie. He finished a seven-week undercover assignment, infiltrating hippie groups. In the photo, he is shown giving the peace sign. The caption says that this sign means "I have pot."

Telephone Leader Sees Settlement: Workers to Win In Near Future by Neil Gilbride
"The leader of some 165,000 striking telephone workers has predicted that settlement of the week-old nationwide walkout may not be too far off." (Associated Press)

Ray Said He would Collect $1 Million Bounty on King by Richard Leggitt
"Fugitive James Earl Ray once said he would collect a 'million-dollar bounty' put up by a mysterious 'businessmen's association' for the death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., according to a prison friend." (United Press International)

Property Values' Decline Said Myth
"The widespread belief that Negroes moving into a previously all-white neighborhood cause property values to drop is a myth, a University of Southern California sociologist says." (The Los Angeles Times)

Devaluation of U.S. Dollar Seen as Political Probability by Robert E. Nichols
"Devaluation of the dollar is no longer a hearetical possibility but a political probability, Dr. Arthur F. Burns, former chairman of President Eisenhower's Council of Economic Advisers, told a civic affairs gathering..." (The Los Angeles Times)

Nixon Showed Bright 'New' Side In His Appearance with Editors by David Lawrence
On a meeting with the American Society of Newspaper Editors... "Mr. Nixon's impromptu remarks on a variety of issues raised some of the editors - who had not seen him in action since the 1960 campaign - to ask what he thought about the all-heard remark in political circles that there's a "new Nixon." He conceded with a smile that he is eight years older and "perhaps has acquired some more wisdom."

Dock Workers Back Immigration Cuts: British Longshoremen Support Tory Powell
"Hundreds of London dock workers struck again today to demand restrictions on the immigration of colored workers to Britain." (Associated Press)

Hanoi Feelers Just a Ploy?
"President Johnson has told diplomats the United States is in frequent touch with North Vietnam on the subjecrt of choosing the site for a Vietnam peace talk. Johnson said he and his advisers do not know whether the North Vietnamese leadership is seriously interested in solving the site problem or whether it has some other purpose in mind." (Associated Press)

Food Is Available for Hungry
"The Agriculture Department acknowledged yesterday it has money and food for hungry people but said that bureaucratic conflicts with county officials blocked distribution machinery. As a result, the department is returning $220 million in unused funds to the Treasury this year." (New York Times News Service)

April 25, 1968
In the national news
Mexican Police Free King Slaying Suspect: U.S. Citizen Held and Questioned by Charles Green
"Mexican authorities questioned today a U.S. citizen they said resembels the man wanted on a charge of slaying Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. then released him without pressing any charges. Daniel David Kennedy of Baltimore, who said he was on a walking tour of the State of Sonora, denied any connection with King's death." (Associated Press)

Vietnamese Sweep Infiltration Route: U.S. Deaths Decline by Jack Walsh
"Military spokesmen today disclosed allied troops are sweeping the A Shau Valley in their first major drive along North Vietnam's main infiltration route into South Vietnam. Thus far, the communist were shying from battle." (United Press International)

An AP wirephoto shows a San Diego picket line of the Pacific Telephone Company operators. Operators are shown wearing swimsuits to picket.

Site Dispute Is Expected To Intensify
"High administration officials says North Vietnam appears to be mounting a major campaign aimed at getting the United States to accept Warsaw as a site for peace talks." (Associated Press)

Saigon Warned Red Attack Due
"The National Police Directorate warned the three million people of Saigon today that the Viet Cong plans another attack on the capital." (Associated Press)

U.S. and Enemy Casualties Down
"Fewer U.S. and enemy casualties were recorded in the Vietnam war last week, while the number of South Vietnamese troops killed increased. The casualty pattern reflected the sporadic fighting across the country, with no sustained group action but a number of sharp clashes at various points." (Associated Press)

An AP Wirephoto shows Columbia University students demonstrating on campus. Militant students are occupying buildings.

Protests Force Columbia To Close Off Its Campus
"Columbia University canceled evening classes yesterday and virtually sealed off its campus as militant student demonstrators occupired more buildings in a continuing tumultuous protest."

LBJ Willing? Drops Hint in Chicago by Charles Nicodemus
"President Johnson's teasing windup to his Chicago speech left most of the city's Democratic congressmen convinced today, that the President had hinted he would be available for renomination after all." (Chicago Daily News Service)

McCarthy Crowds Small by Jules Witcover
"If elections are decided by crowd turnouts, Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy and Indiana's Democratic Gov. Roger G. Branigin have a long way to go between now and the May 7 primary here if they hope to derail Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's drive for the Democratic presidential nomination." (Syracuse Herald-Journal )

April 26, 1968
In the national news
An AP wirephoto shows Mark Rudd being interviewed by reporters outside Low Memorial Library. Students are sitting on the ledges of windows.Juan Gonzales is named as another student leader.

College Officials Give in
"Columbia University bowed today to a militant student protest that had disrupted campus life for three days and said it would halt construction of a controversial gymnasium until further notice." (Associated Press)

LBJ Won't Abstain From All Politicking
"President Johnson says he'll join in the politicking this year even if he won't be running for reelection. His March 31 announcement removing himself from consideration for another term, he told an audience of Democratics Thursday, 'does not mean that I am going to be an unintersted or passive bystander,'" (Associated Press)

An AP wirephoto shows George Wallace campaigning in Texas among protesters.

Police Search Vehicles for Arms in Saigon: Attack on City Feared by George Esper
"The South Vietnamese police today ordered all board and vehicles entering Saigon searched for arms and explosives after thwarting a Viet Cong attempt to smuggle gun into the capital on a river hunk." (Associated Press)

FBI Officials Playing Down Ray Case's Contradictions by Gaylord Shaw
"FBI officials are quietly trying to play down contradictory descriptions of the appearance and habits of James Earl Ray alias Eric Starvo Galt, the elusive escapted convict charged with the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr." (Associated Press)

Shock Waves Traverse Nevada After Test Blast
"An experimental hydrogen bomb, most powerful tested in the United States, exploded under a desert mesa today and sent earthquake-like shock waves rolling for hundreds of miles." (Associated Press)

U.N. Envoy Avowed Dove by Peter Lisagor
"President Johnson has appointed an avowed dove on Vietnam as Ambassador Arthur J. Goldberg's successor at the United Nations. George W. Ball, 58, a former law partner in Chicago of the late Adlai Stevenson, sat in the inner councils of the Kennedy and Johnson administrations for six years, arguing privately against the deepening U.S. commitment in Vienam." (Chicago Daily News)

Politics at a Glance
"Sen. Eugene J. McCarthy, seeking Indiana support in his quest of the Democratic presidential nomination said that state's May 7 primary will be the most difficult thus far for the voters. The Minnesotan said this is true becuase it's a three-way race also involving Sen. Robert F. Kennedy of New York and Indiana Gov. Roger D. Branigin, running as a favorite-son stand-in for Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey." (Associated Press)

Chicago Suburban Area Target of First Suit Charging Bias In Northern Schools
"A cluster of Chicago suburbs situated where smokestacks dwindlw into the prairies was the target Thursday of the first Justice Department suit charging racial discrimination in northern schools." It is alleged that faculty assignments were based on race. (Associated Press)

Long Assails Planned Washington March; Opposes 'Bending The Knee' To Demands
"Russell B. Long, D-La, said Thursday he would call for the censure or expulsion of any member who advocated 'bending the knee' to demands of Negro leaders planning a massice demonstration here next month. 'What that bunch of marchers comes here, they can just burn the whole place down and we can just move the capital to some place where they enforce the law,' he said." (Associated Press)

Black and White Student Militants Widen Their Beachhead at Columbia
"Black and white student militants widened their beachhead at Columbia University's Ivy League campus to four buildings Thursday. Across town, in the more prosaic setting of a converted Brooklyn theater, Long Island University students seized control of the acting provost's office." Police stood by. Classes were canceled for the second day at Columbia.

April 27, 1968
In the national news
School 'Sit-In' Still On: Columbia 'Siege' Is Maintained
"Columbia University faculty members have proposed a peace formula for ending a four-day student sit-in but a protest leader rejected militants' key demand for a general amnesty. The demonstrators - an estimated 200 to 400 of the Ivy League university's 27,500 students - continued to occupy five campus buildings today on the Morningside Heights campus which overlooks Harlem." (Associated Press)

A UPI Telephoto shows Vice President Hubert Humphrey with Mrs. Humphrey and President Johsnon at a state dinner honoring King Olav V.

HHH Will Try for Presidency: Quest Is Second for Humphrey
"Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey announced today he will seek the Democratic nomination for the White House. He made his announcement with words of praise for President Johnson and a declaration that 'without unity we shall begin to doubt not only ourselves but our goals and ideals.'" (Associated Press)

Johnson Leaves Hubert 'Spotlight'
"The White House termed as nonsense Friday a report in the London Sunday Express that Johnson may resign before the Democratic convention in August, thus putting Humphrey into the presidency." (Associated Press)

Student Riot Hot in Rome
"A savage riot between students and police erupted today around the Palace of Justice in Rome near the Vatican." (Associated Press)

Nixon Plea Is For Cut in Budget
"Richard M. Nixon has called on President Johnson to 'read the unmistakable signs' of a runaway economy and tell Congress where to make budget cuts." (Associated Press)

Clocks to Go Ahead on Sunday by William J. Conway
"All but two of the 50 states will switch to Daylight Saving Time Sunday." (Associated Press)

Government, Business Move on New Fronts To Fight Poverty
"Government and business are moving on some new fronts to combat poverty as the Poor People's Campaign gears for its Washington demonstration. And a religous group has told the Supreme Court the poor have a constitutional right to government relief." (Associated Press)

Stokely, Rap Join Protest: A Warning on Black Power to Columbia
"Black Power militants H. Rap Brown and Stokely Carmichael invaded the Columbia University campus Friday to support a four-day student sit-in. The demonstration continued even after the school was closed for the weekend." (Associated Press)

A Bill of Rights for Collegians
"The American Association of University Professors, an organization of 90,000 college and university teachers, gave overwhelming approval Friday to a new bill of rights for students, including a recommendation that they participate in the 'formulation and application of institutional policy.'" (Associated Press)

LBJ Orders His Cabinet: Shun Politics by Richard Harwood
"President Johnson, it was revealed Friday, has ordered his cabinet membes and all other presidential appointees to stay out of the Democratic nominating struggle this year." (The Washington Post)

Blames Gun law in Sniping
"Atty, Gen. Ramsey Clark, urging strong laws to curb gun sales, said Friday the sniper slayer of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., might not have been able to buy the death weapon if Congress acted in the past. Clark said interstate sales of rifles as well as pistols should be stopped." (Associated Press)

Contradictory Descriptions Plague Hunt for Ray (Galt)
"FBI officials are quietly trying to play down contradictory descriptions of the appearance and habits of James Earl Ray, alias Eric Starvo Galt, the elusive escaped convict charged with the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." (Associated Press)