Begin says he plans to resign By ARTHUR MAX Associated Press Writer JERUSALEM Prime Minister Menachem Begin announced yesterday he intended to resign but gave his stunned political allies 24 hours to try to persuade him to change his mind. The decision triggered political turmoil and the prospect of an election two years ahead of schedule. There was some speculation the announcement was a ploy to force a rebellious coalition partner into line, but many officials believe the 70-year old prime minister means to step down. Begin's announcement in a few soft-spoken sentences at the end of a routine Cabinet meeting came without warning and he cited no reason. - It was quickly followed by an announcement from Defense Minister Moshe Arens that it would have no effect on plans for Israeli troops to pull back into southern Lebanon soon from their battle lines near Beifut and Lebanon's central mountains. Deputy Prime Minister David Levy said Begin, who has been in office six years, was resigning "for personal reasons" but he did not spell them out. Israel Radio quoted Begin as telling his ministers, "I feel that I am not functioning as a man with my responsibilities should function." Those present said his words were greeted with astonished silence, followed by strong protests. "We received the news with pain, sorrow and a refusal to accept it," said Education Minister Zevulun Hammer. The prime minister left the Cabinet meeting looking frail and solemn and climbed into his bulletproof limousine for the short ride to his home. Reporters were kept back and he made no statement. Cabinet ministers and leaders of the•parties in Begin's coalition were unanimous in saying they would fight to change the prime minister's mind. March on Washington D.C. illustrates diverse concerns By LORI-MARIE VAIL Collegian Staff Writer WASHINGTON The concerns represented at the 1983 March on Washington Saturday extended far beyond the march's slogan of "Jobs, Peace and Freedom" to nuclear disarmament, gay rights, the 1984 presidential campaign, and dissatisfaction with the Reagan administration's foreign and domestic policies. But despite the diversity of the concerns put forth at the march, the more than 250.,000 people participating had a common purpose to make the nation and Reagan aware that, like Martin Luther King Jr. in 1963, they also have a dream. And while many people endured the intense heat and uncomfortable crowds of the event for political reasons, many others attended simply in memory of the 1963 Civil Rights March on Washington. Among the most prominent were supporters of disarmament and the nuclear freeze. They carried banners in protest of government military spending and foreign intervention Robert V. Allen, of the National Union of Hospital and Health Care Employees, coordinated transportation to Washington, D.C., for the State College contingent of 1199 P to show the union's support of jobs, peace and freedom. Allen said King's speech opposed, foreign intervention in Vietnam and questioned military spending, issues that are still alive. "You can't talk about unemployment without talking about foreign policy and military spending," Allen said. Sheila Jackson, of Landover, Md., said she attended the march because she participated in the first rally. "Martin Luther King's speech in 1963 gave me a good feeling inside. Today's march gives me a good feeling to honor such a great man because everyone is pulling together for hisdream, whites, blacks, the daily Supporters set up booths in several public places, seeking signatures on a petition to keep Begin in office. The prime minister was to meet with heads of the coalition parties Monday before deciding whether to tender his resignation officially to State President Chaim Herzog. His closest allies insisted they did not know whether Begin's decision was final. Begin is known to be despondent over the death of his wife in Novethber and the ever increasing Israeli casualty toll in Lebanon. There has been no indication that Begin is ill, despite a history of heart trouble. Last July he abruptly canceled a visit to Washington, citing only personal reasons. There was widespread speculation at the time that he soon would resign. In Washington, State Department officials said yesterday they believe Begin is serious about wanting to resign, and indicated the action could lead to "smoother U.S.-Israeli relations. Thel)fficials, who insisted on anonymity, said' they expected little change in Israel's basic policies and considered it likely the Likud bloc would remain in power. Several U.S. officials said Begin is considered difficult to deal with. Officials in Washington and with President Reagan in Santa Barbara, Calif., said they were not informed in advance of Begin's intention. State Department spokesman • Sondra McCarty said, "This is.an internal Israeli political matter and it would not be appropriate for us to comment on this issue." Begin's announcement opens three immediate possibilities: He could retract his decision, resign and form a new coalition, or call an election. Israel Television said the latter was the most likely, adding that the voting would probably be held jointly with municipal elections already set for Oct. 25. hispanics, everyone," Jackson said "It would be a better world if everyone kept in mind what King started. Let the man's dream live on." Another issue supported at the march was the proposed bill to make Jan. 15, Martin Luther King's birthday, a national holiday. The bill, which was recently passed in the House, will be considered by the Senate when Congress convenes in September. Alpha Phi Alpha, the fraternity to which King belonged, marched in support of the bill and in opposition to the Reagan administration. "This fraternity has conducted and continues to petition for this bill and articulate our demand to support this legislation," said Ozell Sutton, who identified himself as the national president of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. "Those not supporting this bill will be our enemy." "We've gone nowhere under this administration. The movement was making progress until this , administration, now we're getting no leadership whatsoever," Sutton added. The fraternity offered no support for any presidential candidate for the 1984 election, but Sutton said it was definitely not supporting the current administration. Dennis Serrette, black presidential candidate, was greeting people and raising Muds for his presidential campaign at the march Serrette, a 43-year-old veteran union leader and shop steward with local 1101 of the Communications Workers, of America, is a candidate as'an independent on the Consumer Party ticket and hopes to build a strong third party in this country. Serrette said he would not actively suppoit Jesse Jackson, a second potential black presidential candidate. "I•won't actively support Jackson as a Democrai," Serrette said. "I'm out to support the the Independent party." "You can't use 1960 tactics in 1983 olle • lan f;. : : . '“. 1 4 4 i: : :: . : "..:':,; : ,.- : . . ,;,...A::::.:40.; Freewheeler University ski team member Mark Schmidt (senior•mechanical engineering) glides down a roller skating slalom on the HUB lawn Saturday. Our campaign is a grass root movement level," Serrette said. "We are the poor, white and black and we are anti-war." Although people at the rally did not publicly offer support for any presidential candidates, they opposed Reagan's policies and blamed his administration for setbacks in the human rights movements. "A lot of rights have been gained in the past 20 years, but the Reagan administration has turned the clock back. Its done a lot of damage in a short time," said Peter Snoad. Originally from Britain, Snoad has lived in this country for six years. Peaceful march recalls King By HARRY R. WEISS Collegian Staff Writer WASHINGTON Despite stifling heat and crowd estimates of more than 250,000 people Saturday, the March on Washington went better than expected, said Washington, D.C. and National Park Service police after the event. Hundreds of souvenir vendors also did well; they sold everything from Martin Luther King Jr. commemorative posters to balloons labeled with excerpts from King's 1963 "I Have a Dream" speech. An unidentified police officer said the crowd was extremely well behaved and peaceful. About 2,500 special reserve police were added to the force of 1,100 Washington and 300 Park Service officers already on duty. Jim Battle Jr., Washington police public relations director, said one arrest was made for disorderly conduct and one for crossing police lines. He also said 15 people were cited for stealing from vendors. Volunteer security marshals headquartered at the Washington mayor's emergency assistance communication center said handling inquiries concerning lost people 1 , 4 1 . 4 . . , "The present administration is dangerous and almost neanderthal in its approach to any form of human rights." Wini Parker, of Washington, D.C., did not blame Reagan entirely for setbacks in civil rights. "Racism doesn't just live in the White House. Reagan didn't help it, but he didn't bring the word discrimination into the White House," Parker said. Joyce Brown, of Oxon, Md., said that blacks had progressed since 1963 because of King's leadership, but when President Reagan came into office that progression of rights stopped. became the biggest problem as the day continued. JoAnn Henry, a volunteer marshal, said trying to contact lost persons was "like looking for needles in a haystack." She said there was no way to tell whether the people sought were still at the rally or if they had been taken to a hospital for medical aid. Elderly persons, who were detached from groups they had marched with and were unable to walk to mass transportation centers, had to be transported back to Robert F. Kennedy Stadium to meet their waiting buses, she said. Because police had closed off all streets in the mall area, many marchers who parked outside the city used mass transportation. Metropolitan transit added 150 buses and had extended rail lines running all day. Metro officials said nearly 55,000 people passed through the turnstiles at the stadium station alone, where most of the chartered buses parked. Those using these services paid only 50 cents as opposed to the normal 75 cent fare. Metro reported two arrests as of Saturday afternoon one involving a pickpocketing incident. With the downtown streets closed, many mall area businesses closed for .'= "In four years things have really moved backward. People are killing themselves and committing crimes. Reagan is making it tougher to receive welfare, at this rate our children will never be able to get houses, jobs or anything," Brown said. Some people who had attended 20 years ago thought the 1983 march was calmer and more diverse. "This march seems much more peaceful. This march has a bigger cross section in age, race and background and many more issues," Cynthia Hoppenfeld, an actress from New York City, said. the day. Police said many shopkeepers feared riots and looting, but most closed out of respect for King's memory. Vendors, on the other hand, had little problem with the congestion. Most marchers were happy to have cold soda and hot dogs available, but many disagreed with the idea of souvenir vendors. Margaret Drexler of Selma, Ala., said she was disgusted with the commercialism present at the march "I was at the 1963 rally and there were nothing like this then," she said. "It is ridiculous and it takes away from the spirit that Dr. King intended for a gathering like this." An unidentified vendor said selling "March" buttons typified the American way. "I'm just taking advantage of the free enterprise system," she said. Police spokesmen said no deaths and only one heart attack were reported during the afternoon. Dr. Alex Hemphill, a Red Cross volunteer, said because of the cooperation between police and paramedical services, evacuating patients from the first aid stations, situated strategically on the mall, proceeded without delays. Monday, August 29, 1983 • Vol. 84, No. 26 48 pages University Park, Pa. 16802 Published by students of The Pennsylvania State University •!' , , • 00 31 4. c Photo by D. Benson Phone union ends strike against Bell By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS PHILADELPHIA Bell of Pennsylvania workers, who had been on strike against American Telephone & Telegraph Co. since Aug. 6, began returning to work yesterday. "People assigned to work on the weekend shift were told by their union leaders to return to the job today, and they did," said Karen Ann Yaksich, spokeswoman at Bell's corporate headquarters here. . A contract agreement was reached early yesterday morning between Bell of Pennsylvania and the Federation of Telephone Workers of Pennsylvania, which represents 11,884 Bell employees Details'of the tentative accord were not available. The agreement was reached at 1:40 'a.m., concluding a marathon 15- hour bargaining session at a Philadelphia hotel, said Bell spokesman Vic Berardelli. The federation is the largest union of telephone employees in Pennsylvania. The union had been the only one of three local unions striking Bell of Pennsylvania without a tentative pact. "We expect everything to be pretty close to normal tomorrow (Monday)," Miss Yaksich said. "We have about 95 percent of the people who normally work on a Sunday on the job. Mainly, it's telephone operators." • Negotiations, which had broken off in a stalemate two days previously, resumed Saturday between Bell of Pennsylvania and one of the few unions in the country without an agreement in the three-week-old national telephone strike The agreement was held up on the issue of the company hiring outside contractors, Ms. Yaksich said. The dispute with the FTWP had made Bell of Pennsylvania one of only three AT&T subsidiaries without an agreement from all its unions. In Washington a week ago, three national unions reached tentative agreements with AT&T. One man who attended both marches said Saturday's march represented too many issues "I think the first march was much more intense. People were angrier at that time and their issues were much more defined," he said. Felix Miro, originally from Argentina, attended the march in support of human rights. "I have only lived in this country for six years and I seriously identify with civil and human rights, both of which are a very familiar problem in my country," Miro said. Most people observed the march as purely symbolic with not much possibility of enacting any changes. inside • In interviews, speeches and even casual conversa tions, University President Bryce Jordan speaks of na tional prominence, of a high er level of quality, of making Penn State one of the Top 10 public universities. Page 4 index Arts 22 Opinions 12 Sports 15 State/nation/world 10 weather Becoming partly sunny and less humid this afternoon With a high of 84. Fair . and cool tonight with a low near 59. Sunny and pleasant to morrow with a high near 86. —by Glenn Rolph
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers