The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 1

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314, No. 146 Thirty-Five Cents Call 665-1234 for lower home delivery rates 1986. Philadelphia Newspapers Inc. Monday, May 26, 1986 FINAL HOLIDAY EDITION Ittittttrtr rthrMir United they stand Five Latin nations fail to seal pact But leaders agree on a parliament 'I i "i ru if mm. if 4 1 3 ws its a.

i 4 iff By Edward Cody Washington Post ESQUIPULAS, Guatemala Five Central American presidents yesterday said they were determined to sign and abide by a regional peace treaty but recognized that serious regional discord still prevented its conclusion by a specific date. In their Declaration of Esquipulas, issued at the end of a two-day summit conference, the presidents also agreed to establish a Central American parliament to foster regional unity. The declaration represented the lowest common denominator of agreement among the presidents, who were meeting for the first time since Nicaragua's Sandinista government took power in 1979. By its frankness, it underlined the obstacles blocking efforts to work out a comprehensive and detailed peace treaty envisaged in the three-year-old Contadora peace negotiations. President Vinicio Cerezo of Guatemala, who organized the gathering, had proposed a broad statement of peaceful coexistence that reiterated the five countries' commitment to sign a Contadora treaty by June 6.

But the same disputes that have long prevented conclusion of the Contadora accord arose during the talks here, held in a monastery on the site of a Black Christ statue traditionally venerated by Central Americans. As a result, the five presidents prolonged their negotiations and finally agreed on the declaration only after stripping the proposal of most of its contentious points, according to an official present in the talks. "We came out with a document that is a little thin," acknowledged Foreign Minister Carlos Lopez Con-treras of Honduras. Manuel Espinoza, spokesman for President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua, said the disagreements stemmed from insistence by "some delegations" on changes in the draft declaration that he said was initialed May 4 at a vice presidents' preparatory meeting in Guatemala City. Other conference officials said President Oscar Arias of Costa Rica objected to a draft clause referring to the five leaders as presidents "freely elected by the majority wills of their respective countries." Arias told his fellow presidents he could not affirm that Ortega was freely elected, a Salvadoran official reported, setting off a long discussion on the quality of democracy in the five Central American nations.

As in the case of the commitment to sign a Contadora treaty by June 6, the reference was dropped. Contreras said broader disagreements, on arms control and U.S. military maneuvers in Honduras, also were left unresolved. In recognition of this, the closing communique said the presidents "recognize there are still aspects to resolve, among them military maneuvers, arms controls and verification of fulfillment of the agreement." Cerezo, who as host read the final declaration, said the presidents agreed that their respective positions were "forthcoming and realistic" enough to permit eventual (See LATIN AMERICA on 9-A) -f it i 4 1 1 4k i 1 i The Philadelphia Inquirer CLEM MURRAY Hands are linked on the Parkway; Hands Across America organizers put the number of participants in the three-state area at more than 400,000 Tremendous' result in the Phila. area I 1 ff II" i 1r uirny' -S, Millions of hands clasp for the poor It began with once-homeless, 6-year-old Amy Sherwood in New York's Battery Park, stretched south until it crossed the north portico of the White House, then headed west across America's rivers, mountains and plains.

About 4,100 miles later, it ended beside the Pacific Ocean, where Bill and Mary Jones and their five small children are residents of the Family Shelter for the Homeless in Long Beach, Calif. Millions of people extended hands to the hungry, the homeless and one another yesterday, joining a human chain to raise a projected $50 million for America's poor. It was called Hands Across America. And they almost made it. Here and there in the chain, its coast-to-coast link was broken, but never its spirit.

Across north Texas, volunteers braved floodwaters. In Tennessee, they stood in heavy rains. And, across the Southwest to California where the desert was not forbid- (See NATION on 9-A) Along North Broad Street, students from William Dick public school turned out to fill a block. Page 1-D. By Edward Power inquirer Staff Writer At first, there was a single faint voice, rising in Philadelphia among the brick and granite faces of buildings, increasing in strength and stretching across the Delaware River to Camden and south.

It rolled through the long chain of bodies stretching toward Wilmington and continued to swirl within Philadelphia like a strong tide, a song joyous as a Christmas carol. when he laughs, I laugh! And when he cries, cry! Hands Across America!" It drew people from their cars; it drew a priest from inside a church and a wedding reception from inside a hotel ballroom; it drew mayors, congressmen and governors. All along Kelly Drive and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, along Walnut and Broad Streets, across the Benjamin Franklin Bridge, through North Philadelphia and along Penn's Landing, people stopped whatever they were doing at 3 p.m. yesterday to join hands and sing for (See REGION on 8-A) United Press rnterrtetionai Reagan holds children's hands at the White House The 'Birthplace of Memorial Day' Pa. village lays claim to the first ceremony 7 fishermen rescued after river rises PA vi) here, is enshrined in the cemetery where cottony threads of dandelions gone to seed float over weatherworn By Joyce Gemperlein Inquirer Staff Writer BOALSBURG, Pa.

Former Presi- 1966 that Waterloo, N.Y., was the official "Birthplace of Memorial Day." To that, the 3,480 residents of this prideful, leafy and lacquered Centre County village have always said: "Who cares?" or "Pshaw!" To them, Boalsburg is the one and only "Birthplace of Memorial Day." "We dont pay any attention to that at all," said Margaret Tennis, propri etor of The Margaret Tennis Lamp Shop on East Boal Avenue, a jungle of wires and brass that she operates from husband Ken's gas station. Ruth Corter dismisses the notion with a wave of her hand and a look heavenward. "It doesn't matter. We know the truth and that's what Corter, a retired schoolteacher and keeper of the Boalsburg Heritage Museum on Main Street. "The truth," as told and retold Among those tombstones are 152 belonging to men who died in battle from the Revolutionary War to the Vietnam War.

Here, in this community that comes up unexpectedly along VS. Route 322 three miles from (See BOALSBURG on 4-A) Several events to mark holiday in Philadelphia, South Jersey. Page 3-B. sWS Cemetery in Boalsburg Tombstones of war dead The Doctor went back to college yesterday. Julius Erving, the Sixers' Dr.

returned to the University of Massachusetts, receiving one degree for his undergraduate work and another for his performance as a sports legend. Sports Extra, Page I-C Weather Index Mostly sunny for the holiday. High close to 80. Partly cloudy tonight with the low between 55 and 60. Partly sunny tomorrow.

High near 80. Full weather report. Page 18-D. totionejItrttwnaTttooal Section A Beckett: A tale of a community that never was By David Lieber Inquirer Staff Writer HOLTWOOD, Pa. Seven fishermen, stranded in the middle of the Susquehanna River by water let loose to power a nearby electric power plant, were rescued yesterday morning by a state police helicopter as they clung to tree branches and rocks in the river.

Three fishermen, all residents of Delaware County, were rescued underneath a bridge, each carried to safety hanging from the helicopter's skids. Four others strapped themselves, one at a time, into a harness dangling from the helicopter and were retrieved from the river. An eighth fisherman was able to swim ashore and called for help. None of the eight was injured, police said. The three Delaware County men were trapped underneath the Norman Wood Bridge in the middle of the river, about a half-mile from shore.

They were hanging onto the tops of branches and shrubbery, (See FISHERMEN on 4-A) Section Muoportfi Section Sport PxpWrkfiWEnttrtkmm Section In a short time, Woolwich's local zoning ordinancas were transformed from a four-page leaflet to a 176-page monster. Today, Woolwich appears the same as ever. Not one Beckett home has been built there. The township population remains about 1,200, Beckett, a name taken from an old road that ran through the proposed project, was originally designed to extend into neighboring Logan Township, and so far about 750 Beck-(See BECKETT on 4-A) Petitions, pro and con, were circulated. Some farmers even threatened to "shoot me a few committeemen" if they opposed the deal, said Mayor Albert Stecher Jr.

Planners cautioned local officials that "if Beckett is built, Woolwich as you know it will disappear." Grace spent untold millions of dollars on land acquisition, road and sewer construction and exhaustive planning. And the township hired lawyers from Chicago and planners from Boston protect its interests. By Michael Vitez Meurrer Staff Wntrr Sixteen years ago, W. R. Grace a billion-dollar conglomerate based in Manhattan, came to rural Woolwich Township, population 1,200, and nearly started a revolution.

Grace had a dream. It saw this sleepy little Gloucester County town of asparagus farmers as an undeveloped jewel the perfect spot for a huge community to be named Beckett, a planned paradise smack in the Section Buineu PhiladelphiaWilmington corridor of development Initial studies by Grace in 1972 predicted as many as 29,000 homes and 80,000 people by 1992. The small town went wild. "I know some people who damn near lost their marriages over it," recalled T. F.

"Rich" Gardler, a township building official. Some in town were ardently against the plan, while others especially farmers eager to sell their land at development prices fought hard for it. i 4-Q Hye's help 2-Q The Am Dass'hed 1M Obnuane 8-0 10-A Television Editorials Scratch it Rich, Paje -E.