European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - November 20, 1973, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 the stars and stripes tuesday november 20/ 1973 soviets expose Plush living at Public Cost by Hedrick Smith Moscow not the soviet press is exposing officials in the georgian re Public for diverting Public funds to build themselves fancy Hunting lodges and Forest hideaways. The sums May not seem scandalous by american standards but they Are enough to make soviet eyes pop especially when a paper like pravda asserts that grandiose mansions were put up Over a number of years with the direct indulgence of the Central committee of the communist party of Georgia the Council of ministers of the Republic and the silent approval of the state construction Trust of Georgia one mansion with a billiards room a Marble staircase and Marble floors in the bathrooms was for higher  in the georgian Republic forestry com Mittee. It Cost nearly $193,000, Accord ing to pravda. The Varia sky state farm in the Gori District spent $49,600 on a Well up holstered guest House and the neigh Boring Kolk Hetti state farm spent three times that amount on an even Pusher version. The officials of the game and Hunt ing reserves administration the con Sumer society the Central cooperative administration and other state agencies had similar fancy setups. The masterpiece thus far is a $280,000 mansion in it Kheta put up for the top officials of the georgian cooperative repair and construction Enterprise. Nearly half the Cost was for Plush pan Eling traditional georgian metalwork and other artistic decorations and furnishing for the satisfaction of the is thetic refined tastes of the mansion s four inhabitants pravda said. A Host of officials have been fired in a purge that has been going on since the ouster of the former party Boss of Georgia Vasily p. Zhav Anaze an Al Ternate member of the politburo until his retirement in september 1963. His successor Eduard a. Shevardnadze an official from the Interior ministry and the georgian communist party has been engaged for 14 months in the most severe purge in the history of the Republic. The Shevardnadze crackdown has turned up corruption in the court system wide mismanagement of eco nomic enterprises and a variety of offi Cial malfeasance in the Republic where russian dictator Joseph Stalin was born. An Issue of the georgian communist party newspaper zarya Vostok re ported that carelessly constructed hospitals became unusable after Short periods and that Hospital statistics were falsified to Whitewash officials. Chief doctors were said to have turned transport set aside for the hos Pital into private cars for them and their  through corruption at the Tbilisi medical Institute students were admitted who lacked the Essen tial minimum of knowledge the paper said. Worse it added were violation of sanitation Laws which led to illness. World macs converted to dollars in Korea Seoul a military payment certificates Mac military currency used by american troops in South Korea since world War ii were converted to regular american currency monday the korean government and the . Military announced. Conversion began at major . Military facilities throughout the country Early monday with All their Gates and entrances closed. . Military finance officials said Mili tary payment certificates Are null and void and no longer authorized for use. . Green currency is now the official Legal tender for All transactions within . Mili tary facilities and activities they said. The paper Money scrip was authorized Only for . Military personnel their fam Ilies defense department civilian employees and their families and military contractors. Congressmen in Israel for first hand look .-soviet venture1 american astronaut Thomas p. Stafford standing discusses the joint .-rus Sian space flight scheduled for 1975 with russian counterparts during a familiarization visit at the soviet space training Center in Zvy Ozni Sorodok. The Mission will link up a soviet Soyez spacecraft with an american Apollo vehicle. The russians at the table Are Georgi be Rogovoi left chief of the so Viet space Center and Vladimir Shatalow head cosmonaut. A Tel Aviv a a group of american congressmen were escorted through israeli military installations along the Suez front monday while another congressional group met israeli leaders in Jerusalem an american embassy spokesman said. Members of the House armed services committee headed by rep. Samuel Stratton d-n.y., made the military tour. Members of the House foreign affairs committee headed by rep. Benjamin Rosenthal d-n.y., were in Jerusalem. Rosenthal said the group had come Here for a first hand look at Israel s political and military needs. His group was to meet with Premier Golda Meir and return to the United states on wednesday the embassy spokesman said. . Expert on ancient Art slain in Cairo Japan must end Israel ties to get Oil Sheik declares Vienna up Japan will have to Cut relations with Israel or lose All Hope for an exemption from the Arab Oil Boycott the saudi arabian Oil minister Sheik Ahmed z. Yamani said monday. Japan cannot help us militarily so the second thing to do is to Cut relations with Israel Yamani said. The saudi arabian Oil minister made his statement after the opening three hour session of the annual year end Cabinet level meeting of the organization of Petroleum exporting countries open. The organization of Arab Petroleum exporting countries Yapec has decided that those countries which Are affected by reductions will be exempted on the Condi Tion that they assist the arabs in a very significant Way and Force the israelis to withdraw from occupied Arab territories Yamani said. Japan gets 85 per cent of its Oil imports from the Middle East. Cairo a egyptian police Are investigating the stabbing death of a prominent american expert on ancient Art who was found dead in his apartment Here. The body of or. Edward l. B. Terrace 37, bore multiple Stab wounds in the neck Chest and Abdomen and was covered by a Rug when found by his Cook police said monday. He apparently was killed nov. 14. Ter race lived alone in the apartment Over looking the Nile. Friends said two cameras and Money were found missing. A recognized authority on egyptian and ancient near Eastern Art Terrace had worked Here since 1971 As a project director for the Princeton based american re search Center. He was author of two books painting of the Middle kingdom and Art of the ancient near East and of numerous articles. . Officials said the body was being sent to Seattle wash., where the Art Histo Rian s father e. J. Terrace lives. Peking visit fruitful businessmen report Tokyo a the first official Dele gation of american business leaders to go to China made better than expected Progress during their visit to peking. Walter Sterling Surrey an attorney for the National Council for .-China Trade said the 12-Day trip produced agreements on the Exchange of Trade exhibitions sales and purchasing missions and Trade eco nomic and technical information. Denmark bans sunday driving cuts heating Oil sales 25% Copenhagen a the danish government monday banned private driving on sundays ordered All sales of fuel Oil for heating Cut by one fourth and curbed the use of electricity to a Point that spells the blackest Christmas in Denmark since world War ii. The measures approved unanimously by a special parliamentary committee came on top of Speed limits of 50 Miles per hour on highways and 37 Miles per hour on Urban streets and roads which already have been in Force for 10 Days. Minister of Trade Erling Jensen said the new measures were necessary despite the slight relaxation of the Arab Oil embargo schedule announced sunday. About 90 per cent of Denmark s Energy consumption is based on Oil and stocks cover just two months of Normal consumption he said. The government left it to the Oil companies to achieve a just distribution of fuel Oil but a government committee will handle complaints. The measures included a ban on All out door lighting which Means that Christmas Street illuminations will be out this year. But private driving will be permitted on the sunday before Christmas and during the two Christmas holidays. Anyone violating the new measures risks heavy fines and in Case of repeated intentional offences the penalty May go up to two years in jail. The ban on sunday driving is expected to save More than one million Gallons of Gaso line each sunday. The Speed limits Are estimated to save a similar amount of Gaso line per week. But even if the Arab Oil should begin to flow normally again soon the fixed Speed limits have probably come to stay. During the first week they were in Force the number of traffic accidents was reduced by one half and Only eight people were killed on the roads against 36 in the corresponding week last year. Minister of Justice Karl Hjort Naes said he doubted that any government would want to shoulder the responsibility of reintroducing free Speed unless the Acci Dent rate changes radically in coming weeks. Weather forecasters nevertheless had some Comfort for Danes now forced to stretch their heating Oil. December and Christmas will be mild and so probably Jwill the rest of this Winter prognosticators isaid