Page Four THE MICHIGAN DAILY - Saturday, July 3, 197/6 N"orth and South Viet Nam reunite BANGKOK, Thailand W1 --- North and South Vietnam were officially reanited yesterday af- ter more than 20 years of in- ternal war and H:noi was de- clared the capital. Radio Hanoi said leaders of the new Socialist Republic of Vietnam were elect- ed by secret ballot. The radio said an "explosion of applause" greeted the an- nouncement in the 492-member National Assembly. THE FORMER North Viet- namese flag, anthem and em- blem were approved as symbols of the country. "A new page of Vietnamese history has been turned," the wroadcast said. "At this moment, 8:30 a.m. (9:30 p.m. EDT Thursday) on July 2, 1976, the Vietnamese nation is officially considered as a unified country from Cao Lang to Cao Mau." Cao Lang is the northernmost point of what was formerly North Vietnam and Cao Mau is the southern peninsula of the former South Vietnam. THE RADIO Hanoi broadcast did not say how the decision on reunification was actually taken. The formal reunification an- nouncement was something of an anticlimax, since Hanoi and Saigon have described Vietnam as one during the past year. But the two halves maintained sep- arate government machineries and leaders until yesterday. As many Western observers had anticipated, all but one high government office went to North Vietnamese leaders rather than to those who had fought in the South. THE EXCEPTION was Ngu- yen Huu Tho, former president of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam, who will be one of two vice presidents. The other will be Nguyen Luong Bang, North Vietnam's vice president since 1969. The largely ceremonial post of president went to 88-year-old Ton Duc Thang, formerly North Vietnam's head of state. Pham Van Dong, a skilled and suave administrator and diplomat, re- tained his title of premier. Truong Chinh, a hardliner and reputedly pro-Chinese, will be chairman of the standing com- mittee of the assembly. THERE WAS no initial indica- tion that changes would occur in the highest ranks of Viet- nam's Communist party, the Lao Dong, where all major de- cisions are made and where real power lies. Most Vietnam watchers say the top five men in the party's 11-man Politburo are First Sec- retary Le Duan, followed by Chinh, Dong, Southerner Phan Hung and Nguyen Vo Giap, the general who routed the French at Dien Bien Phu. The top leadership is compos- ed of aging veterans, most of them in their late 60s. Almost all helped found the Communist party, fought the Japanese and the French and finally directed the struggle against the United States and the Saigon govern- ments it backed during the last war. Vietnam was divided by the 1954 Geneva agreement that fol- lowed the French defeat at Dien Bien Phu. The last Americans were withdrawn from the South on April 30, 1975, following the Communist victory. Since then, the U.S. has re- fused to recognize either Viet- namese government and has vetoed their applications for membership in the U.N. Rescued balloonist looked 'halfdead' MOSCOW (UPI) - Ballsonsi, Karl Thomas was cut, bruised and looked "half dead" when Soviet ship picked him up on a raft in storosy, shark infe,- ed waters, according to ih ship's captain. Thomas, in an attempt toi noteriety as the first person t cross the Atlantic Ocean balloon, jumped from his - dola early Sunday duri i lent thunderstorm and drifi in a life raft for four , without fosd or water. THE NEWSPAPER lii-i published a report Friday iioi Capt. V. Egorov, of the cargo ship Dekabrist, who picked np Thomas 375 miles northweot f Bermuda late Wednesday nigh as the ship was en route to Rotterdam from Savannah, Ga Izvestia said the ship spotted a flare and decided to send out a launch despite heavy seas, rain and poor visibility. They quickly located the raft, bobbing in the ocean. "tn the raft the rescuers found a half-dead person," Iz- vestia said. "The person was Karl Thomas." ACCORDING to the captain's report, the 27-year-old balloon- ist from Tiny, 8Mb., said his balloon had been caught in the gale and started falling toward the sea. At a height of approx- imately 20 feet, the life raft was ejected automatically. Then the balloon suddenly began to rise again. "At an altitude of 60 meters (200 feet) he decided to jump," Izvestia said. "Once in the water he used his remaining strength. to swim to the raft and haul himself aboard." He was bleeding from his in- juries and this attracted sharks, -the newspaper said. "According to a medical cer- tificate, Thomas injured ten ribs, injured his left shoulder and has a deterioration of his eyesight. He also suffered se- vere facial and body cuts," Iz- vestia said. "But now he is feeling better." It was the 13th unsuccessful attempt to cross the Atlantic in a balloon. Six persons died in prior efforts. When someone drinks too much and then driVes, it's the silence that kills. Your silence. It kills your friends, your relatives, and people you don't even know. But they're all people you could save. If you knew what to say,. maybe you'd be less quiet. Maybe fewer people would die. What you should say is, "I'l coffee never made anyone sober. Maybe it would keep him awake long enough to have an accident; But that's about all. The best way to prevent a drunk from becoming a dead drunk is to stop him from driving. Speak up. Don't let silence be the last sound he hears. driveyouhome."Or, "Let me calla r- ----------------1 cab." Or, "Sleep on my couch yDRU DIVER, DEPT.Y A-1t tonight." I BOX 2345 .ROCKVLL, MARYLAND 20852 # Don't hesitate because your I Idon't want to remain silent. friend may have been drinking only tell me what else I can do. beer. Beer and wine can be just as , intoxicating as mixed drinks. I Hny oaeis I And don't think that black Addre _ coffee will make him sober. Black y .t S .. FRIENDS DONT LE MIENDS DRIVE DRUNK.