Kennedy exerts last effort in Manhattan NEW YORK (AP) - Sen. Edward Kennedy campaigned in midtown Manhattan yesterday in a last - and apparently lost - effort to break President Carter's grip on a renominating majority at the Democratic National Convention. An Associated Press survey of delegates to the convention that opens on Monday showed Carterin command of the votes to win a key opening test on rules. AT A STREET rally just off Park Avenue, Kennedy told a midday crowd that he is the Democrat best positioned to defeat Republican presidential nominee Ronald Reagan. "We have closed the gap in the polls in the past few months, and in the next few days we're going to close the gap in delegates,"hesaid. Before leaving the White House for Camp David, Carter was asked whether he had the nomination locked up. "IT'S NOT locked up. It's up to the delegates," he said. "But I feel con- fident." The president said he would work on his acceptance speech this weekend, and then flew by helicopter to his Maryland mountaintop retreat. While Kennedy said he was optimistic about the prospect of winning his challenge to a proposed rule binding delegates to the presidential candidates they were elected to support, the AP delegate survey showed a majority in favor of the commitment rule. CARTER ENTERS the convention with 1,986 delegates in his column, Kennedy with 1,234. It takes 1,666 to win the nomination. So if the delegate commitments that grew out of primary elections and party caucuses are ruled binding, Carter is assured of renomination. Robert Strauss, Carter's campaign chairman, said he is confident of win- ning the delegate commitment vote. "We'll win that rule issue in a very sub- stantial way," he said. "... Our lead for the nomination is far more substan- tial. We can't find a delegate we're losing." Strauss also said that he and other Carter strategists had discussed the possibility of releasing their delegates as a winner's unity gesture after Mon- day's vote on the commitment rule, but they've decided against it. He said Car- ter delegates and party leaders coun- seled against such a move. But he left open the possibility that the Carter camp might not vigorously enforce the rule that would permit a candidate to replace any delegates who defect from their commitments. Another Carter campaign official said, "we don't have any plans" to use the commitment rule to replace strayed delegates. Flames gut front of Tice's grocery store (Continued from Page a ceiling onto the cash register counter, "It looks like something came and the fire jumped to the liquor bot- through the roof," Tice said. ties. Murphy said a malfunctioning light STEVE RIVERA, who said he was fixture could have started the fire, but leaning on a car about 15 feet from the did not rule out the possibility that a storefront, said the windows then blew discarded cigarette butt in a out. wastebasket could have been the cause. Tice, who said his father was away on Another witness, John Roubanes, vacation, concurred with Rivera's ac- said he felt the heat from the explosion count. about a block away. SENATOR EDWARD KENNEDY waves to a crowd at New York's LaGuar- dia Airport yesterday where he arrived for next week's Democratic National Convention. Recent polls of delegates indicate that Kennedy's efforts to wrestle the nomination away from President Carter may be in vain: A poll has revealed most delegates do not support proposals to throw the conven- tion open, a fact which could close the doors on Kennedy's campaign before the convention begins. W0ovies at the Michigan "%\ L.%. " 23 great shows for $20 or less! 0 I- Included ere "Singin' In the Rain," a Bette Davis series, " " "Key Largo," Al Jolson, "Lilies of the Field," "A Streetcar S Named Desire," and much, much MOREl S 0 .-i-. August 10, 1980 to May 18,198 Each feature screened several times on two dif- ferent days. Theatre pipe organ at every showing o : Michigan Theatre is a community-owned ente toinment center at 603 East Liberty. SEASON TICKET SALES BEGIN AUGUST 4 IFrom 2p.m. to 6p.m.: Single tickets available only day of show PHONE 668-8480 or come to Box Office The word's out on campus... If you want to be in the know, you should be reading The Daily . . . the latest in news, sports, les affaires academiques, and entertainment .. . CALL 764-0558 to order your subscription tody