Lottery Likely

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Senate Republicans said Monday that the next American youths drafted will probably be selected through a lottery system.

We'll probably get a draft bill this year," Senate minority leader Hugh Scott (R-Pa.) said. "It was dead until the President put the heat on."

Nixon's draft plan, to induct 19-year-olds on the basis of a lottery based on their birth dates, has the unanimous approval of the House Armed Services Committee.

It is likely to pass the House before the week is over. Sen. John C. Stennis (D-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has indicated his panel will hold hearings on the measure if it clears the House.

That could open the way for the Senate action which would send it to the White House, where Nixon reportedly has urged its swift enactment.

Senate majority leader Mike Mansfield (D-Mont.) said he thinks the prospects are good for Senate action before the end of the current congressional session.

Sen. Karl E. Mundt (R-S.D.) said that this likelihood plus the cancellation of November and December draft calls, could mean the end of the present selection system.

"This could mean that draft-age citizens will no longer be vulnerable under the old system." Mundt said, "for if Congress follows through on the President's request in the next few weeks, the Administration's reform plan can be operating when it becomes necessary to utilize the draft again."

Absentee President?

AMHERST. Mass.- In a step toward decentralization, the trustees of the University of Massachusetts have endorsed a plan to restructure the highest levels of the university administration.

The new proposal, tentatively approved Saturday, will allow the university president to operate out of Boston. Each of the school's three campuses-in Worcester, Amherst, and Boston-will then have its own chancellor.

Assisting the president in Boston will be four vice-presidents in charge of academic affairs, business and finances, administration, and campus planning.

The sponsored plan will be submitted to students and faculty for comment and then reconsidered at the November 9 trustees meeting for final approval.

Less Grief for Grass

WASHINGTON, D.C.- Possession of marijuana may be reduced to the status of a misdemeanor by a new law proposed yesterday by the Nixon Administration.

Instead of classifying both possession and sale as felonies, the new law would drastically reduce the punishment for possession, while maintaining "intent to sell" as a felony and providing for severer penalties.

In addition, marijuana would be redefined as an "hallucinogenic." It is now considered a "hard drug." along with such others as heroin and cocaine.