As the leaders met, 5,000 East Berliners marched past the party building to demand free elections, shouting, "Egon, we are the competitors," and "We are the people."

The few police outside the party building did not intervene.

ADN said 50,000 people rallied yesterday in Wismar, on the Baltic coast, demanding free elections and the end of the Communist Party's monopoly on power. Between 35,000 and 40,000 people also rallied in Nordhausen, near Erfurt, and another 20,000 demonstrated in Meiningen, it said.

Guenter Krusche, a senior Lutheran Churchleader in East Berlin, called for immediate"secret and free elections" to choose a newCabinet.

Chosen By Parliament

The 44-member Cabinet normally is chosen by theCommunist-dominated Parliament. Krusche said hedidn't believe the 500-member legislature "in itspresent form" could choose a Cabinet that would betrusted by the people.

Also yesterday, a day after the governmentintroduced a proposed law promising up to 30 daysof travel to the West, a parliamentary committeerejected the measure and urged the legalization ofunrestricted stays abroad.

"The proposal does not meet the expectations ofcitizens...and will not achieve the politicalcredibility of the state," the constitutionalcommittee said. It also urged an emergencyParliament session to discuss how to end thewestward exodus of young skilled workers that isdraining the workforce.

Krusche, the Lutheran leader, spoke during afrank program on state-run television on theexodus of tens of thousands of East Germans, whichwas described by a television commentator as asubject "burning under our nails." The exodus'latest surge is through Czechoslovakia, the onlycountry to which East Germans can travel freely.

The escape route opened Saturday created thefirst free passage to the West since the BerlinWall went up in 1961. Authorities have said theroute will remain open until a new travel lawtakes effect, possibly before Christmas