FUNERAL IN HANOI, FEUD IN PEKING

As echelons of MIGs thundered overhead and cannon boomed out a 21-gun salute, North Viet Nam's Premier Pham Van Dong burst into tears. So did Nguyen Huu Tho, leader of the Viet Cong, as well as many of the 100,000 spectators assembled last week in Hanoi's Ba Dinh (Independence) Square for the funeral of Ho Chi Minh. "It was as if Dong had lost his father," said Jean Sainteny, France's official representative at the ceremonies and a veteran of many years in Indochina. "Suddenly he must have realized that he had to assume all the burdens of all the people of Viet Nam and of the collegiate leadership, without the advice of Ho."

Some 34 foreign delegations had arrived in the North Vietnamese capital for the occasion, including an unofficial group of Americans led by U.S. Communist Party Leader Gus Hall. Delegates had laid wreaths at the foot of Ho's bier. The three men who are expected to wield his powers, at least for a while --Dong, Party Secretary Le Duan and National Assembly Chairman Truong Chinh--stood watch for a time, as did other leading officials.

Simple Sandals. Ho's body, inside a glass coffin, was clad in a khaki tunic. At his feet was another glass box, containing the rubber sandals fashioned from used tires that symbolized his ascetic style. Behind the coffin were black-fringed national and party flags. "Hanoi mourns," reported North Viet Nam's news agency, "with its theaters, cinemas and other recreation places closed or vacant. No songs, no laughter."

Ho's last testament was in keeping with his personal brand of austerity. Written in a succinct style that U.S. analysts immediately pronounced authentic, it called on North Viet Nam's Communists to preserve the unity that has marked the party over its 24-year history and expressed hopes that his successors would do their best to reduce the tensions besetting other Communist parties (see following story). As for the war that had occupied his final years, he predicted: "The U.S. imperialists will have to pull out. Our compatriots in the North and in the South will be reunited under the same roof."

During the ceremonies, Le Duan played the leading role. He read a series of oaths (to win the war, for example), and with each, the throngs in Ba Dinh Square raised their arms and roared: "We swear it!" Duan also read Ho's will and delivered the funeral oration as well. Despite his prominent role, however, analysts agree that he will share power with Dong and Chinh for the foreseeable future.

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