Vanished but Re-Elected

A twin-engine Cessna 310 carrying House Majority Leader Hale Boggs, 58, vanished in Alaska three weeks ago somewhere between Anchorage and Juneau. Since then, military and civilian planes have spent more than 2,700 hours scanning the chilly waters of Prince William Sound or swinging northeastward through the rugged elevations of the Chugach and Talkeeta mountains. As of last week, hope was all but gone for Boggs, Alaska Democratic Congressman Nick Begich and two other men aboard.

Boggs' disappearance created a strange and unprecedented dilemma for the House. Unopposed on the ballot, he will be re-elected this week as Congressman from Louisiana's Second District. Therefore he will remain the Democratic leader for the moment -- unless the Republicans win a majority in the House this week, a situation that would probably demote House Speaker Carl Albert to fill Boggs' chair. After it convenes in January, Congress will have to decide whether to declare the seat vacant. After that, Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards will have to call a special election. But for the present, the second most powerful post in the House of Representatives will continue to be long to the missing man.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.