Reagan Budget Plea Answered by Surge of Telegrams, Calls

WASHINGTON — A surge of telegrams answering President Reagan’s plea to phone or telegram Congress in support of his budget flowed across Western Union wires today, operators said.

Western Union handled from 5,000 to 10,000 messages to the White House and Congress between midnight and 9 a.m., said Don Dutcher, a spokesman at the telegram company’s headquarters in Upper Saddle River, N.J.

Dutcher said that on “a day without an issue,” between 300 and 400 messages are sent to Capitol Hill.

At the White House, spokesman Larry Speakes said that as of 10 a.m., out of 1,048 telephone calls received at there, 765 supported Reagan and 283 said they were against his position. Speakes said 212 telegrams had been received, 169 in favor and 43 opposed.