Reagan Bars Compromise on Contra Aid : Delays, Reductions Could Be ‘Too Little, Too Late,’ He Declares

President Reagan argued today against compromising on his proposal for $100 million for anti-government rebels in Nicaragua, saying delays and reductions in aid could jeopardize hopes for democracy and amount to “too little, too late.”

At the same time, he agreed to “listen to any proposal that anyone wants to make” that would enable the United States “to come to the aid of the contras, “ but said none of the alternatives he has heard is “a sure thing.”

The President, during a luncheon with out-of-town editors and reporters, acknowledged that most Americans do not support his proposal but added, “We haven’t completed the job of letting the American people know all the facts.” He is scheduled to make a televised address Sunday.

Reagan said that only one compromise aid plan has actually been raised with him and that it involves a long delay in delivering money to the rebels.

Asks Help of News Media

“I don’t think that would be a compromise that I could listen to at all,” Reagan said.

The President appealed for help from the news media in making a case for aiding the Nicaraguan rebels.

“In the last few days there’s been talk here in Washington of compromise on this issue, smaller amounts of aid, delay in providing it, restrictions on the uses to which it could be put--all the usual temporizing and quibbles,” Reagan said.

“Well, let me set the record straight: The Soviets continue to fund the Nicaraguan communists with massive infusions of arms, cash and so-called advisers. To delay or reduce the aid we’ve requested for the freedom fighters could be to send too little, too late.

“Those who would compromise must not compromise the freedom fighters’ lives nor their immediate defensive needs,” he said. “They must not compromise Latin America’s democracies or our own southern borders.”