Iran-Contra Mention Costly

The board of the National Endowment for Democracy voted unanimously today to remove federal grants, designed to promote democracy overseas, from an organization mentioned in connection with the Iran- contra affair.

The endowment, a federally funded private organization, ended its grant arrangement with the Institute for North South Studies in Washington. The institute’s initials appeared in a chart found in the safe of Lt. Col. Oliver L. North, a central figure in U.S. arms sales to Iran and possible diversion of money to the Nicaraguan contras.