Democrats Irked as GOP Brings North Slide Show to House Floor

House Republicans, angered that Lt. Col. Oliver L. North was not able to display a slide show promoting the Nicaraguan rebels in his appearance before Congress’ Iran- contra investigating committees, provided their own version of the presentation Thursday during a frequently acrimonious debate.

The two-hour presentation on the House floor, featuring poster-sized blowups of slides that North had described in testimony but could not display because of television lighting problems, drew an angry response from Democrats. Many marched to the lectern and countered with photographs of Nicaraguan women and children who they said had been maimed or killed by the contras.

‘People Need to Know’

Rep. Trent Lott of Mississippi, the House Republican whip, said that his colleagues decided to present North’s “educational” slide show to the gallery and a nationwide cable television audience because “people need to know how close Nicaragua is to us . . . how a Soviet base there threatens our security.”

Lott spoke before a map of Central America that featured prominent red arrows thrusting northward from Nicaragua toward Mexico. He was followed by other Republicans displaying color photographs of Soviet military equipment used by the leftist Sandinista regime in Managua and maps of airstrips built with Soviet aid.

Democrats, who had got wind of the Republicans’ plans shortly before the session began, referred sarcastically to the posters as “visual aids.” But that did not stop them from using their own displays, at least 15 black-and-white photographs depicting what they said were contra atrocities.

“The American people know who the contras are,” said Rep. David E. Bonior (D-Mich.). “They commit atrocities. They use land mines. They bayonet pregnant women and children and the elderly. They kill more civilians than soldiers.”

Clash Over Testimony

In addition to the slide-show issue, Republicans and Democrats clashed over North’s testimony. Rep. Gerald B. H. Solomon (R-N.Y.), pointing to a photograph of Soviet submarines cruising near the coast of Texas, said: “God bless Ollie North for alerting us . . . . We owe him a debt of gratitude.”

Rep. Byron L. Dorgan (D-N.D.) answered: “I hear stories that this man is somehow an American hero. But I don’t know. To me, a real hero is someone who wouldn’t tell a lie.”