DEMOCRATS: Wilbur's Argentine Firecracker

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According to Mills' account, he and Polly had become "close friends" with Fanne, her husband Eduardo and a cousin, Mrs. Gloria Sanchez. When Mrs. Sanchez recently decided to return to Argentina, the Millses resolved to honor her with a Sunday evening bon voyage party. But Mrs. Mills had broken her foot. Said Mills: "She insisted that I take our friends to a public place we had frequented before." It was the Junkanoo, a restaurant with Polynesian decor, whose manager recalled having seen Mills and Fanne there twice in recent months. The Mills party left the restaurant at 9 p.m. on Sunday.

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"We then visited another public place," Mills continued, "and after a few refreshments, Mrs. Battistella became ill and I enlisted the help of others in our group to assist me in seeing her safely home ... As we proceeded home, she attempted to leave the car and I attempted to prevent it. In the ensuing struggle, her elbow hit my glasses and broke them, resulting in a number of small cuts around my nose." Mills called himself "embarrassed and humiliated by the entire turn of events."

His statement said nothing about drinking or how Fanne suffered two blackened eyes. Nor did it mention the fact that Eduardo and Fanne are separated. Mills said nothing about reports of his lavish spending on Fanne at the Silver Slipper, reports that are raising questions about how an Arkansas Congressman of modest means can afford to entertain on such an expensive scale.

Erratic Behavior. The incident savaged Mills' reputation on Capitol Hill, where he has been known through the years as a circumspect man of rigid moral principles. In recent years, however, friends have witnessed a sad character change in Mills. They have become concerned about his erratic behavior and heavy drinking as his once distinguished career has foundered. His difficulties began three years ago when he made an abortive run for the presidency and took it seriously, though other Democrats did not. More recently, the Watergate prosecutor and a grand jury have quizzed Mills' staffers on illegal gifts to that campaign from milk cooperatives.

In his home district, which lies in the heart of the state's Bible Belt, the story of Fanne greatly bolstered the campaign of Mills' election opponent, Mrs. Judy Petty, 31, the first serious Republican contender for his seat in years. An attractive divorcee who worked as an aide to the late Governor Winthrop Rockefeller, she promised not to mention the incident in her campaigning. But in a district where voters take the Sabbath so seriously that Mrs. Petty's campaign manager has refused to let her stump on Sundays, the damage has already been done.

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