King Avoids All Political Queries At N.Y. Meeting

The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. at a press conference in New York yesterday avoided all questions about whether he will run for President on a peace ticket. But he promised to discuss his political plans today.

King originally said in Cambridge Sunday that he would make a statement yesterday on the question of his candidacy. Instead, he attended the press section to lend his name to another new peace effort called "Negotiation Now," a coalition of religious and business leaders against the war in Vietnam.

The group seeks an unconditional halt in the bombing as the first step to bring Hanoi to negotiations. It plans a national signature campaign and hopes to have a million names backing the demand by early summer.

Joseph Rauth Jr., vice-chairman of Americans for Democratic Action, announced the formation of the group. John Kenneth Galbraith, Paul M. Warburg Professor of Economics and chairman of ADA, is listed as a sponsor of the project.