American Notes WASHINGTON

Through all the speculation about his alleged drug abuse, Washington Mayor Marion Barry had retained the loyalty of many citizens. The lodging last week of an indictment charging him with three counts of perjury and five counts of possessing cocaine dealt a severe blow to his support. Already a committee has been formed to draft the city's congressional delegate, Walter Fauntroy, as a candidate for mayor. Barry, who is undergoing treatment for alcoholism in Florida, blasted the indictment as a "political lynching." Some of his advisers suggest that his motive for staying in office is to offer to resign as a bargaining chip in negotiations for a lighter sentence. If convicted, he could be fined $1.25 million and sentenced to 20 years in prison.