Democrats ask equal time if TV carries Reagan talk

Democratic Party officials have asked ABC, NBC, and CBS to reject a White House request to provide free live coverage today (Oct. 13) of President Reagan's speech on the economy.

A spokesman for the Democratic National Committee said telegrams sent to the networks say ''last-minute partisan campaigning by the President'' 20 days before the elections would give an ''unfair advantage'' to Republican candidates. If Mr. Reagan gets free air time, the Democrats want equal time for a response ''immediately after the speech.'' The networks were unavailable for comment.