Evening star., 1948-08-12
Allies Turn Back
I 2Soviet-Eorays
In Berlin Zones
Russian MPs Aided by
Reich Police Attempt
To Arrest Germans
BY the Assoeioted Press


BERLIN, Aug. 12.-American
and British military police
turned back two Russian forays
into their sectors of Berlin to-
day.
Russian military police, augment
ed by German policemen from the
Soviet sector, were attempting to
arrest Germans in the Western Sec
tors. The Russians said they were
looking for black marketers. Brit
ish and Americans said the Soviets
also might be looking for Russian
Army deserters, or might just have
been engaging in "harassing tactics" +"
The Americans at Kreuzberg
turned back Soyiet-controlled Ger
man policemen and Russian MPs
who were trying to search houses
across the border from their zones
The British, aided by Western sec
tor German officers, stopped a SIM
liar sortie at Potsdamer Platz.
In Frankfurt about 10000 German
Office and industrial workers angrily
protested rising living costs at a
mass meeting called by trades un-
ions. One group attacked an Amer
ican soldier after overturning his
jeep. 1t was the biggest and noisiest
demonstration in the American zone
city since the end of the war.
A third bureau of the elected Ber-
lin city government was threatened
with splitup between Russian and
nor-Communjst control.
The Communist head of the La
Dor Department refused to abide
by decision of the city govern
ment to give the anti-C Communist
faction of the trade union fedora
ton rights to negotiate with en-
ployers. He insisted that only the
Communist faction, backed by the
Russians, had such powers.
The city police and food admin
istrations already have been split
by Communist refusal to accept
government orders.
The anti Communist press said
complete chaos" prevails in the
administration office the Russians
established to handle their pro-
posed feeding of all blockaded Ber-
lin. 1t was this bureau which crowd
ed out regular city government food
officers from their Offices in the city
hall, located in the Russian sector.
Punitive Action Taken.
In further evidence of food short
ages in the surrounding Russian
zone Of Germany, Russian-licensed
newspapers reported punitive meas
ures. A dozen Germans we're jailed
in Saxony for stealing" crops from
fields. Creamery operators at Meek
lenburg were sent to prison for
-the-counter delivery of dairy
products.
The American Military Govern
ment said it is expanding radio
teletype facilities to handle COM
munications if the Russians cut off
land lines from Berlin to the West
The United States, British and
French military governments made
one of their sharpest retaliations
yesterday since the Russians block
AIDED Berlin. They froze all Russian
sponsored East mark accounts in
Western banks. The Russian bank
in Berlin previously had frozen ac-
counts of firms in Western Berlin.
They refused to release the funds
unless the firms agreed to do busi-
ness only in East marks.
The Western occupation powers
had been forced to help some firms
meet their payrolls because of the
Russian freeze.
No Compromise Urged.
Blockaded Berliners have appealed
to the Western powers to make no
in Moscow that might
give the Communists control of the
city.
Some 5000 Germans at rally in
the American sector last night
cheered demands that no settlement
be made in the Soviet capital at
their expense. The meeting was
sponsored by the conservative Chris
tian Democratic Union (CDU).
The chief speaker, CDU Chairman
Jacob Kaiser, asserted the Russian
blockade had made Berlin IAN island
in a Red sea-but an island which
will not surrender"
Russia ruined its chances for
(See BERLIN, Page A-5)