Evening star., 1949-05-22


ence later in British headquarteri
that military steps be taken u
curb the violence.
/ He told US mobs with gun,
were interfering with train serv.
ice and said Allied authorize.
must keep the peace" reportec
w. T. Cantren. American trans.
port chief. The answer from the
Western Zonal representatives wa.
that the matter was not in oul
competence, but one TO be handled
on Berlin city level"
A Soviet transport ofHeer oi
junior rank was injured by stone.
thrown by strikers at the Her.
mannstrasse station. also In the
American sector. 1t was the first
physical attack on a Russian Of
ficer here since an anti-Commu-
mist mob pelted a Soviet jeep with
stones in front Of the Reichstas
last September.
Two hundred strikers around
the Schoeneberg elevated station
near the Western city hall. used
stones. boos and jeers against
four Soviet officers who drove up
in sedan In midafternoon yes
terday. The officers turned and
walked away slowly as stones rat
tied of brick wall behind them.
One was struck on an elbow, but
ignored the injury.
Dogs Stop Strikers.
The strikers tried TO storm the
Schoeneberg station. but Com
munist guards inside loosed four
police dogs and the mob stopped
cold at the door. One striker was
bitten on the wrist.
Rails were torn up at the
Lichtenrade elevated station. in
the American sector, TO halt a
passenger train from the Soviet
zone.
Three dozen Eastern railway
police, who had been on guard at
Western stations besieged by
strikers. turned themselves over to
West Berlin police for protection.
Some had been badly beaten. All
were later released to return to
the Soviet zone.
Another railway policeman was
arrested on charge of firing his
pistol at strikers driving Com
munists from the Neukolln station.
West Berlin authorities said no
one was injured there.
A German barber beaten by
strikers explained: II made the
mistake of saying maybe the Free
German (Communist) youth in
side the station has a point or
two for their side Of the trouble. -
Railway Car Set Afire.
Thirty strikers attempted to
storm the Westkureuz station, but
were thrown back by 100 young
Communists armed with new
wooden clubs. The fight was wit
messed by two Soviet army officers
who did not attempt to intervene.
An elevated railway car was set
afire there. js%ks
The non striking station mas
ter of the Charlottenburg station,
in the British sector. was injured
when hs fell down. a.-flight~of steps
Mhile s1hhhing TrSf1 4 eroup Of
strikers.
West Berlin police fired pistols
in the, air to disperse 1000 young
Communists from the Tempelhof
station after bloody fist fights de-
.pelopsda sbetWeen the COMMUNISTS
and strikers. The Communists.
however. soon surged back. Com
munists pummeled a German pho
tographer for the Associated Press,
Fritz Remus. and shouted "You
spy"
A fight with fists and clubs de-
veloped between so railway police
and West Berlin police in front
of the Charlottenburg station. The
West Berlin police were slightly
outnumbered. but made Is arrests
Power Station Seized.
Strikers equipped with scaling
ladders seized the Charlottenburg
power station and turned its gar
rison of six Eastern railway guards
over to West Berlin police. Power
was Immediately shut off for Brit
ish sector lines and some in the
Soviet sector as well.
A jeep driven by Associated Press
Photographer Hans Won Molde was
stoned and strikers conf1scated one
Of his film packs at a zoo station.
The film pack was blank.
Six hours late, a British military
passenger train from Western Ger
many finally rolled into West Ber-
lin at 1880 am. yesterday. Pas
sengers said the engineer ran
against red lights most of the way
from Potsdam to the Grunewald
station here. 1t was reported II
West German freight trains were
still blocked from entry to West
Berlin at noon.
French troops chased strikers
from one of the elevated sectors
In their sector. This was in rec
ognition that the property is
Reichsbahn (railway) territory in
which the Eastern police have had
q right to function since 1945.
Howley Blames Rail System.
Brig. Gen. Frank Howley, Amer
ican sector commandant. said
United States troops would be
called out If the rioting got out
Of hand. but he doubted that
eventuality.
He declared in q statement that
the Communist-run rail system
could collect more than the re-