Evening star., 1949-05-05
TinIlerEfort, Patience
en.hecessary 10 Put
Berlin together Again.
Bx fhs Assoeiu,sd Prss.

Sss
BY me Assoeioisd Press
BERLIN, May 5.-The blockade
blues are on their way out of Ber-
lin. But 1t will take time, effort
and patience to put this split city
together again.
When East and West collided In
Berlin they Matched two Of almost
everything-currencies, city Gov
ernments. banks and other agen-
cies. There are even two fire de-
partments. neither. Of which will
help fight fires In the others sec
tor.
The occupying powers are like
o magician who sawed q woman
in half and now wonders II he
can put her together again. Ber-
lin is waiting to see.
But the first reaction was con-
centrated on the more immediate
desires of the average Berliner-
ranging from more coal and calo-
ries to freedom to 60 on honey
moons.
Attitude Summed Up.
A. brawny German bricklayer
srinned broadly as he summed up
the general attitude:
80 the blockade will lift. Me.
I will eat more. I will burn more
coal. Best of all, we can. get out
of this jail of q city now and
then"
At least as jubilant was the re-
action Of the men who manned
the airlift and kept Western Ber-
liners from either starving or fall
ing to the Russians by default.
The American GIs at Tempely
hof Airfield buzzed excitedly about
the prospect of leaves and fur
loughs.
However, Berlin's physical ia
cilities may be patched UP, poll
tica1 collaboration will be diff
cult.
Socialist Mayor Ernst Reuter- of
Western Berlin said fatty he will
not work with Friedrich Ebert's
Russian sector government. :. He
said he would demand city-wide
elections and then free" elections
In the entire Soviet zone.
Credit to Russians Seen.
Ebert made no direct reply, but
did say his Socialist unity Com
munist) party viewed the agree
nent to end the blockade as a
credit to the Russians.
On the international level,
there has been no effective four
power rule since the. Russians
walked out of the Kommanda-
tura last summer. The three
Western powers still meet and
they have emphasized the door is
open to the Russians II they want
to come back.
/ The END of the blockade should
help the city's economy. 1t will
mean more raw materials for the
factories and enough fuel TO op-
crate them.
That adds up to more .obs and
bigger payrolls-and more money
for the city's citizens.
Situation for Berliners.
For the average Berliner this is
the situation: L
For months street barriers, po-
lice control& and warning ssigns
have marked the border between
the blockade Western sectors and
the Soviet sector of Berlin. He.
hopes they'll be taken down.
For months the average Berliner
has felt uneasy swhen carrying
home eggs of. vegetables from
weekend trip to surrounding viii
lagos. Maybe that's all over now.
The Berliner hopes police con-
trolls on trains will end. That will
mean vacations far from the city
which most Berliners have not left
for q year.
The lifting of the blockade will
mean more light and power for
Western Berlin's factories, homes
and streets.
Twenty freight trains are stand
ing by in Western Germany for
the first rush into Berlin. A con-
siderable number will bring In coal
for electric power.
y Streetcars Quit Mt 10 PM.
Beriin's movies and restaurants
will not have to close so early any
longer. Patrons now have to leave
by 10 pm, In order to get the last
streetcar. The streetcar system
runs on a restricted schedule be-
cause. OF the power shortage.
Berlin housewives started glee-
fully TO figure out how they would
do their daily cooking with fresh
potatoes and vegetables instead of
tonnage-saving dehydrated stuff.
Another direct. result of the
blockade lifting will be that many
thousands of unemployed will get
work again after. having been dis
missed because of lack of raw
materials and power.
Over all these pleasant pros
poets wary Berliners bear in mind
that there are some tricky prob
lenns 10 this divided city which
cfn be solved only by four-power
agreements still to be reached.
Berlin business men skeptically
Asked What will become of our
present currency? Will the full
shbp windows brought about by
the western mark remain here or
will possible new currency ar
rangement upset things?"
These were just some of the
Questions being asked today.
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