Evening star., 1952-01-27
By james G. Deone
Siaf Sfuff Correspondent

0Y SOtbAGS5 - DN9ttS
Siar Sfuff Correspondent
IS BALTIMORE, Jan. What
does q long transit strike do tosa
city Of almost q million inhabit-
ants?
Baltimore knows. It has been
tussling with one for II days.
The Baltimore Transit Co.'S en-
tire force of bus and car operators
walked out In q wage dispute
January 10. They demanded q
24-cent raise In their $I.63 hourly
base pay. The company offered 4
cents. Public officials pitched in,
but bitterness IS growing and the
vehicles aren't running vet.
The city has suffered seriously.
especially retail business. Stores,
movies and restaurants have
taken q beating. Workers have
had to hitch hike-even walk--to
reach their jobs. Housewives have
mad to stay home. School children
have missed classes, though
schools stayed open.
Poorest Suffer Most.
And the lowest income groups
who can't afford taxis have had
it even worse. Some domestics re-
portedly lost jobs they couldn't get
to.
The 5000 strikers also are losing
pay.
They got none the first two
weeks. With the third, they began
drawing SIS week from the
union. Even with a wage raise,
itll take a long time to make up
what they've lost.
Some other effects on the Ma
tons sixth largest city actually
have been beneficial. Car pools
have been revived. With hitch
hiking. they have done an ever
better job getting some people
/ to work than the transit COM
lpany.
Congestion Eased.
And traffic congestion, after the
first-day tangle, has surprisingly
Lased, despite many more private
cars on the streets. Facetious in
|dividuals have proposed dispensing
with the transit system perna-
|nently on this account.
Working Baltimoreans cope6
with the tieup SO well because
they knew it was coming. Car
pools already had been arranged
and police had made, plans for
dealing with traffic jams and re-
laxing the parking regulations.
The way the strike started left
mo doubt that it was in earnest
Stories of wage negotiations al
ready had been in the newspapers
for days. The Governor was tax
ing a prominent part in the pic
Iture. And when the pickets took
their posts in a pouring rainstorm
lat 4 am. on that Thursday morn
ling. the unions careful prepara-
Itions were evident--it had even
equipped them with umbrellas.
Great Calamity"
City Council President Arthur B
Price. labeled the walkout zone OF
the greatest calamities since the
Baltimore fire" But even on the
first day almost everybody ap-
Iparently got to work. Pedestrians
waved handkerchiefs to flag down
rides. Some just walked. The
telephone company transported
|employes in chartered buses.
Twenty-three first-day traffic
jams of varying dimensions were
reported by police. But Commits
sioner Beverly Ober says they
weren't really serious. A special
control point at police head
quarters helped get vehicles NOV
ing again. 1ttssS 86
Except on II principal streets,
the city has turned its. back on
parking violations. Where police
men have remained jealous, the
traffic court has been lenient.
Police Leaves Cancelled.
The police force itself cancelled
all leaves and the day shift was
ordered to remain on the street
up to IL hours, instead of the
usual eight, to handle the after
noon rush. Policemen, incident
ally, didn't get overtime pay.
The second day, city traffic
engineers cordoned off a mile
square central downtown area
and made a traffic count. From
q am. to 6 pm, 347,000 vehicles
entered and left the area-an
increase of IS per cent incoming
and 10 per cent outgoing over the
last count, made in 1916.
Charles j. Murphy, executive
director of the Traffic Commis-