Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1953-08-09
Hundreds Of Tourists
Stranded in France
By Railway Strike
BY the A..oeiaisd Pres,

PARIS, Aug. 8.-France today
floundered through a continued
strike in government-owned
public services which stranded
hundreds of American, British
and other foreign tourists in
Paris and other vacation spots.
Many of the workers who
walked out yesterday were back
on the job today, but the biggest
headache was in the railroads,
where operations were still spas
modic.
Uncertainty was so great that
sleeping car reservations were
refused. and the railway ticket
Offices frankly said they had no
idea whether any given train
would move.
1--WE just can't find out which
trains will run or how far they'll
get" one travel agent said. cts
still up in the air."
The American Express Co.
managed after an all-nlght
scramble to charter enough
buses to get 1872 passengers from
Paris to lie Havre for the sailing
today of the British liner Car
onia. The company was trying
to assemble another bus feet to
bring $50 passengers from Cher
bourg Monday. when another
British liner, the Queen Eliza
beth, will arrive from New York.
French officials said it was
difficult to say how many OF
yesterdays two million strikers
were still out but that. the figure
was over 100000.
The tourists woes stemmed
from an order of the Commu-
nist-run General Labor Fedora
ton (CGT) to drag yesterdays
24-hour railroad strike into to-
day. Thousands Of railroaders
obeyed, despite a call to end the
strike by Communist unions.
So far, Paris had no food
shortage, although fruits and
vegetables available at the CEN
trail market were 700 tons below
normal.
Coal Fields Closed.
A 24-hour mine strike almost
completely closed the nations
coal fields, with the walkout re-
ported 80 per cent effective.
Garbage collection was only
spotty in Paris, where many
municipal workers still stayed
off the job.
Funeral parlors opened, how
ever, and burial professions
were seen.
The four-day nationwide
postal, telegraph and telephone
strike continued, and the gov
renment announced plans for
using the army to collect letters
from TANNED mail boxes. This
it may do Monday.
Practically no hotel or travel
reservations to and from points
outside Paris could be made from
the capital because of the tele-
phone and telegraph strike.
Many of the comparatively few
travellers who managed to leave
Paris for other holiday points
went without knowing whether
they would find lodging on
arrival.
Airlines Operating
/ international airlmes were
operating without interruption
after the brief stoppage Of Air
France flights yesterday caused
by the walkout of ground crews
at Orly Airfield. Passenger ships
too, were coming and going
without difficulty from the main
ports, although some debarking
tourists were unable to proceed
very far beyond the docks.
The strikes among the public
services workers were touched of
by rumors, thus far unconflrmed
that Premier Joseph Laniel was
planning to save the government
some money at their expense
/ The rumors said that Mr.. Laniel
planned to increase the retire
ment age of civil servants from
81 to g., and dismiss thousands
of surplus government employees
The premier and his cabinet
early today completed DEGREES
which informants said might &c
into effect Monday. If these
DEGREES include the stern economy
measures the public workers
feared, strikes are expected to
be clamped down again in full,
force by Frances big unions.