Smog of Fear

If Washingtonians were nervous about the Poor People's Campaign, they were more apprehensive over a major crime wave in the capital. Even before the upheaval that followed the slaying of Martin Luther King, the city occupied a high standing in all the indexes of violence. Among U.S. cities of 500,000 to 1,000,000 population, Washington ranks first in robberies per 1,000 people, second in murders, aggravated assaults and housebreaking, third in total offenses, fifth in larceny and auto theft, ninth in rape. Since two-thirds of Washington's 849,000 people are black, and often live amid squalor, it is hardly surprising that most of the crimes are committed by the Negro poor--against other Negroes.

Since the assassination riots, according to the city's public safety director, Patrick Murphy, crime is up 15%. In the worst slums, cowed businessmen reported a rash of burglaries, fires and extortionist threats. Four shopkeepers were murdered in three weeks. Most serious of all was the situation on the city's buses. Two weeks ago, Bus Driver John Talley was shot and killed by a band of Negro youths, climaxing a wave of nearly 250 holdups so far this year.

Talley's death seemed the last straw. On orders from their union, bus drivers refused to carry change money after dark without armed guards; the result was a nighttime bus stoppage. In newspaper ads, 200 merchants noted "a growing smog of fear" over the city. Tourism, which brought 16.8 million visitors last year, is off some 20%.

Moving to calm the capital's residents, Mayor Walter Washington insisted most of the city was safe. But Washington, himself a Negro, approved a 30% increase in police patrols. He also asked Congress to make threats against businessmen a felony in Washington, and got swift approval. Congress took another action last week that may have an even longer-range impact: it increased the starting salary for the District's 3,100-man police force (23% black) from $6,700 to $8,000 as of July 1. Though Washington already has more police per 1,000 people than any other city in the U.S., local officials hope that the pay raise will help build an even bigger force.

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