National Affairs: The Straphangers

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Within one hour after midnight one night last week, every bus, streetcar and subway train on Philadelphia's 1,500 miles of transit system had been rolled to garage, barn or yard and stopped. Local 234 of the C.I.O. Transport Workers Union was on strike. Next morning Philadelphians got to work as best they could, through four inches of snow. The Reading and Pennsylvania Railroads ran extra trains; hundreds of private car pools went into operation; big companies used their truck fleets to pick up employees; and thousands of people simply walked.

A quarter of a million automobiles jammed the streets, night and morning, lurching, braying and banging bumpers. Armies of men & women were late for work and late for supper. Retail business fell off, tempers were strained.

Philadelphia's 3,000,000 melancholy straphangers had already been through two transit strikes since 1944. This time the union, which had gotten 40¢ an hour in raises since 1946, wanted 20¢ more. The Philadelphia Transportation Co. offered only 3¢.

At week's end, the straphangers guessed they would lose, whatever happened. If the company kept its offer low the strike would go on; if the union won a big raise the public would have to pay for it in increased fares.