Crimp in Liberty

San Francisco's sailors seethed with indignation; shore leave had been curtailed by Navy order. The Treasure Island station burst into verse with an ode beginning:

To wonderful San Francisco,

Liberty Town of the West;

Which provides for its civilians,

And to hell with all the rest.

Like other U.S. cities, San Francisco has had its share of war headaches and bellyaches. The town is overcrowded, hotel rooms are hard to get, restaurants jammed to suffocation, liquor running short, public transportation so fouled up that ODT is stepping in to unify and perhaps operate the street railways.

But San Francisco's problems of supply and rationing have been additionally complicated by almost-indigestible masses of servicemen on leave, especially from the big naval establishments around the bay. No one would admit having blown the whistle on the situation, but Navy authorities announced last week that liberty for enlisted men would have to be cut down "in order to reduce present overtaxing of public and private facilities." The San Francisco News said "civilian complaints" were responsible.

Under the new rule, only one-third of the sailors in any command can be on liberty at one time; in effect the men will get only one day in town for every three they have been getting up to now. An additional order requires the hours of going on liberty and reporting back to be staggered, so public transit will not be overloaded at rush hours.

Among bluejackets there was talk of boycotting the city in favor of Oakland. Maddest of all were Navy wives and sweethearts, who showered the newspapers with letters beginning: "I am shocked and outraged. . . " ; "I can hardly find words to express my contempt. . . ."

But after a few days the uproar began to subside. The Navy said its plan was merely an experiment to determine whether conditions in town could be improved for everyone, sailors included. And a few Army men sourly pointed out that their restrictions are far tougher. Soldiers' overnight passes are restricted to 15% of personnel, and furloughs to 5%.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.