Self-Defeat for the "Army of Peace"

SPRING was difficult to enjoy in Washington last week. Amid whiffs of tear gas, the wail of sirens, and wandering bands of youths calling themselves guerrillas, the capital endured an odd and bitter little siege. Preposterously ill-organized for such a venture, Radical Rennie Davis' Mayday romanced itself into the delusion that it could literally close down the Federal Government by blocking traffic into the city during morning rush hours. In terms of that immediate goal, the protesters had about the same effect on traffic as a heavy spring rain.

But there were more disturbing effects. To thwart the lawlessness of Mayday, Washington police broke the laws themselves, making thousands of illegal arrests as they swept the streets clear. And in what almost seemed a willfully self-defeating gesture, the demonstrators diverted public attention from the war issue to the issue of their own conduct, thereby diminishing rather than gaining influence and, for a time at least, clouding the future of anti-war efforts.

Gypsy Camp. The "Army of Peace" began as a kind of variegated gypsy camp of 50,000--hard-core radicals such as Davis and Abbie Hoffman, older pacifists like David Dellinger, dope freaks, troubadours of the counterculture, teenyboppers, committed soldiers of the movement, longhairs on an oblivious narcotico-political binge, and not a few unwashed young Government agents. Many had remained in Washington after two weeks of earlier actions, including a moving protest by Viet Nam veterans and a peaceful mass rally of 200,000.

At the beginning of the week, Mayday volunteers were camped in West Potomac Park near the Jefferson Memorial. Many came only for a rock festival and would have been, at most, passive onlookers at the closing down of "the war machine." The Justice Department and Washington Police Chief, Jerry V. Wilson, fearing that the force of 50,000 could indeed paralyze the city, hit upon a brilliant maneuver. At 6:30 a.m., Wilson's police quietly moved into "Algonquin Peace City," revoked the campers' permit, disconnected the all-important loudspeaker and sent the kids scattering. Many simply left town; others spent the time that was to have been used laying out Mayday's grand strategy roaming the streets in search of a place to sleep. The pre-emptive raid, a tactical stroke that evoked even Davis' grudging admiration, may have been a significant reason why the next morning's eruptions did not end in massive violence and possibly serious bloodshed.

Musical Bodies. With its obsessive emphasis on "collective decision making," Mayday was at best, unpredictable. When the demonstrators began their traffic disruptions at about 6 on Monday morning, they were mostly small bands arrayed against Wilson's well trained and disciplined cops, who were reinforced by 6,000 federal troops and National Guardsmen, with another 6,000 in reserve. The troops' role, according to a police official, "was to be bodies in a game of musical bodies," to act as the manpower at bridges and other traffic arteries to push away abandoned cars and to protect property from "trashing."

At Key Bridge, the crossing from Virginia to Georgetown, Mayday protesters arrived early and succeeded in halting traffic for eight minutes before motor-scooter police chased them off. Elsewhere, at the eight other intersections Mayday had marked for blockage, demonstrators fled from tear gas and fast-moving police. With thousands of protesters in the streets, Wilson soon issued his controversial order to dispense with the normal and slower arrest procedures, and radioed his men to "just load 'em into the vans," a process that led to thousands of indiscriminate arrests --of bystanders on their way to work, for example, and of 23 newsmen. Wilson denied that the Justice Department had originated the order, although it is likely that he did clear it with the department.

Doubtful Triumph. If Mayday wished to measure its success by the extent to which Washington's citizens were made aware of its opposition to the war, then the protest was successful. Everyone was at least aware, and many were angry. Some protesters slashed tires, dented and even overturned cars. The group from Key Bridge retreated and snarled traffic in Georgetown's side streets with parked cars, overturned mailboxes, trash cans and broken glass. Rhode Island Senator, Claiborne Pell, opened the door of his Georgetown house, stood for a moment in his pajamas inhaling tear gas, and quickly retreated. Another man, neatly dressed in a business suit, stood in his doorway impassively cradling a rifle in his arm.

One cop related: "There's this woman driving her kid to school when they laid a big log over her car. Out she gets with a can of Mace and lets them have it right in the kisser. One of them said, 'You can't do that, lady. That stuff is illegal.' " Although the level of violence was fairly low on both sides, some protesters did throw rocks and bottles at police, and a few cops bloodied heads unnecessarily. Overall, Washington police showed exemplary discipline; a less well trained, less tightly controlled force could have brought about a very different outcome: people seriously wounded or even dead.

The White House had earlier made the decision not to permit the disruption of traffic, but it left the details to Wilson. The chief had two choices: engage the peace army in a one-sided combat of clubs, as the Chicago police did in 1968, or make mass arrests, restoring order at the cost of stretching the law. Taking the second course, Wilson jammed the jails and had to improvise lockups on a Washington Redskins' practice field and in the Washington Coliseum.

On the second day, it was obvious that Wilson's method had succeeded in decimating the Mayday forces. As the arrest total rose (more than 12,000 by week's end), Washington police received 250,000 calls from parents throughout the U.S. who were hoping to locate their youngsters. There was little disruption of traffic as the demonstrators began to understand that the Government was listening to traffic reports rather than the anti-war demands they were making. They next approached the older ethic of passive civil disobedience, massing at the Justice Department under Attorney General John Mitchell's window and waiting to be arrested. Some 2,200 were. Next day another 2,000 gathered at the Capitol's East Front steps at the invitation of several anti-war Congressmen. Although the protesters argued that they were now exercising the constitutional right of petition and assembly, the cops claimed they were violating a 1967 law forbidding abusive language or disruptive conduct on the Capitol grounds.

Like the rest of the week, the scene was a combination of pathology and pathos. As some of the young earnestly and tearfully sought to move Congress with their message against the war, a longhair pranced naked before the Capitol. Montana Senator Lee Metcalf socked a cop in the chest for refusing to let him pass. Then, implacably, the police moved in to arrest yet another 1,000 and haul them off to jail.

Alienation. Mayday went into a "tactical retreat," promising further actions of prolonged militancy against the war, possibly starting the next on July 4. "What the movement must do," said Davis, "is struggle with the American people, struggle with their consciences." It may eventually need new leaders, however, since Rennie Davis and John Froines, both members of the Chicago Seven, were arrested last week and charged with conspiring to deprive individuals of their civil rights. A third Chicago defendant, Abbie Hoffman, was charged with crossing state lines to incite a riot.

For the moment, Davis says, "what we have to do is get everything into perspective." Given some of the fantasies in which Mayday was indulging last week, that may take some time. The irony is that at a moment when the majority of Americans are turning increasingly against the war, some of the antiwar radicals, as if from long habit of alienation and more than a touch of egocentricity, seem intent on focusing angry attention upon themselves instead of on the battle they mean to end.

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