TROOPS TOLD TO SHOOT LOOTERS IN CHICAGO

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31767, 26 August 1968, Page 13

TROOPS TOLD TO SHOOT LOOTERS IN CHICAGO

(N.Z. Press Association—Copyright)

CHICAGO, August 25.

National Guard troops have begun moving into Chicago with orders to “shoot to kill” if disturbances erupt and they cannot prevent looting or arson in any other way, the New York Times News Service reports.

At a news conference yesterday outlining the orders given to the 5500 Illinois guardsmen activated for security duty during the Democratic National Convention Brigadier General Richard Dunn expressed the hope that Chicago would remain peaceful and that his troops would have “a boring week.”

But General Dunn, the overall commander of the activated guard force, made it clear that if trouble flared guardsmen would take forceful action to prevent arson, looting and other “forcible felonies” including attacks on police, firemen and soldiers. “If you can’t keep a man from committing a forcible felony any other way,” General Dunn said he told his men, “then you can fire.” Steel-helmeted riot police guard all streets leading to the Democratic convention centre as major presidential candidates arrive to head a final drive for delegate votes. During the day both VicePresident Hubert Humphrey, who is generally expected to win the nomination, and his main rival, Senator Eugene McCarthy, will appear on na-tionally-televised interview programmes. Observers believe it certain they will be asked about both the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia and how they would try to end the Vietnam war.

The threat of violent antiVietnam war and civil rights demonstrations has caused

authorities to take some of the strictest security measures ever taken at a national party convention. From now until the opening of the four-day convention tomorrow night no-one will be allowed into the convention building area without exhaustive security checks. Secret servicemen will ex-

amine every package taken into the building, which is ringed by a seven-foot steel fence topped with barbed wire. The Associated Press reported the “New York Times” as praising and criticising Mr Humphrey and Senator McCarthy, but concluding edi-tori-lly that both were well

qualified for nomination as i President “The Democrats have two 1 good men, each with evident strengths and evident weak- • nesses. Each in our view is ' qualified, though in different ■ ways, for the Democratic nom- • ination for the Presidency of ■ the United States,” the newsI paper said.