City Council Asks Stiffer HitchingFinesCourt Again Refuses To Stop Rent Hikes

The Cambridge City Council last night passed an order which will probably increase the penalty for hitchhiking here.

The order, introduced by Councillor Walter L. Sullivan, directs the City Solicitor to take the necessary legal action to provide a sufficient penalty-most likely increased fines-to discourage hitchhiking within the City.

City Solicitor Philip M. Cronin will report to the Council at a public hearing next week as to the legal steps that will have to be taken to change the penalties.

Present fines for hitchhiking are one dollar for the first five offenses and two dollars for any offense after that.

The order was passed without debate by a 6-3 vote with Councillors Barbara S. Ackermann, Robert B. Montcreiff, and Thomas Coates voting against the order.

Sullivan said he was introducing the order because. "Those hitchhikers are causing a lot of trouble in this city. There's been an increase in the number of assaults and the number of traffic accidents because of the many hitchhikers."

Asked whether the police department would be able to enforce stricter penalties. Sullivan said they would have to find the time to do it.

Sullivan also said he intends to introduce a bill in the state legislature to increase the penalties for hitchhiking throughout the state.

Rent Control

In other city news, Charles R. Nesson, professor of Law, and other lawyers representing a group of Cambridge tenants, failed yesterday for the second time to get a restraining order to curtail the granting of rent increase adjustments.

However, Nesson did receive assurance from Superior Court Judge Alan Hale and legal counsel for the city, Russell Higgly, that there would be no evictions for tenants refusing to pay rent increases pending the hearing of Nesson's case.

The tenant suit, which will be heard in District Court Monday, charges that the standard Rent Control Administrator William J. Corkery has been using to grant rent increases is contrary to the provisions outlined in the state rent control law for granting rent adjustments.

Nesson previously asked for a similar restraining order in District Court May 13.