Police Sweep Mayday Camp

WASHINGTON, D.C.-Police used physical force to disperse antiwar demonstrators here for the first time yesterday after the government revoked the camping permit of the Mayday Tribe and ousted nearly 45,000 people from an area bounded by the Lincoln and Jefferson Memorials near the West Potomac Park.

Washington Metropolitan Police clubbed several demonstrators and arrested about 150 persons to break up a scheduled women's march around the White House area at 1 p.m.

The march-originally expected to be small-ballooned out of proportion when hundreds of persons evicted from the Algonquin Peace City yesterday morning joined the women organizers and poured into the streets bordering the Ellipse.

Police scattered a crowd of about 1500 there, but the marchers regrouped and gained more supporters as they headed for George Washington University. The march swelled in size to about 5000 persons before riot-equipped officers used nightsticks and mace to restore order.

The violence came about an hour after about 4500 Washington police-90 per cent of the force-swept through West Potomac Park and cleared the area where antiwar demonstrators had spent Saturday night listening to rock music and planning today's civil disobedience.

Over 50,000 people stretched languidly across a polo field adjacent to Algonquin Peace City as performers ranging from the Beach Boys to Phil Ochs played for 17 hours through the night, but when dawn broke yesterday, concert-goers rolled over to find a line of helmeted police over half-a-mile long stationed in the trees along Independence Ave. A police sound truck circled the park at 6:30 a.m., awakening campers and instructing them to leave the park or face arrest.

"Please be advised that the permit for this demonstration and assembly has been revoked," the announcement said. Police then told Mayday organizers they would give them until noon to strike camp.

A police statement cited "the replacement of lawful protest by unlawful activity, numerous and flagrant violations of the conditions [of the group's permit] and rampant illegal use of narcotics" as reasons for the revocation.

'Not Drugs'-Davis

Mayday organizers had a different explanation, however. "The permit was suspended because many more people than police expected showed up at the campgrounds," Rennie Davis, one of the Mayday organizers, said. "Drugs had nothing to do with it."

The decision to revoke the permit was made late Saturday night by Washington police chief Jerry V. Wilson in consultation with the Justice Department, the Department of the Interior and the Pentagon.

Police stopped the rock concert at about 7:20 a.m. and almost the entire concert crowd left within an hour, but the hard-coreMayday participants camping nearby stayed late into the morning to plan staging sites for today's action. Most broke camp at about 10:30 a.m.

About 50 people remain at the Peace City to be arrested, although organizers urged them to stay out of jail until this morning. At 11:45 a.m., two detachments of police dispersed crowds congregated by the Lincoln Memorial, then about 2500 men-in a long line three deep-began moving toward the city.

The sweep of the park took about an hour and 15 minutes. A small force of police arrested 50 persons at the Memorial while the sweep was taking place.

Afterwards, police left in buses for strategic sites around the city, leaving Park Police to seal off the area. No one was allowed on any of the national monument or memorial grounds afternoon yesterday. As one Park policeman said. "The only way somebody is going to get in there [West Potomac Park] is with a badge."

Police manned virtually every street corner in a ten-square-block area in downtown Washington by 3 p.m. yesterday. Standing police ringed three of the nine Mayday targets throughout the afternoon and night.

Those demonstrators arrested yesterday-numbering 250 in all-will probably not be out of jail until tonight. Police Chief Wilson denied collateral Wednesday for demonstrators for the duration of the week, and sources indicated yesterday that bail collateral will be raised to 20 per cent or about $50. The Washington Superior Court did not refuse to hear cases yesterday.

Hosea Williams, deputy program director of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said Saturday that bail funds are almost nonexistent and would depend almost entirely on contributions collected yesterday and Saturday at the park.

In excess of 1300 people have been arrested since April 21 in connection with antiwar demonstrations.

Police are working 12-hour shifts and the entire 5100-man force is on duty. Many are working overtime, remaining on duty for as long as 22 hours. At yesterday's sweep of the park, several policemen were visibly irritated by the long wait before moving in.

Nor were they pleased as they marched past the smoldering campfires and abandoned tents of what was once Algonquin Peace City. What they found was an indication that there are many more hours of unenviable duty in store for them in the next three days. As one message left on an abandoned tent post in Peace City told them: "Sorry we couldn't oblige you, but we don't dig violence. See you tomorrow. Peace."