Heavy Voting; No Serious Incidents

Chronicle (Levin), 6 December 1948, Page 5

Heavy Voting; No Serious Incidents

• (N.Z.P.A.-

Reuter *

CovuHght)

Received Monday, 10.10 a.m. LONDON, Dec. 6. * A very high percentage of voters went to the polls in Berlih's muniCipal elections today. More than 1,000,000 Western Berliners. had cast their Votes by 4.30 p.m! local time. The official provisional results are expected to be known early tomorrow. Poliihg generally was quiet, but there were some incidents. The French Military Government reported to the central election bureau that shortly after noon three Russian soldiers carrying sub-machineguns arid tWo civilians passed from the Russian sector into the French sector, and took up positions outside the polling booth at Flotten Strasse. A French military patrol summoned by the'Western sector German police arriVed quickly and loaded their rifles. The Russians and the two civilians then withdrew to the nearest underground station in the Russian sector. Only three shots were fired during the election. It happened this way — a Russian sentry spied a man on the top of Brandenburg Gate; the man was pulling down the big Red flag which flies over the entrance to the Soviet sector; the sentry fired three times but. missed. The man hauling down the flag was merely another Russian soldier performing his duty;