EVENING LULL Shortly after dusk tonight, the force of 40 highway patrol officers, commanded by Captain L.T. Torres of San Benito County, forced a lull in the terrorism. Armed with tear gas guns, the officers herded the cyclists into a block on San Benito street, between Fifth and Sixth streets, parked a dance band on a truck and ordered the musicians to play. Hundreds of individuals who invaded the town yesterday for the motorcycle show, about 10 percent of them women halted their riotous "play" to dance. Their formal ball at the American Legion Hall was canceled by police orders. The dancers scuffed their way through inches of broken glass, debris of bottle barrages thrown during the day. The officers stood almost shoulder to shoulder along the curb.

REQUEST FOR HELP Captain Torres and his men were sent to the scene by Charles E. Raymond Cato of the highway patrol who received a formal request of assistance from Lieutenant Roy L. McPhail of the seven-men Hollister police department. The request for aid was made at 3:30 P.M. today. As the state officers moved in, hundreds of cyclists roared through the streets of Hollister, defying traffic regulations. Many of them were injured in spills and crashes. One man's left foot was virtually severed. Lieutenant McPhail was emphatic in his announcement to The Chronicle that he was asked for assistance by the State Highway Patrol. Police Chief Fred A. Earin of Hollister said: "It's just one hell of a mess."

THURSDAY The motorcyclists gathering for a three-day program of social activities, races and hill climbing events scheduled to end tomorrow began "taking over the town" the evening of July 3. The momentum of their activities gained strength during the 4th of July. By evening, they were virtually out of control, the police reported. Riders, both men and women, steered their machines into bars, crashing fixtures and bottles and mirrors. They defied all traffic regulations racing full speed through the streets and intersections. Hundreds loosed bottle barrages. Bartenders halted the sale of beer, believing the group could not afford whiskey. Riotous activities continued. The bars closed two hours earlier than permitted by law. The same curfew was to go into effect tonight. The groups defied the officers to curb their activities. As many arrests as possible were made. Police. Judge Frank Butcher convened a special session of his court tonight to dispose of the cases as he did last night. The sentences ranged from $25 to $250 and up to 75 days in jail. One of the participants identified by the police as Jim Morrison, 19, of Los Angeles, was given 90 days in the county jail for indecent exposure. The emergency room at Hazel Hawkins Hospital was jammed to overflowing. The first case arrived early yesterday. Late tonight, more than 40 persons had been treated. The San Benito Hospital handled the overflow cases.

MORE ON HOLLISTER'S BAD TIME

2000 "GYPSYCYCLES" CHUG OUT OF TOWN AND 
THE NATIVES SIGH "NEVER AGAIN"

By C. I. DOURGHTY JR. San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer  

HOLLISTER. July, 6 (1947) The diminishing roar and crackle of the last of an estimated 2000 motorcycles today ended the "worst 40 hours in Hollister history". Police, who called for outside yesterday and imposed informal martial law to halt the havoc of a "gypsy tour" of the American Motorcycle Association, took a deep breath. Some 50 persons were jailed during the ruckus and as many were injured, several seriously. More than $2000 of fines and an undetermined number of jail sentences were assessed for drunkenness, disturbing the peace and reckless driving. "If we jailed everyone who deserved it we'd have herded them in by the hundreds." police said. San Benito street, the main thoroughfare through the town, was littered with the wreckage of thousands of beer bottles, and other debris. There was no estimate of the damage. At the height of the pandemonium, the motorcyclists drove their vehicles into bars and restaurants, tossed beer bottles over upper-floor windows and raced through traffic signals and defied the seven-man police force. "Luckily, there appears to be no serious damage," said City-Council member Bert Kirk. "These trick riders did more harm to themselves than the town." Forty State highway patrolmen under Captain L. T. Torres, responding for an appeal for aid from Highway Chief E. Raymond Cato, clamped down on the celebrants with the threat of tear gas. A band scheduled to play a dance in American Legion Hall was moved out into the main street, where it played in an attempt to divert the crowd. The bars refused to sell beer and voluntarily closed two hours ahead of time. A final outburst of noisemaking when the bars closed at midnight and a day of racing in nearby Memorial Park race track, served as an energy outlet who were not in jail. The "gypsy tour", an annual racing and hill-climbing was sanctioned by the AMA and sponsored by the Salinas Ramblers Motorcycle Club and the Hollister Veterans' Memorial Park Association. Police Commissioner Charles Krieger declared emphatically: "It's not going to happen here again. You can quote me on that." Chief of police Fred A. Earl, a veteran of 43 years, characterized the gathering of the worst 40 hours in Hollister history. Mrs. Choice Lane, superintendent of the Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital and said the drunk and injured came in for treatment so fast, accurate records could not be kept.

"Just A Convention" The attitude of the motorcyclists was expressed by one youth today in the words: "Well, the American Legion goes into town and raises hell. It's a convention. We're just having a convention." Other explanations from the bike riders were: James Clearwater, 23-- "We like to show off. We make alot of noise and everybody looks. It's just alot of fun. I'm conservative, though. I haven't got a straight pipe." (A "straight pipe" is an unmuffled engine.) Jim Long, 19-- " I like a bike with alot of drag. Drag? That's pickup. See how quick you can get to 90 miles an hour. I get a jolt out of that jerk takeoff. I like lots of growler too. Growler? Why that's funnel. Straight pipe. Roar." Jerry Witcher, 21-- "Autos are dead. Bikes aren't dangerous. They don't take much space and they go through traffic. I like to tear them apart and see if they go faster when I put them back together.

Housing Tough The 4000 visitors, about half of them operating motorcycles, almost doubled Hollister's population and created a severe housing problem. Many of them slept on haystacks on the edge of town while others simply stretched out on the court house lawn. Most of the tourists were from California cities, but a noticeable number were from other states in the union, including Connecticut and Florida. Perhaps one out of ten was a girl, wearing slacks and a tight sweeter and riding in tandems. Frank McGovern, 45, whose left foot was almost severed in an incident in the racing along San Benito street, was taken to the hospital near his home in Chico yesterday. Ted Boyde Jr., 20, 342 Williams street, Oakland, suffered a possible skull fracture. The third person seriously injured was Merton Krantzman, 20, Tular.