YUGOSLAVIA: Night Must Fall

Inside hundreds of homes and offices in Tito’s Communist capital of Belgrade last week, there was darkness at noon. The dictator had gone too far too fast in trying to turn his peasant country into a Socialist workers’ paradise. Belgrade’s superannuated and overloaded power stations first began to falter and fail last January. At that time the city was arbitrarily divided into three zones, each of which was cut off from all power supply for four hours twice a week. Every other day private homes all over the city were kept in the dark for an additional eight hours.

Because of the location of the power stations, some zones fared better than others, and disgruntled citizens began to know them as Upper Paradise (the section where Tito and other high muckamucks lived and enjoyed the most light and power), Middle Paradise and Lower Paradise, which got practically no light at all. Throughout the country, according to foreign experts, about $100 million worth of fine new plants are either standing idle or running inefficiently for lack of power.

As the dimout became darker and dark er, Belgrade’s mayor did his best to keep hope alight. When major repairs were completed at one of the power stations, he promised, the worst of the trouble would be over. Instead, last week came a final benighting announcement: all light and power in private houses throughout the entire capital will be shut off every day between 6 a.m. and 4 p.m. and for two evenings weekly.