This Day In 1970's History: Friday January 20, 1978
- The New York region's worst snowstorm of the decade disrupted transportation, business and government operations and marooned millions of people in city and suburban homes. Thirteen inches of snow covered the region and bad conditions were made worse by high drifts. The storm area extended from Washington to New England. It was the deepest snowfall in New York City since February 1969, when 15.3 inches fell. Mayor Koch declared a citywide snow emergency and toured snowbound sections of Queens and Brooklyn. The city had 1,100 plows and snow blowers at work.
By 3 P.M., 16.6 inches of snow had fallen in Boston, and several more inches were predicted. Hundreds of riders stranded after a subway crash there had to be sheltered in a subway car shop while city officials tried to find food for them. It was Boston's second subway crash in three days, and at least 19 persons were injured. All major routes into and around the city were impassible. In West Virginia, a 21-to-39-inch accumulation of snow was called "the heaviest statewide in the memory of man." [New York Times]
- Consumer prices rose 6.8 percent in December compared with 4.8 percent in 1976, the Department of Labor said. In December, prices increased by only four-tenths of 1 percent compared with five-tenths of 1 percent in November. A sharp gain in food prices in 1977 boosted the overall increase. [New York Times]
- Attorney General Griffin Bell dismissed David Marston, the United States Attorney in Philadelphia, a Republican who had at least two Democratic Congressmen under investigation. Mr. Marston said that Mr. Bell's explanation for his dismissal was "purely political." [New York Times]
- President Carter announced what could be a more rigorous program for slowing down wage and price increases as part of a broad range of actions to improve the "health and fairness" of the economy. The anti-inflation program, described as "voluntary," calls on labor and employers to keep the rate of wage and price increases in 1978 below the average of the preceding two years. [New York Times]
- Stock prices slumped a bit in a trading session that opened at noon, two hours late because of the snowstorm. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 1.73 points to 776.94. None of the average's 65 industrial components changed as much as a point, reflecting the market's quiescence in the worst storm here in a decade. [New York Times]
|
