About 400 White and Black youths and some parents clashed yesterday (29 October) after attempt in Trenton, New Jersey, to send children by bus to school in which pupils of other races predominate. About 20 people were injured.

The incident stemmed from a State Department of Education directive that 155 children be sent by bus to other schools to bring about a better racial balance. Nearly half of Trenton's 100,000 population are Black.

About 60 Negro children and Puerto Ricans took the bus to the Washington and Central Schools but the 55 White children allocated to the predominantly Black Parker School did not turn up.

Bands of youths of both races roamed through the Chambersburg area near Trenton High School, breaking windows in homes and schools. A state of emergency was declared and five Blacks and two Whites were arrested on charges of disorderly conduct.

Pressmen were caught in the middle of the violence when 100 Black students from Trenton High marched to the Washington School. About 100 state policemen and 300 city officers were involved in breaking up the fighting.

Ironically, the school bus programme was intended to be only a token effort towards complying with the state directive on integration.