Police Hope for Quiet Night; Retailers See Just Contrary

Two Cambridge tongues rested in two Cambridge cheeks yesterday.

Jim Cronin, proprietor of Jim's Place, and Police Chief Patrick F. Ready both said that they expect no trouble from the Yale game throngs. Cronin admitted that his establishment "won't be the most restful place in the world" over the weekend, but he stated, "We've never had a riot here; we don't expect one. All the riots take place up in the Square or the Yard."

Chief Ready said, "We'll treat it like any other incident up there. If they win, they'll have a helluva good time." He continued, "Our men will be there to help people find their way and things like that." He called both Harvard and Yale men gentlemen. "We're not expecting any trouble."

Trouble or not, business men are anticipating, revenue-wise, the biggest weekend of the year. Restaurants will be jammed. As Cronin said, "We seat 350, but we probably will have to squeeze in 400." The Oxford Grille said it will double its staff. Reservations at the Barclay have been pouring in for four weeks. F.N. Cardullo, manager at the Wursthaus, said, "We'll just have to take it as it comes."

Package store owners are hoping for a cold day. "If it's warm," Varsity Liquor Store manager Frank Purcell said, "They'll buy beer. If it's cold, they'll buy the hard stuff." Brandy and cognac sales have been up all week and almost all of the punch bowls at the Hamilton Liquor Store are rented out.

In Boston, the Sheraton-Plaza, the Somerset, and the Statler are booked solid for the weekend, and every room in Cambridge is taken. Some hotels reported a few rooms still available.

Regular flights from New York on both American and Northeast Airlines were sold out for the most part since Monday, but places will probably be available on two extra Northeast planes coming up this afternoon.