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Show ! U. S. Must Build Civil Defenss i RfJM AMERICA HAS IMPORTANT ! PART M PROYEC i hlG MM FRONT j (This is the second of a series of articles on civil defense, based on the booklet "This Is Civil Defense" prepared by the Federal Civil Defense Administration. It may be obtained from the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C, j for ten cents.) By MILLARD CALDWELL j Federal Civil Defense Administrator je Even if forewarned of war, our armed forces can- I Qt no Prevent attack, for there is no sure way of keep- I enemv planes from getting through our defenses. SS7 The enemy's first objective would be to upset the I war efforts of the civilian population,, as well as to destroy ; property and to kill and injure people. His aim would be to j make you quit, leave your jobs, desert your homes and start I panic among you. Panic can take a tremendous toll of lives, i It also can bring production to a stand-still. It is the task of the civil defense! ' to organize and train millions of Americans so that each one will be 1 prepared to render the Test protective pro-tective service at the moment it is needed. Your aim should be to accept that training so that you will know how to rescue the trapped and injured, in-jured, know how to work with volunteer fire-fighting units, know ' how to prevent panic and know I how to perform any of the specific duties of civil defense, particularly those you have indicated, in your training, that you are best qualified to do. There are wayt to save thou-ands thou-ands of people from the effects of blast, radioactivity and heat from the atomic bomb. There are ways to take shelter, to rescue the trapped and injured, and ways to cut fire loses to a minimum. mini-mum. Organized civil defense can do those things. 1 The atomic bomb is too expen-five expen-five to use purpesely on a farm community. However, this relative freedom from attack only adds to the responsibility of the people who live in such areas. Civilians away from the target area will be better able, mentally and physically, physical-ly, to cope with situations of disaster. Farm People Equipped With can, trucks and tractors available, farm people are well equipped to aid any stricken area within their reach. Mobile support, sup-port, rescue and evacuation work are phases of civil defense that rural folk are especially qualified to do. To do any of them without confusion and delay, you must be organized and trained. ir It is imperative that farm families fami-lies learn about biological warfare and how to watch for it. While you are protecting your family and your livestock from infections and your crops from infestations, you are cooperating with the civil defense de-fense program. There are ways of keeping disease from spreading, and of protecting our food and watpr supplies. Civil defense, working with existing health agencies and physicians, attends to that job. We should be prepared to cope with poison gases. And we can be, for there are good defenses against them. There are ways of sharply reducing loses from gas attacks, and civil defense provides the best answers. Civil defense services are organized or-ganized to bring in help from outside, out-side, and to get a stricken city back into working order in the shortest possible time. It provides food, shelter and medical care for victims of attack. Defense Takes Planning Civil defense takes planning., organization, or-ganization, and a lot of hard work. There are jobs for you. Find out where you can serve your family, your community and yourself the best. Then volunteer for the work you are best suited to do. . Civil defense cannot protect every life and every home, but it will save thousands of lives maybe may-be your life or the life of someone dear to you. (The next article will discuss what would happen if an A-bomb fell on your city without civil defense.) |
