| Show CIVIL DEFENSE Millard F. Caldwell Faces Task Of Building U.S. Civil Defense le the first sf a et five article on defense ae written by Walter A. Western D. C. A broad-shouldered man sits In a temporary office in one of the many converted government buildings a short two blocks from the White House whose name is destined to become well known to millions of He is Millard F. former governor of who has been handed the tremendous responsibility of the nation's civil defense and who will head up a volunteer army of civilian Americans which will total some men and women In every state of the His immediate job Is to weld together a small force of approximately paid approximately of whom will be administrative workers here In the rest to become field officers in various states and strategic At the same time he must start from scratch to train these who will in turn train his In the new field of civilian Governor Caldwell must come up with the answers to these What can I do to protect myself and my neighbors If an atomic bomb is dropped In or near my What about a hydrogen What protection do I have in case a bacteriological bomb or balloon Is loosed in my What defense is there against radiological or the dropping of Insect pests or plant diseases to destroy crops and Governor Caldwell believes that It Is entirely within the realm of possibility that the American people face one or all of these horrible methods of modern warfare If the nation should get into a full-scale war with The extent would depend only upon the enemy's ability to pierce our air our sea defenses and Just how far the Russians were determined to So a well-trained civilian army is as essential to the nation's defense as a well-trained and equipped military it is just as and possibly more so In saving the lives of American THERE ARE DEFENSES to these atomic to attacks against health and crops and But every citizen must be as well educated In these as acutely aware of the and as alertly conscious of just what action to take as he Is of any chore of his dally for It is possible we shall be living with these dangers for many years to if we so oi civilian administration is to educate the to organize to set up this volunteer to see that state legislatures pass such enabling legislation and appropriations as are and to train men and women in scores of facts Incidental to a catastrophe such as certainly will happen If a bomb is dropped In their These not only protection against the bomb itself to minimize loss of life and but efficient first fire health water medical food social warning and an efficient organization for any which spreads from the cities into the small and rural sections of every area in the holn rf in the nation and of every Individual bill be enlisted not only to join In the civil but to help make the masses of the people to prevent fear and hysteria so that a major catastrophe may be The government has been for months making detailed studies of the bombing of European cities in World War of the effects of the atomic bombs at Nagasaki and They have worked out pattern and effects and The Health Service and the American Red Cross have worked out detailed plans for health the bureau of animal hus-bandy and the bureau of plant Industry of the department of agriculture have a plan of action for defense against release of pests and plant disease aimed at animal and crop However the effective civilian defense program cannot work on a basis of George do Every every organization must constitute himself or Itself a committee to learn first-hand just what each con do in the emergency should an enemy bearing death or injury for pierce the nation's military second of this series of articles will appear next |
