The Akaroa Mail, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1939. EVACUATION PROBLEMS

Akaroa Mail and Banks Peninsula Advertiser, Volume LXIV, Issue 6581, 31 October 1939, Page 2

The Akaroa Mail, TUESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1939. EVACUATION PROBLEMS

(JONDiTIUI\S of humau life are

always changing ana where in the Middle Ages people gathered together in cities for safety from raiding bands of highwayinn and enemies all large centres of population are being emptied today as big concourses of people make an easy target for air raids. r l lie isolated homestead is uow the

safest residence. It is very gratifying to note that Britain's air defences ha ve proved so sound up to the present and that enemy raiders ha* e been driven oli' so successfully and with such losses of enemy air craft, in England the evacuation ol the largei towns is

causing some serious problems as the normal life of so many people has been dislocated. The city tradespeople have lost a large proportion of-their customers and it is difficult to adjust to the new order. It is the same with many of the large business firms in the city. An EuglisJi writer draws attention to the fact that many employees in these firms are Dei.

dismissed. He claims that in some

instances men are being victimized and that Urins are acting hastily and with little consideration. One instance is quuted of a man incapable ol' military service who had been the brains of a company and had been dismissed. The writer claimed that this man's valuable services warranted some delay in dismissal as he had dependants >*ud the company was wrong in taking such hasty action without waiting for conditions to adjust themselves. Owners of boarding houses and Hats in the big cities are also in an unenviable situation. Tne country storekeeper on the other hand must iind evacuation has increased his returns j and extra employees should be j absorbed ihere. The difficulty is that no one knows how long evacuation from the large towns will be necessary. It is reported that, many women insist on returning. Life in Britain is certainly dislocated for the moment and that dislocation is going to cause much inconvenience and misery. Evacuation is oot only bringing extra ! labour and stores to the country

- -it is also robbing manv townspeople of their ordinary livelihood. That the conditions will adjust themsolves in time is certain, but meanwhile many people are very anxious about the future.