QUESTION ASKED.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVIII, Issue 291, 8 December 1937, Page 19

QUESTION ASKED.

ENGLAND HOPES NOT.

BUT QUICKLY PREPARES.

SIGNS AND PORTENTS,

(By NI'LL,K M. SCAXLAN.) LONDON, November 10. Yestoiliiv 1 met a woman setting off on her ( In i-t urns shopping, with a Inn" list ot gifts to buy. She seemed quite cheerful, in spite of the fact. "I in goin to bo really extravagant (his year," -lie told me. "you don't know what will happen beforo next. We mightn't, have another Christmas in Liiiidoii.'' That is n. f common attitude I find just now. Once people saved for a rainy "lay, were inclim ' to present eeonomies with the hope of an opulent future. Now they are not so sure of Unit, lut lire, they have decided to spend while they may. "(Jo while the good." " Christmas shopping is in full spate, for the* 'In believe in the slogan, "Shop curly fur Christinas." It saves a lot of hothci later. Itut beneath this cheerful, if worrying acti\itv, and the, rush of pr(>-( hi i-t mas parties mid entertaining. 1 here lies a. tceliug of deep anxiety, t hough it seldom rises to the surface. It. in not the general theme of conversation. ii lid we are not rushed off our feet by i iiiinhii s. Hut bit by bit. a paragraph lirre. a there, a book, an article, a. reply iri the House of Commons, a whole world of war preparation is bcinc rcvi'ii led. " 11 h defensive preparation, for In no ease will lireat Britain attack, and many think that she will submit to "Inn's t. niivth ing rather than be dragged into ii not her war. She will compromise .'ii the \e\ing problem* rather than light. This gigantic and costly preparation is her answer to the 'threats from abroad. She has found that it is necessary to back her arguments with a show of strength. In meet the challenge she must, he strong on land and sea and in the air. Much is going on behind the scene*, despite the constant, stream of embarrassing questions that are daily asked in the House of Commons. The Government is nnt. telling all it knows, or revealing all it is doing. Much is admitted freely, but far, far more is in coiirso of secret preparation. Short and Sharp? Some of the prophets say that when war comes and an attack is made on Britain it will bo a nine days' war. Miort, sharp and decisive. We have seen the effect of air bombardments in Spain, in China and in Abyssinia. These «ro being closely watched and every detail noted with a view to combating them.

If this nine days' T*rar should ceme, It will mean a sudden series of air raids, with Txindon as the objective; the shipping, the railways, the all* and arms factories, the munition depots. It was stated the other day that as many bombs could now be dropped in an hour on London as fell dnring the whole of the last war. »This surprise attack would he designed to strike panic into the people, to blast and burn and gas in such a terrifying manner that the people would compel the Government to make peace—to surrender.

That is one theory, and it appears that the Government does entertain its possibility, as much of its preparations are directed to meet, tliis menace. Already we have had mock air raids under war condition* in various parts of the country to test th® efficiency of our air, defences.

One of tlio novel measures which are being tested is the erection of air barricades. Thousands and thousands of balloons will be sent up attached to line steel cables. To prevent an attacking air fleet from crossing the coast and raining bombs on their objeetves, these balloons will have to reach a height of many thousand feet. Suspended there, they will hold this wire barricade in place, and for a 'plane to encounter it will mean certain destruction. Rut can you imagine the number of the so balloons that will l>e required to protect the vital spots of this country? However, this theory is being tried out. Bombing Experiment*. Last week a series of bombing experiments was carried out not far from London. The ho bombs were not dropped from the air, but were so charged as to have t'h«> same destructive effect as if they had fallen from tho sky. Some were to explode upwards; others to discharge downwards. i >ie object of this experiment was to see the effect of surh explosions on underground pipes of varying types—steel, iron, etc. In this way it is* hoped to discover in advancc tlio danger there is to gas, electricity, water and sewerage. At the moment thorn is a lot of relaying of such pipes in London. It may l>e annual repairs, but it may also in n measure bo a read justment in the light of «uch experiments. To preserve these necessities from destruction is a vital need.

Already 20,000 people have joined the emergency corps which has undertaken the task of dealing with the results of sir raids. Kvery district, every street, has Its appointed men and women who havo volunteered to do this work. They •re being trained in first aid, in fire extinction, in rescue work, and in dealing with tho results of gas attacks. Points },avn been selected for the giving ef warning if such an attack is threatened, and for some time experiwient.n have been made with best type of signal. Whistles, sirens, rtinroons ii nd a variety of other noises liavn licen tested to see which is the most, effective.

Daily lectures are being given in town kills and other places, where people go to learn something of how to prepare a gas-proof room in their flat or dwelling. Nome of th® new blocks of flats advertise as a special attraction a gasproof room. Some have already provided themselves with the necessary equipment, for making ft room pas-proof •t a moment's notice, and laying in a •tore of specially packed food that will To wist the eras and so enable them to live In the room for 2-1 hours or more, if Deed he. till the gas hns cleared away from tho atmosphere outside.

Precautions Against Fire. I see that one modern 'plane could fsuso .">O4) flies, so in addition to the ordinary, or rather the increased Are frulc.-tion now provided, every house-

. r is advised to provide himself with an emergency outfit, and learn how to handle it. The incendiary Immlt will naturally drop „„ the roof", and penetrate to the top floor, where it will send out a shower of sparks which will ignite anything inflammable. People ° are ndvised to have a barrel of sand in readiness With Which to cover the bomb ami smother the flame. A scoop, attached to a long handled shovel, should also be there, in order to lift the bomb into a bucket and remove it out of doors. In lii't, it is. suggested that should the menace become urgent the upper floors of houses should be covered with sand in order to minimise the chance of a lire starting.

. millions of gas masks have I>ecn manufactured, tested and pronounced by the authorities to l>e the N'st in Kurope. I'll cue are now be in" sent to central depots in every district and later we may each be provided with one.

I know many people living in the eonntry who have constructed a dee» concrete gas-proof room somewhere' near the house, in case of an emergency, '.ven houses in the country are not safe' as there are now aerodromes and factories for the production of 'planes and munitions dotted all about England. No area is entirely safe.

. ' "'V 0 time ago the British Broadcasting Corporation provided itself with solid concrete subterranean premises, the site not revealed, from which they could continue to send messages anil warnings even .luring the worst air raid. Food Storage. Tf you saw the cold storage buildings nround the London dork*, and elsewhere you would realise that the question of , , *"PP''es is not being entirely overlooked, though many people are protesting that not enough is being done in tins direction. TJiere is a constant outcry for more home production, for the developing of allotments, where people can grow foodstuffs, and so tide them over an emergency. In the last war they were down to a three weeks' supply at time*. And a friend of mine was up north recently, and was shown a loaf of bread in a tin. It had been there for two months, and was as fre-sh as the day it was put in. This was another experiment, Such things are goin< r on all around us. °

A few people are quietly laving in stores of tinned fruit and vegetables, against a rise in price which they anticipate later. Millions of ration cards have already been printed. Once again England may find herself on short rations, but it is no use hoarding or providing for this indefinite future. It may come soon; it may come later; but \v e all hope it won't come at all. Still, it is necessary in this uncertain world to be prepared.

We are still at peace with the world. Diplomat* and Ministers are working night and day to avert such a catastrophe, which will benefit no one. Yet the threat of war may bo a potent factor in commercial and political adjustments. No country could hope to benefit from such a war under modern condition*. And the fact that kings, presidents, dictators, members of Governments and the whole civil population are just as vulnerable as the men in the front line trenches, must have its effect.

The prospect of livinjf like rats in cellars k not a pleasant one, but the alternative may mean' being bombed, gassed, burnt or shattered. The present wars now going on in Europe and Asia have taught us a lesson here, and the ghastly preparation goes on side by side with our Christmas shopping. Next Christmas we may be giving each other gas masks with tassels on, or our initials embroidered in floral patterns. And a bomb shovel will Bolve the awful problem of "what to give father."