PRECAUTIONS IN EMERGENCY

Press, Volume LXXVIII, Issue 23538, 16 January 1942, Page 4

PRECAUTIONS IN EMERGENCY

SMALL ATTENDANCE AT MEETING MAYOR DISAPPOINTED Fewer than 500 citizens attended the public meeting held at the Civic Theatre last evening, at tvhich organisers of the Emergency Precautions Services explained the scheme. It was the second meeting of the sort held, and the Mayor, Mr E. H. Andrews, who presided, said how disappointed he was at the small attendance. “I must confess that I am somewhat disappointed at the meagre attendance this evening,” Mr Andrews said. "Based on the experience of the meeting last week I had expected another overflow meeting. The big audience at the afternoon meeting last week indicated that. Five hundred were turned away at that meeting. It seemed to me to indicate a great awakening of interest in the Emergency Precautions Services. But while 500 were turned away on that occasion, there does not appear to be that number here this evening. We were criticised for holding that afternoon meeting, and when I was in Wellington at the conference of mayors this week. I was handed a letter sent by our critics to the National Service Department, complaining about the afternoon meeting. Now it looks that we were not far wrong.” Mr Andrews, who is the chief warden of the city, and two members of the organising executive of the service (Messrs W. Machin and L. A. Bennett) gave addresses much along the lines of those given at the meeting held last week. Mr Andrews said that he felt that many of the people of Christchurch did not realise how vast the organisation of the Emergency Precautions Service was. It now had nearly 20 separate sections. The executive committee, composed of businessmen of long experience, was working 12 hours a day, and now the scheme was beginning to get order out of what was confusion. But the scheme could not get on without the co-operation of the public and some sections still needed additional personnel. The War Cabinet, Mr Andrews explained, had proposed to introduce the compulsory enrolment of men of ages between 18 and 65. That meant that everyone able to do so would have a job in the services. "Do not get alarmed at that,” Mr Andrews said. “Many of you will already be in essential jobs which you will have to stick to: such as men engaged in factories and so on. They will have to remain in those jobs. And men will have to be drafted into those factories and other places if they are needed, to help those already at work there. But the great task of the committee and the executive is to co-ord-inate the jobs of such persons as have not been drafted or are already in positions and see that their tasks do not overlap.” Mr Machin repeated his warning, given at the meeting last week, that all tasks would have to be subordinated, in an emergency, to the demands of the Army. He said that the scheme that the Government had launched in the last day or two would clear the minds of a great number of people who have been waiting to be told what their job would be. He felt sure that as they became enrolled under the national compulsory scheme they would be as willing to do their job as others who had been in the scheme for some time. Bomb Demonstration

Mr Machin mentioned that the demonstration of the handling of fire bombs at Lancaster Park on Sunday was expected to attract a big crowd. No charge would be made for admission, he said, and a band would be playing from early in the afternoon. Mr Machin also repeated his appeal to people to stay where they were in an emergency. "Do not take your car on to the roads unless it is definitely assigned for an emergency. If you do, as sure as you are alive, you will be stopped by civil or military police." Mr Bennett described the organisaalion of the medical section of the services. He advised a questioner (who asked whether artesian water should be boiled) to boil all water in an emergency. Mr Bennett emphasised the importance of all persons acting in such a way that the civilian morale was maintained. Events in Spain and in France had shown that it was essential that civilians should keep their stations and not, by panic action, impede the operations of the military.