LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Civil Defence

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31657, 18 April 1968, Page 8

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Civil Defence

Sir,—l wish to put on record my thanks to Mr Kirk for his visit to many of us in Sumner in the small hours of last Friday morning. It gave us a bit of moral lift, and the feeling that some people realised our plight at that time. The entire job of help and assistance was too much for the limited resources of the police, even helped as they were by the Army, as nearly everyone was in trouble at the same time over quite a large area of Christchurch. In your leading article of Saturday morning you say that only a few suburbs were affected, but they ranged over quite a large area, including so many in the hilly areas who suffered from water and mud right through their homes. It seems a pity that the civil defence could not have used such a catastrophe as an excellent piece of training, as they will now have to wait for a like disaster in the future. In the future it seems to me that the police and civil defence should work side by side, when larger areas can be covered at the same time.—: Yours, etc., LOOK AHEAD. April 17, 1968.

Sir, —On first reading “Save the Carpets’ ” letter 1 thought it must be an obscure and elaborate, if rather bad. joke. But a second perusal suggested that here was someone with a well-defined and determined sense of priorities. While “The Press” putters on with reports of nation-wide flood damage and the Wahine tragedy, thousands of lovely carpets throughout Christchurch are being ruined —and not a word of advice given about how to deal with the calamity. Can this really be a Welfare State? 1, and possibly Mr Kirk, too, could give your correspondent the definition and some synonyms of the word “dumbfounded" without recourse to the dictionary, but surely the purchase Of one would be a seemly adjunct to any well-carpeted and well-appointed home, not to mention an adventitious aid to a student of semantics. One should never forget that the Joneses are always awaiting the chance to get ahead of one.—Yours, etc., HEDERA. April 16, 1968.

Sir,—l am glad someone has spoken out. Most of my neighbours know I belong to civil defence, and it was said to me on Friday, “Were you one of the many civil defence Mr Kirk is talking about?” I was out on Thursday as the call came over the air for all police personnel to report in old clothes. 1 reported as a member of the civil defence police, and so did others, including women. 1 have only praise for all 1 saw working like a team on Thursday. Mr Kirk’s outburst is unjust to those who worked so hard for days with very little rest. Who are better trained to cope with the situation than the police. Army, Air Force? As anyone knows, let the public in and they get in the way. 1 may ask Mr Kirk, has the civil defence had any tryouts here in Christchurch? No. And 1 can imagine what would happen. Practice makes perfect.—Yours, etc., TRIED TO HELP. April 17, 1968.