THE HOME FRONT

Evening Post, Volume CXXIII, Issue 49, 27 February 1937, Page 9

THE HOME FRONT

BRITISH DEFENCES

FOOD ORGANISATION

PKGGRESS OUTLINED

(British Official Wireless.) (Received February 27, 10.50 a.m.)] RUGBY, February 26. In winding up the debate on the second reading of the Defence Loans Bill last night, the Home Secretary, Si/ John Simon, referred to the progress of the organisation of food supplies and air defence. Plans had been made, he said, for rationing food, storage distribution in ports, and the diversion of shipping. Port emergency committees had been established, including civilian experts. There was a careful interlocking of all these arrangements right up to the Committee of Imperial Defence. In, fact,' they had a vast general staff, mostly civilians, planning the defence of the home front.

Referring to the Air Raids Precautions Committee, he said there had been an appalling development of the radius of action and of the bombing load of aircraft. The precautions were .directed against high explosive, gas, and incendiary bombs. . .

Incendiary bombs were the worst of the trinity in devilishness. Local organisations were, being ■ built up for fire fighting, decontamination warnings, gas detection, first aid and rescue work, clearance of debris; ; and emergency communications. There was also a central service.

Britain was the only ; country, he said, which was providing gas masks free to all the. civilian population in danger. A new mass-production model had been designed, and the first factory had now worked up to an output of 100,000 masks daily.