IN EVENT OF WAR

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 148, 25 June 1938, Page 8

IN EVENT OF WAR

CONSCRIPTION INTENTIONS IN BRITAIN TASKS FOR ALL (From "The Post's" Representative.) LONDON, June 1. Conscription for military service will be enforced by the British Government immediately on the outbreak of a war, Sir Thomas Inskip, Minister for the Co-ordination of Defence, told the House of Commons this week. He denied, however, that there was an intention to conscript labour for air-raid precautions work in peace time.

In the event of war, said Sir Thomas bluntly, each individual would be assigned by authority his suitable position according to age and. capacity. Anyone who had in peace time chosen another form of service would not be exempted from any obligation Parliament might impose if war came. He would not escape because he had enrolled for something more attractive. But there could be no compulsion in peace.

As a principle of allocation, Sir Thomas pointed to the downward age limits fixed. Men from 25 upwards were invited to join the fire brigades, not because it was intended to fill the brigades wholly or largely with men between 25 and 30, but because some young men were required. Men of 25 or 26, if in good health, Sir Thomas advised to join the Territorial Army.

The Metropolitan Police would not be adequate to deal with the emergency of a massed air attack on London. Their war reserve must be forthe main part comparatively young and active. Police services in war might be as dangerous and call for the same qualities as the Territorial Army. It was not possible to sort everybody into his right place in peace. But age limits might be adjusted and every effort was being made to guide the flow of volunteers to the proper channels. A good supply for all auxiliary services, but still much room, was Sir Thomas's summary of the present position.

EMERGENCY PREPARATIONS. Sir Thomas, in a broadcast on Imperial defence, said that joint plans had been prepared by the Navy and Air Force for every emergency and providing for complete trade protection.

"Some of our greatest scientists are helping in the task of air defence, and some of their very latest discoveries are already coming into use," he added. "An enemy may expect to encounter some formidable and perhaps unexpected forms of defence." The plans for defence against air attack were elaborate and widespread. They needed to be, for the attack may come anywhere, first in one place and then in another. Fighter aircraft of the Air Force, specially designed to intercept and attack raiding machines, would work in combination with ground defences, including the antiaircraft guns and thousands of searchlights and balloon barrage. "New types of guns are now being produced for this purpose," said Sir Thomas. "They will, from this time onwards, come steadily into the defence system. Up-to-date instruments are being supplied with the guns. Special rapid-firing guns are being made to protect important points against low-flying raiders. In addition to these military preparations, plans for transport in an emergency are in hand. Steps have been taken for the storage of important foodstuffs and raw materials to tide us over a period of dislocation.

AIR ARM AND THE NAVY. "There is one other form of defence. We cannot dispense with powerful, long-distance machines which can resist attack by destroying the enemy bases. There is, however, a great deal to think about beside our own dangers from the air. Air Force squadrons are required overseas to protect our key points. "The Navy must have bases and fuelling stations. The mercantile marine has to be looked after all over the world. For this reason our defended ports abroad are essential to the safety of the Empire." There was, too, the need for being ready to give a helping hand to the Dominions, the colonies, and to our allies in case of need.

"AH of us want peace," Sir Thomas said in an appeal to listeners to offer themselves for what national service they were best fitted for. "No one, I hope, is going to give up working for peace. Meantime, we have our duty and our responsibilities. Even if our island or Empire is not immediately concerned, the world is so close knit that when troubles begin to spread, we may have no honourable way of avoiding them. If that day should ever come, the strength of our country and its ability to defend itself will be the sum total of what each of us has given to it."