AIR-RAID DEFENCES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 99, 24 October 1938, Page 10

AIR-RAID DEFENCES

TRENCHES TO REMAIN

HOARDERS AND PROFITEERS

(By Air Mail, from "The post's" London Representative.) LONDON, October 3.

The Home Office has issued instructions to local authorities urton the degree to which the recent intense. A.R.P. activity should be sustained in view of the rolling stock of thr war clouds. The.' equipment; of' the ; civil population with gas: masks is -to be continued and completed, arid the" shelter trenches already aug are to be preserved; but no new trenches are to be. dug and no new < contracts for material concluded. "\..

- "It would be unutterably foolish at this moment to act as though all must now be plain sailing," says ■"The Times." "Indeed, if this country had been stronger and better defended earlier the present brighter prospects might have appeared long ago, and the stronger this country can make herself in the future "th 2 more certain it will be that these prospects will jnot fade. The public must not feel yet that they are out of the wood, for! the forest of, problems through which Europe is struggling is very extensive, No form, therefore, of that greater activity in defence which the crisis has evoked should be allowed to fade away. On the contrary, the maintenance of that activity is the best guarantee that the danger we have escaped will not recur."

Eight tube stations will remain closed for the present. The reason given officially for their closing was that urgent structural work was necessary. It is understood that this consisted of reinforcing the tunnels under the Thames to prevent any possibility of flooding. ' .

It has been decided to continue the intensive drive for volunteers for air raid precautions duties. It-is now hoped to reach the total of 1,000,000 Volunteers before the end of the year. Gas masks arc to remain out. Boxes are to be issued to enable people to store theirgas masks safely. There are attractive handbags in the West End shaped to carry a mask and priced at 2s each. Work begun by the employers on air raid shelters to protect their work people is to continue. ' - EVACUATION FROM LONDON. Not the least interesting and -complete of the many details that had been finalised Was the plan for the evacuation, without charge, of so»ie 2,000,000 civilians and children from the ] heavily-populated and vulnerable dis- j tricts. Those evacuated would} not! have the choice of destination. Each person would obtain at his destination a. special franked postcard so that the address could be received by relatives or friends. All transport, food, and financial arrangements had been provided for and instructions were given regarding useful clothing. In the case of children, the Government would pay the householder 10s 6d a week, and 8s 6d for each child if more than one child !is taken. In the case of adults, the I Government had arranged to pay at first, but it. was expected that those who could afford, to contribute to the cost of their billet .would da so.

NO SYMPATHY WITH HOARDERS.

In spite of the fact that people were assured that there was food in plenty for immediate needs and that no rationr ing would be enforced 'for two weeks, a number of people immediately ordered large quantities of .supplies. But when relief came they tried to, return the surplus things they " had ordered. There is no sympathy for the hoarder: of perishable provisions, and retailers can refuse to take them back. The treasurer of a London hos T pital suggests that the hoarders who would like to express gratitude for the relief which all citizens must feel at the altered circumstances should send these stores to the hospitals. There is not a hospital in London that has not been put to considerable expense, ho points out, in the provision of gas decontamination facilities, additional operating theatres, arid- medical arid surgical requirements of all kinds, and the outlay cannot be recovered.

There were evidently no food profiteers, but there were profiteers in other departments. For instance: Sandbag prices leaped overnight from 2Jd to 7£d, and .sometime* more; corrugated iron went up by two and three hundred per cent.; picks normally, sold at 3s were being sold at 10s; spades which usually cost 3s went up to 7s and more; sand and ballast in many parts of the country rose by more than 200 per cent.

The demand for "safe" homes in the country districts also led to outrageous prices being charged to people who were anxious to evacuate their families from the towns. Country cottages that had previously been let at 10s a week jumped up to £2 a week and more; country houses that had previously been on estate agents' books af £500 to £1000 jumped to £1500 and £3000.

West, country police are investigating a big gas mask fraud. A gang of men have travelled through country districts ahead of air raid wardens informing villagers that in order to get a gas mask they must pay 2s 6d ' in advance. They are believed to have defrauded villagers of a large sum of money. Police have descriptions of some of the men.