FEAR OF WAR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23175, 22 October 1938, Page 10

FEAR OF WAR

BRITISH PBECAUTIONS HUGE COST ENTAILED SERVICES* EQUIPMENT HOME DEFENCE SCHEMES [from a special correspondent] LONDON, Oct. 8 Although negligible compared with the costs of a war, the "no-war" bill run up in Britain in the last few days of September is estimated to have reached £44,000,000. Here are the details of what the last-minute precautions and preparations cost the country. THE SERVICES Admiralty (Mobilisation of the £ Navy, etc.) .. .. 12,000,000 [War Office (Troop movements, partial calling-up of Territorials, manning of anti-aircraft units, organising the Women Territorials, etc.) .. .. 3,000,000 Air Ministry .. .. .. 2,000,000 AIR RAID PRECAUTIONS Bespitators (40,000,000 at 2s 6d each issued to the civilian population) .. .. .. 6,000,000 Respirators (issued to volunteers, police and other services) . . 250.000 Trench-digging tenders to contractors (at least 100,000 workmen have been employed throughout the country) , . 2,000,000 Timber for strengthening trenches . 1,200,000 Sandbags (100,000,000 have been distributed by the Home Office to local authorities — cost, including purchase of sand, local labour employed filling them, etc.) 2,000,000 Posters and handbills (including Government's bill for emer- nnnnn gency printing orders) . .. 600,000 LONDON COUNTY COUNCIL Hospital re-equipment (placing the hospital stores on a wartime basis) 250.000 OTHER AUTHORITIES Precautions laken by gas. water and electricity undertakings 1,000,000 Cost to local authorities of supplementing fire-fighting appliances and on public defence measures .. • • • • 4,000,000 loss of trade to retail distributors .. • • • • 11,000,000 Xotal 44,200,000 Within the few crisis days of intense activity the Air Raid Precautions Department of the Home Office sanctioned ithe spending of something like £13,000,000 —equal to the whole of tho amount budgetted for the financial year not only for Home Office defence measures, but also for those planned by local authorities. * Local authorities are demanding that the Government shall pay the w hoU of the expenditure during the past 10 days. Many districts, it is urged, will be wholly unable to meet the bill from the rates.