ALARM IN LONDON

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXV, Issue 19622, 4 May 1938, Page 5

ALARM IN LONDON

MENACE OF AIR RAIDS DELAY WITH PRECAUTIONS WARNING STRENS LACKING CIVILIANS DEFEN( !E1 j ESS (Elec. Tol. Copyright—United Press Assn.) (Reed. May 4, 9 a.m.) LONDON, May 3. The City editor of the Daily Mail says that bankers and financial circles are alarmed over the lock of progress in air rearmament and are privately discussing action to impress their misgivings upon the Government. It is even suggested that a manifesto should be presented similar to the manifesto of 1931, which called on the Labour Government to retrench expenditure and re-establish credit. It is understood that the consideration by bankers on a public protest is due to the reluctance of the aircraft industry to speak out, owing to the possibility of contravening the Official Secrets Act, although there are many allegations of muddle and waste. Shelters and Trenches The News-Chronicle, in the same way, alleges inadequacy and muddle in the anti-air raid preparations, adding that civilians are still virtually defenceless. The News-Chronicle states that if war were to break out the Government would be unable to give warning of the approach of air raiders - the necessary sirens have not been manufactured. It is also stated that air raid shelters for the public caught in the streets are non-existent, that the suggested system of trenches in parks and open spaces is still incomplete on paper, and that the fire-fighting system is still not ready, while volunteers are lacking.

It is said that although France and Germany are enforcing laws that new buildings shall, comply with specifications providing for protection against fire and bomb splinters, the British Government for three years has watched the building of hundreds of blocks of flats and offices, of which only a fraction contain air raid precautions.

DISTURBING SIGNS INADEQUATE SYSTEM MISSION TO U.S.A. LONDON, April 25. The anxiety which has been growing regarding Great Britain's air strength is the subject of searching questions. Whitehall and the Air Ministry maintain their customary silence, but since the announcement of the proposal to send a mission to the United Slates to investigate the possibility of buying planes for the Royal Air Force, the pressure from the entire press (from The Times to the Daily Herald) has been so great that it is expected that the Prime Minister, Mr. Neville Chamberlain, will be forced to make a statement.

The position at present is shrouded in red tape and mystery. A paradoxical feature of the position is that while officialdom implies that all is as well as can be expected, authoritative critics denounce the existing system, which has created the necessity for sending the mission, as a product of indecision and mismanagement. They say that the failure of the system to produce results is disturbing proof of neglect of the nation's safety from air attacks.

The critics urge that the system needs scrapping and reshaping, and point to the mission as proof of past bungling. It is pointed out that even the precise nature of the mission is not known, although it is believed that it will consider the purchase of machines.

It is said that the mission is likely to scare the public into believing thai war is imminent and that it will also advertise to Germany and Italy thai Great Britain is not in a position to aid her allies. There is also the risk of investing the Anglo-French talks with the flavour of military conversations.

Despite official denials, it is stated that the Government is publically admitting that the Royal Air Force is at present of little value for defence when compared with the German and Italian air forces, which have specialised in long-range bombers in which the R.A.F. is believed to be weak Critics declare that if war came overnight Britain would have difficulty in defending herself against aerial bombardment.

The Government admits that the air raid precautions are far from being completed, partly because the authorities have been unable to attract a sufficient number of volunteers.