NATIONAL EMERGENCY.

Taranaki Daily News, 5 August 1937, Page 6

NATIONAL EMERGENCY.

The Ptime Minister, Mr. M. J. Savage, is ' to be commended for his decision to proceed with a comprehensive scheme to deal with any national emergen'cy that may, occur. No better illustration of the need for such a scheme could b« provided than the Napier earthquake, Sudden and almost total disruption of all the essential services in the stricken area resulted in chaos that could have been dealt - with much more effectively had the community been already organised to meet such a contingency. After the earthquake a step in the right direction was made by the installation at the main centres of special radio facilities under coritrol of the Post and Telegraph Department, but a great deal of additional preparation ought yet to be done. A central authority should be constituted, with subsidiary committees in each centre of population, such committees to arrange in turn for the thorough control of all essential branches of community service should the need arise. Transport, informatiori, medical and hospital service and the preservation of law and order are typical of the avenues along which organisation for national emergency should proceed. ' No doubt it is something of this nature that Mr. Savage has in mind. The value of preparedness for national calamity, however seldom it comes, is immense.