CIVIL AID

Taranaki Daily News, 3 December 1938, Page 7

CIVIL AID

British Official Wireless.

DEFENCE PLANS t y , ■ - .. . v, ■ VOLUNTARY REGISTER T: '■£ SERVICE TO THE STATE BRITISH ORGANISATION

Roc. 9.10 psn. Rugby, Dee. L The eagerly awaited statemeni by Sir John. Andewon, Civil Defence Minister, on Ihe measurea the Government had decided to adopt to ensure that the manpower and womanpower were organised in the most effective and practicRl way for; vpltmtary service, was made in the Houlse of Commons to-day. Sir John Anderson intimated that he hoped to make similarly a comr prehensive statement soon on other aspects of the responsibilities with which he had been charged, namely, civil defence. Dealing with the national reglster, Sir John Anderson said that the Government had come to . the ooncluaion that a compulsory regiater waa not at prer sent necessary or deslrable, though' tt might become necessary and, for that reason. and so that lt could be speedily compiled, he was taking stepa to prer pare the necessary machinery for thb purpose. Biit the Government waa satisfied that all the immediate needk of the sltuatton could best be met by a voluntary reglster. ' Best' Service.; lt was an essential prellmlnary, however, that all who wlshed to serve the country should know how best their services could be utllised, It was therefore prOpoSed to publish a hand-book containing particulars of all the servicaa for" which volunteers were required, and ihdicatlng the types of men and women sultable for , each,' together with a 11st *f key ocoupations ln wlifich' lndivlduala» could best serve the State in a tlme of emergency by remainlhg at the work for which they had. been tr&lned. Regarding the list, the Miriistry of Labour had already done much prelhninary work classifying the . qccupations, but before settling final details there would be ia consultation with the respreeentatlvee of both sides of Industry.. . : In addition to this publlclty, and as preparation for the co-ordinated recruiting campaign for all the various iervicto for which volunteers were xwquiied, whidi it was hoped to launch early in the New Year,, he was eartablishing a ntftional , service organisation with local committees' throughout Ihe country Which would give full infonnation and guidaiice to individuala ia deciding where their duty lay. Definite Obligatioas. Sir John Anderson made lt clear it was intended to provide that persons vdunteerlng for certain claasea of clvlliait service should he invlted to undertake more definite obligatipns than had been expected hitherto. The Minister stated that the aim was to enrol sufflclent numbers. of recrults fo ixing each oi the various services up to the estlmated hequirements and obtain for each aervioe an adequate number of reserves. He siao Intimated that no qwmal legislation would be required ln eonoection with the proposals. ' ' After Sir John Anderaon aat down Mr. George Lansbury jumped up ahd exclsimed, "Do all these gigantic prepamtions mean the Govettlmettt's vl«w % that war' is inevitable7" Mr. Chamberlain replied sharpiy, "Certainly not" Speakiny ln the House of Commcms debate on. medical services ln civil defence, the Psrllamehtary Secretary to the Ministry of " Health, Mr. R. H. Bertrt,ya, deacrlbed plans for expansicm on a great scaie ln warttme. At the outbreak -of war the beet place for a. doctor would be with his own patients. Thereaftcr he would be direetod where the need wm greatest. A central regiater of nursee and nurelng auxillaries was being established. . HoasftalAocommodatlon. The Ministry had surveyed the hospital aecommodation of the country covering 400,000 beds" available for air raid casualtiea, and at the end of a fortaight an additional . 100,000 beds. Flrst aid posts. etc., were being circularlsed, and measurea were being taken to ensure that they were properly compiamsntary to the hospital services. Large quanttUes of equlpment were being dellvwed and more waa on order, and there wefn large stocks in the country. Iteferring to the ctearing of hoepitals, he s»id that during the crlsia the hospital evacuation scbeme for London could have been put into action at 12 houra' notiee. Preas comment is divided between favouring Sir John Andereon's voluntary scheme, preferring oompulsion or aecepting the voluntary plan as a tsat Tha Times, taking the laat-mentioned view, asks will the plan satisfy the nation, among which there is undoubtedly a lively feeling that the Government should have struck while the iron of relief at the Munich settlement was hot and demanded a drastic maajure of national organisation and training. "No doubt it is 1«« dramatic than e«M would have wiehed but it posaeesea the supreme virtue of offering aihorougb test of the public spirit of ffte natton,'* adds the Times. "Everything depente upon the response to the. appeal in the New Year." Not Sufficient The Daily Telegraph outspokenly declares that a measure which teps only part of the nation's manpower cannot be enough. A voluntary register reveals the numbers of those willing to offer teeir servibes but gives no gui^ance regarding those who are capable of giving eervice. "It will be difficult, if registratkm ia optional, for people in the mass to realise that it is their urgent duty and it will seem as though the Government is not very much in earnest after all," it adds. The News Chronlcle welcomea the voluntary scheme and hopes that agitation for compukion will now be dropped. It declares the scheme, to be good, must be accompanied by more inspired appeals than yet heard. "Let the Government show by deeds as well as words that 't intends to uphold democracy it homt and abroad and the register will soon be filled," it adds. The Daily Mail states that after skilfully arranging for a voluntary register and a compulsory emergency register, Sir John Anderson should satisfy both those who support the voluntary ahd compulsory systems. The Daily Herald does not comment. / — ■ sg ' SggS