The Timaru Herald FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1938 TALK OF “MUDDLED DEFENCE PREPARATIONS.”

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLV, Issue 21179, 28 October 1938, Page 8

The Timaru Herald FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1938 TALK OF “MUDDLED DEFENCE PREPARATIONS.”

Mr Lloyd George’s declaration that Great Britain’s only excuse for “handing over Czechoslovakia wrapped in the Union Jack and the Tricolour to the ruthless dictator, was because of the country’s “muddled defence preparations.” The ex-Prime Minister gives place to no one in his ability to coin expressive phrases; indeed, he is a word spinner without comparison. It can be said, however, that although Czechoslovakia may have been handed to the wolves in an atmosphere entirely free from war blasts, rather than destroyed under the assaults of Germany’s mighty war machine, Great Britain’s war preparations were anything but muddled. To a world that has become accustomed to talk in hundreds of millions the British expenditure in the hours of crisis in providing those “muddled defence” that have aroused the mercurial little Welshman, may seem unimpressive. The facts are most illuminating. 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 Respitators (40,000,000 at 2/6 each issued to the civilian population) 5,000,000 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 emergency printing orders) 500,000 London County Council Hospital re-equipment (placing the hospital stores on a wartime basis) 250,000 Other Authorities Precautions taken 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 Total ............... £44,200,000 In spite of Mr Lloyd George’s castigation the records show that within the few crisis days of intense activity the Air Raid Precautions Department of the Home Office sanctioned the spending of something like £13,000,000 — equal to the whole of the amount budgetted for the financial year not only for Home Office defence measures, but also for those planned by local authorities. In comparison with the armament expenditure in Europe to day, Great Britain’s outlay may not appear impressive; nevertheless, the fact remains that the home defence schemes involved the Government and local authorities in expenditure totalling so many millions that would suggest something of the magnitude of the burden that would have to be borne if humanity should be plunged again into a World War.