Evening star., 1940-12-09

Holland. Belgium and France" con-
verged on London, sticks Of incen-
diaries were dropped on certain dis
tricts and whole blocks Of houses
were set on fire. A rain OF high
explosive bombs followed. converting
burning houses into heaps Of rubble. ="
The morning communique Of the
Air Ministry and the Ministry Of
Home Security announced that there
had been a severe attack "on Lon
don and surrounding districts. Many
fires were started. The fire services
put most of them out while the
attack was still in progress. Con-
siderable damage was done to build
ings, including many dwelling
houses"
Different Locale.
There is a little more about activi-
ties on the south and east coasts,
none of it more detailed or more
colorful.
The communiques somehow seem
to describe a different locale and
phase of existance from that in
which one lives these days. Things
happen in them after a fashion
You never find out why, where. or
when.
Last night you knew that the
"schrecklichkeit" terroD had come
back when magnesium stars began
to spatter the darkening sky. You
didn't have to hear the engine num-
murs to know that dozens of planes
were overhead, and with experience
Of weeks of bhtz as background,
you didn't have to be told what
their target was.
Dark had hardly come before the
red glow had begun to pick out
spires and towers on the distant
skyline After that. for many hours,
there was no night.
Geysers Of Flame.
From a roof in the middle of Lon
don it was possible to look out on
the spectacle that few have had the
misfortune to look upon here or
anywhere else-the broad river rid
ing down TO the sea, a glowing band
under red sky, its ancient bridges
arching across it in long monotony
of spidery black lines-geysers of
fame rising up to dim the questing
beams Of searchlights elbow
flashes where the ack-ack shells
were bursting in the foreground. blue
flashes where banks of mist filtered
the brilliance of roaring dynamite.
For some time the town seems
blitzed with fire. The air was heavy
with wood smoke, wisps of which
clung to the surface of the water
like steam. This, one supposed
must be what Chicago looked like in
the first hours of the big fire.
Fantastic Scene.
In and out of the noisy barrage
came the locust murmur of planes,
the roaring motors of the little fire
trucks, the clattering fiat wheels Of
trans. There somehow seemed to
be nothing odd about the fact that
trans should be running about in
hail Of chunks. In a scene so fan.
tastic as this no detail could be
considered out Of place.
You might have thought, looking
at all this, that London would be
mostly hot ashes by morning. but
if you thought that you would not
have had much experience here
abouts. Catastrophes start here so
often. and so seldom finish. The
fires on the skyline burned brightly
for while. Some went out, giving
place to others. Some continued to
smolder. But it was significant
that, without exception, all the fires
were confined to the buildings in
which they started. London's S
amateur fire department is still the
most amazing feature of the blitz.
There was no estimate of the
damage in the morning reports. 1t
was reported that nine hospitals
were hit. Two German airplanes
were knocked down during the pro-
ceedings. 1t seems hardly enough.
tCopyrisht. 1910, by Chicago Daily News,
Inc)