The Coolidge examiner., 1941-06-27
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N DON ROAnSSON
DON ROBINSON


OF agencies, bureaus, boards, divi-
sions, offices and administrations
working on it, our American towns
would be prepared to handle any
emergency imaginable.
have just contacted about 80
government and semi-government
agencies to ask them this one
question, What are you doing
about home town preparedness? ?"
Practically all of them claim to be
doing something along this line
and a good many of them consider
the protection of small towns and
rural areas to be their major job.
The thing that amazed me most
was the scope of subjects which
the government has tide up with
our defense program. l was under
the impression that local defense
was pretty much limited to home
guards, police emergency squards,
fire brigade reserves, ambulance
service and other things aimed at
prepartion for possible disasters.
But found that the defense pro-
gram enters into practically every
phase Of our living-the food we
eat, the health of our children, our
farm production, unemployment
relief, social security, our expendi-
ture Of money and the things our
children learn in school.
1t is an all-inclusive program
which aims to combine social well
fare and the welafare of demo-
cracy and freedom by relating our
whole way of life to the defense
of our nation.
HOME-FRONT councils
The government group which
has undertaken the most wide
spread program of community de-
Tense is the division of state and
local cooperation of the Office of
Emergency Management. That di-
vision acts as clearing house for
practically everything that is done
on the home front and guides
many of the other agencies in de-
filming the specific job which they
are to do.
The division of state and local
cooperation has set up a model
plan for a council of state defense,
headed by the governor of each
state, which has been adopted by
all but three or four states. 1t also
has set up a council of local de-
tense which has been adopted by
over 1000 communities and is
now being considered by thousands
of others.
AGRICULTURE agents
l never thought of the U. S. de-
partment of agriculture. as having
very much to do with defense, ex-
cept for seeing to it that our sol
diers get three square meals a day,
but 1 found that departments is
actually the most important de-
fense agency in rural America.
The extension service of the de-
partment has 5000 paid workers,
100000 local volunteer leaders and
100000 All club boys and girls
all lined up to act as communica-
tion agents between the White
House and the grass-roOts Of
America. Through it's county
agent organization it is furnishing
all sorts of valuable information
about the resources Of each coun-
ty for farm and factory produc-
ton.
Another department of agricul-
ture division, the surplus market
ing administration, is working out
the problem of making surplus
foods best serI the health-defense
needs of Great Britain, or our
army and navy, of refugees
throughout the world and of our
own low-income classes.
Still another branch, the Tnrm
Security administration, is handl
ing the problem of relocating farm
families displaced from their
homes by defense purchases of
land and is planning housing for
workers.
SERVICES generals
Without writing a book ON the
subject, 1 can't hope to give an
adequate picture of what dozens of
other government branches are
doing to aid defense. But here's
an idea of the scope of it: