Evening star., 1941-09-21
New York Thrones
See and Hear Stuff
War Is Made Of
Sound Film Of Air Ruid
On London Drumutizes
Defense Exposition
Nv the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
NEW YORK, Sept. 20-The
voices of the crowd had accents of
Manhattan and Queens, of Staten
Island, Brooklyn and the Bronx,
but somewhere a Scottish bagpiper
played furiouSly against the dry
whistling of bombs and the fire of
nti-aircraft guns emanating from
a giant movie screen, while over
head a red Searchlight flashed.
That was how it was today in
Grand Central Palace, when the
civilian and national defense ex-
position opened its doors to show
civilians the arms and necessities
of total war. 1t was the greatest
show since the fair of -1940-
and like the fair, it dealt with what
the world may be tomorrow.
New Workers stood silent while the
bagpipers played and the sound
film of an air raid on London was
shown. Then the citizens moved
on to Chamber over a 14-ton tank,
touch the smooth stub-wing of a
Navy dive bomber, watch the baleful
green spark of a SynchronlZed
machine gun blazing through the
blur of fighting planes propeller.
Banners Everywhere.
There were banners everywhere
1.-THE American Way of Life For
the Defense of Main Street"
Models of small cottages and big
homes, symbols of what the guns
and tank and the bomber had been
assembled to protect, stood in one
corner of the hall. And nearby
stood a trailer, a house on wheels.
yeah. we'll take care of that,
too." said a soldier, grinning when
q civilian asked a question. Its
somebody's home"
"A boy in a sailor suit, carrying
a tin drum, tapped the drumstlcks
on a wooden dummy of 500-pound
demolition bomb. His mother
pulled his arm, said Don't touch
that" and hurried him away.
With a group of girls around him,
a tall sergeant nodded toward a
portable pigeon loft sent from Fort
Monmouth, N. j. He looked at the
birds walking restlessly in their
cases, and muttered sure they al
ways come home
Across the floor a high school
youth tWirled an arrow on a chart,
and it stopped at phosgene gas:
''has the odor of new mown hay or
cut corn . choking lung irritant
-. deadly" Close to him was a gas
chamber, with pictures of planes
diving on roads filled with soldiers,
dropping gas bombs in streets filled
with civilians.
Beyond that was long table on
which lay a gas mask connected to
q glass sphere filled with smoke. A
pink electric bulb was dimly visible
through the smoke, but the air pass
ing into a jar of water on the other
side of the mask was perfectly clear.
They're handy" policeman said
somberly.
Could Shoot to Brooklyn.
In another corner a group formed
around the black snout of a rs MILL
meter pack howitzer. A placard
stated: range 54 miles" and an
orange circle showed that the radius
of fire covered much of New York
city.
THAT thing could shoot to Brook
iyn," said a man without hat.
The crowds flowed up the stairs to
the second and third floors, to visit
the defense clinic for small manu-
facturers, the Red Cross booth where
nurses were demonstrating how to
make bandages, the booths where
luminous pins were sold for blackout
wear.
"We've got everything" girl
said, turning to leave. Il hope we
don't have to use it."