Evening star., 1941-11-26

il we are needed. We may not have
to shoot until we see the whites of
the enemy's eyes but We can't wait
until then to prepare for civilian
defense Now is the time to get
ready, while we still have time for
training and organizing ourselves" !"
1t. Bingham's Office distributed
the canned sermons" on Roose-
velt's foreign policy which aroused
some criticism from American
clergymen. This is not the first in
stance of o. c. D. difficulties. The
0. c. D. enthusiasm division super
vised the aluminum-pot drive last
summer which was so poorly CO.
ordinated that pots collected in
July are only being delivered to the
smelters in November. Speciflca-
tions for airplanes had to be
changed before pot-and-pan alumni
mum could be used in plane con-
struction.
There is some lack of co-ordina-
ton. too. Mayor La Guardia's as
sistant director in charge of physical
fitness is John B. Kelly of Philadel-
phia. He had bright thought and
put his office to work developing a
nutrition chart to be hung in every
kitchen in America. simultaneously,
without the o. C. DIS knowledge,
the Office of Defense and Welfare
Service was perfecting a nutrition
chart for the American kitchen.
Mr.. Kelly's chart was published
first, and the Defense Health Or
ganization is still complaining.
Some Overlapping.
The truth apparently is that in
an organization of such vast extent
as the o. c. D. it is difficult for
the directors to determine where
its functions end and where an
other office begins to have jurisdic-
ton.
One feature of Civilian Defense
Week, for instance, was WAR
Against Waste Day." whose purpose
was Ito inform the public why and
how critical supplies required for
national defense and essential
civilian uses should be conserved"
The consumer division of the
Office of Price Administration has
a constant propaganda program
with that end in mind under way
In fact, 1t IS almost the central
purpose of the consumer division
to keep the public educated about
the WickedneSS of waste, and it
prefers to do it by constant pro-
gram. The consumer division ar
ranged the War Against Waste
Day" program for o. C. D., but
tried, in vain, to have its name
changed to Consumer Day"
Aside from the enthusiasm di-
vision activities of the o. c. D.,
Mayor La Guardia has made
progress. Five hundred firemen in
many cities are graduates now of
the school conducted at EdgeWood
Arsenal jointly by the Army Chemi-
cal Warfare Division and the o. G
D. to instruct fire fighters in deal
ing with incendiary bombs and
other missiles from the warning
skies. The 500 in turn are teaching
their colleagues at home, and three
more of the schools are going to
be set up.
The o. C. D. was responsible for
the introduction in Congress of
a bill providing a 100000 ap-
preparation to be used by the O. c.
D. in buying fire-fighting equip
ment, respirators and other ma
terials which most cities lack in
sufficient quantities now for the
unusual task of coping with the
after-horrors of an air raid.
Hopes for Priorities.
Most cities can't afford to buy
the equipment. Most cities couldn't
buy 1t II they could afford it be-
cause of the priorities problem. The
Mayors hope is that because of his
; position and because his office L
part of o. E. M. he can get spe.
cial consideration in priorities. car
; buy the equipment for the Fedora
Government and then assign it tC
the cities which need it most. Those
cities lie in the 30O-mile limit
the Vulnerable zone" stretchins
300 miles back from the seacoasts
The o. C. D. is enrolling 10000
nurses aides. With the Nationa
: Association of Manufacturers an,
insurance companies it has estab
lished a school at Massachusetts In
stitute of Technology for training
7 shop stewards in the matter of pro
, tecting industrial equipment durin
; air raids.
The organization of the o. c. D.
divided into nine regional divisions
, co-equal with the Army corps areas
t The regional divisions set up Stat
Offices, but below that level tn
State Governors are supposed t
/ work for the organization of tn
local committees.
) The o. G. D. has found som
} States where the program Is nc
. pushed hard-Ohio. for instance. /
order to Get . backare Ia the ca