Evening star., 1941-08-02
(Last OF a Series.J
BY ALLAN NEVINS,
Pulitzer Prize Winning Historian.

NEW YORK, Aug. 2 (NA.NA0-
Every time I visited a heavily
bombed town in Great Britain some
one pointed out to me that the de-
struction was not an unnitigated
evil. A. vast amount of wretched
housing and bad architecture had
been blown away with the fine
buildings.
In city after city the high explo-
sives had fallen heaviest on the
poorer districts. In London on the
north side of the Thames I found
the most appalling damage to hous-
ing by taking a tram from Liver
pool street into the area back of
the East India docks. On the south
side of the Thames I found it in
the impoverished sections of Roth
erhithe and Bermondsey. Exten-
sive stretches of ruined slum hous-
ing here will never be lamented.
1t was the same in Birmingham,
in Liverpool, and along the Clyde.
Land mines in these cities-a ton
of high explosives dropped by para
chute and exploding on contact so
as to exert their destructive force
laterally-had sometimes leveled a
whole block.
THE cheap housing just COL
lapSed," a newSpaperman told me
in Birmingham. "A bomb would
smash the corner house that bas-
toned a row of buildings, and the
blast would topple them like match
board. I used to visit friends in one
such row. Once 1 noticed the wall
of the room bulging inward. I
called my friends attention to it.
Oh he said. I keep telling my
neighbor that he mustn't lean
against the wallP"
Slum Clearance Real Benefit.
Goering's clearance of both slums
and jerry building is a real bene-
fit. Moreover, in a city like Coven-
try the general smash makes pos
sible the creation of a civic center
and much-needed open spaces. In
Plymouth and Southampton it will
permit the rebuilding of shabby
business streets in dignifled and
commodious fashion.
All this is symbolic. Various
British institutions, ways of life and
tastes which are being smashed by
the war can be replaced by some
thing better, and Britons know it.
AS result of my six months sur
vey, might make out the following
list-admittedly very imperfect-of
wartime changes which seem likely
to have permanent results:
l. Much of the redistribution of
population may be permanent-and
may be decidedly beneficial. After
the war London will in all likeli-
hood remain permanently smaller:
towns like Worcester, oxford and
Durham will remain permanently
larger.
2. Agriculture has been rescued as
a basic occupation; and If some
powerful British groups have their
way, it will be kept in the impor-
tant position it has regained.
The primary reason for develop
4146 o4Atlo1A dS44 W a 114SIl
level is to enable it to make larger
contributions to national health.
Great dietary changes have recently
taken place in England as in Amer
lea. More emphasis is now thrown
on ''health-protection" foods as sup
Elementary to bodybuilding and
energizing foods. These health
conserving foods include milk, but
ter, fresh fruit, vegetables and eggs.
1t happens that these are just the
products which British agriculture
is best fitted to turn out.
Emphasis on Welfare Services.
3. Greatly increased emphasis
seems certain to be given to welfare
services of one sort or another.
Nursery centers, arrangements for
communal feeding, public baths.
laundries and community clubs and
maternity homes have been estab-
lished on a large scale. For London
mothers alone go houses were being
maintained this spring, with a Ca
pacity of 5000 births a month.
4. Town planning will have an
unprecedented opportunity after the
war. Hitherto planning has been