Evening star., 1941-11-13
Civil Defense Office
Seeking Additional
Volunteers Today
Points Proudly to Aid
Already Given City
By Force Of 20, 900


ming to develop interest in civilian
defense when the Volunteer Service
Committee of the District Defense
Council conducted its city-wide reg
Istration of volunteers last June.
Today, as the Civilian Defense
Volunteer Office celebrates another
Sign Up for Defense Day" it can
boast reservoir of more than 20
600 persons who e~e available for
service as AFRAID wardens, typlsts,
trsnslators, teachers of folk dancing,
receptionists, craftsmen or what
have you.
In the brief time that has elapsed
since the first volunteers were signed
UP. the volunteer Office, under the
direction of Mrs. Harry S. Bernton,
has called some 1000 of its regis
trants to aid more than 80 different
agencies in scores of activities.
security Units Aided.
This aid has not been limited to
the units directly connected with the
civilian defense setup-the police
and fire auxiliary forces, air RAID
wardens. etc. Included in the groups
which have asked for and received
volunteer help are dozens OF local
health. social. welfare and CIVIC
agencies. In fact, the majority OF
reouests for volunteers has come
from community agencies whose
normal facilities for service nave
been taxed to the limit in this Doom
town. -.
"It's our duty to fill any JOB
which affects the maintenance OF
health and morale in our commu-
nitv," Mrs. Bernton explained: Inc
community agencies are an lmpol-
tant part of the whole clVlilan ue-
fense picture because OF the serV-
ices they provide for those VINO liVe
her. and those coming here for de-
tense jobs" ,.,;o
As A matter Of fact. the ClVlllan
Defense Volunteer Once mas mace
its service felt in so many directions
that newcomers to the big Federal
defense plant here would md IL
hard to escape meeting at least TWO
or three of the workers along the
line of entry.
They have workers at Union Sta
tion to greet them. Others help the
new arrival find living quarters
tstill another has Inspected the
room ahead of timel; one digs up
recreational pursuits, and some
serving in civil defense units, help
to provide protection.
The services of about 5000 OF the
10000 persons listed in the files OF
the Volunteer Office have been Oh
fered to the auxiliary fire and police
forces now being organized. Some
1900 others signed up for Red Cross
Motor Corps work and will be given
specialized training.
More than 600 women have given
many days of volunteer service 10
social agencies and about 200 plan
to take courses of instruction for
police duty.
Office Force Numbers 70.
The Volunteer Office, located in
nnpretentious quarters IN the old
National Hotel on Pennsylvania ave-
nue., is operated by a force OF 10
vorkers-alI of them volunteers ex-
cept Mrs. Dorothy Dulles Bourne,
the executive secretary, and Mrs. |
Robert N. Adams, Office secretary.
Each volunteer at the Office gives
at least one full day week, and
often two or three. They interview
registrants, operate the office switch
board, type or work on the card
index file of volunteers.
BY means OF q punch-card system
similar to that used by the Census
Bureau, the file worker can swiftly
produce the names of all volunteers
for a particular type of work. The
volunteers have been classed as
skilled semi skilled or merely in
terested" in a particular job. Cen
orally they are given type OF work
for which they have special abilities.
The Office staff feel that the files
contain a pretty good reservoir OF
talent, but they're out for more vol
unteers in their drive today. Regis
trations are being conducted at
Woodrow Wilson and Dunbar High
Schools.
AS part of the sign up for de-
Tense" celebration, the Office also
will broadcast a program. The
Voice OF the Volunteer" over WJSV
at $3.50 o'clock this afternoon. The
program will feature a round-table
discussion of the need of prepara-
ton for civilian defense by Mrs.
Raymond Clapper, Miss Craig Nc
Geachy of England, Countess Ga
briel de Gramont of Greece, George
Wendolowski. Second Secretary of
the Polish Embassy, and MS. G.
Rowland Chase of the Volunteer
ONCE.