Evening star., 1942-10-04
THE SUNDAY STAR WASHINGTON, D. c. OCTOBER L. 1912
Committee Named
To Hasten Plans
For Raid Shelters
New Group Will Make
Arrangements to Keep
Places Open "a Hours

A committee to coordinate the
wor kof providing shelters for Dis
trict citizens caught on the streets
during air-raid tests or actual raids
was named yesterday by Defense Co.
ordinator John Russell Young.
The committee will be responsible
for finding and making arrange
ments with owners or lessees to
make space available on a 24-hour
basis, If possible. for those on the
streets during raids or tests.
An agency to handle this job on
a city-wide basis has been urged
for some time by officials who have
pointed out that the blackout reg
ulations provide that the streets
must be cleared of motorists and
pedestrians when the AFRAID alarm
sounds, but that no arrangements
have been made for sheltering those
who are caught on the streets.
School Survey Complete.
The three-man committee will
include the new assistant engineer
commissioner, Col. Joseph D. Ar
thur; Chief Air-Raid Warden Will
liam j. Mileham and Corporation
Counsel Richmond B. Keech.
AS long ago as December, the
commissioners charged the Engi-
neer Commissioner with setting up
shelter survey. Committees, in
cluding representatives Of the CT
william committee and the warden
service and an engineer, were set
up in each of the civilian defense
areas. Supervising their work was
the AFRAID shelter survey section
of the Engineer Department.
They were charged with finding
the safest places in 1853 school build
ings as well as approximately 1,1OO
fireproof buildings, including thea
ters, apartments, hotels and office
buildings. The school building sur
vey has been completed, and about
500 of the buildings have been sur
veyed.
Col. Beverly Snow, who was as
sistant Engineer Commissioner until
yesterday, was in charge of the
work, which also included making
plans for actual construction of
shelters if they are ever needed.
More Buildings Sought.
The last. surprise daylight test
and the more recent surprise black
out made it clear. however, that
some form of shelter from flying
splinters and anti-aircraft shrapnel
would have to be provided on CITY,
wide basis, particularly since the
blackout regulations ordering people
of the streets could not be enforced
as long as there was no place to go.
Under the new committee, accord
ing to District officials. wardens will
explore their neighborhoods to find
other than fireproof buildings whose
owners would agree to open them
as emergency shelters Owners will
be asked to sign agreements worked
out by the corporation counsel's
onice. The engineers already on
shelter committees in the various
areas will make their surveys and
report to the shelter survey section,
which, in turn, will report to the
Engineer Commissioner. He will
make his recommendation to the
chief air-raid warden as to the
number of persons who should use
the shelter and the safest part of
the building. The final report will
go to the wardens who will 60 back
to the building owners or leSsees
At the same time, the new COM
mittee will work with the shelter
survey section to speed up the sur
vey of fireproof buildings and to
make final arrangements with their
owners. The final step, as previ-
ously outlined in discussing the
shelter problem, will be the desie-
nation of shelters with appropriate
arrows and markers.