Evening star., 1942-09-01
Rush-Hour Drill
Shows Need Of
Shelter Areas
Action Is Promised
After Thousands Are
Stranded on Street
Pictures on Page B-f.)

With traffic snarls and late
arriving workers in the minority,
Washington carried through it's
first rush-hour AFRAID test this
morning, drawing from the Com
missioners a promise that imme-
date action would be taken to
designate AFRAID shelter areas
for refugees from the Street.
Entrances into the city were
damned with cars after the test and
some Government departments were
delayed from 80 minutes to an hour
IN getting started but officials were
generally pleased with the results
OF the test, which began promptly
at 7:3o am. The all clear was
sounded a half hour later.
Major flaw of the test as pointed
out by the Commissioners was the
failure of thousands of work bound
citizens to find shelter. In many
sections of the city when buses and
street cars unloaded their passen-
gers the shelter seekers had no
place to go.
Areas to Be Designated.
Defense Co-ordinator John Russell
Young said evacuation areas would
have TO be designated. II enough
are not provided by survey of l 100
structures now being made by Col.
Beverly Snow and a committee of
engineers, others will have to be
found, he said.
Col. Snow told reporters 500 sur
veys had been completed, in addi-
ton to those on public schools, and
that recommendations would soon
go to the warden service on the
safest place in each building studied.
He pointed out, however. that it was
up to individual building owners
whether or not they followed the
recommendations
Commissioner Guy Mason said he
believed organized surveys should be
made in each sector of the city to
insure that people would find refuge
at any hour of the day or night.
Baltimore Plan Submitted.
Col. Lemuel Bolles, executive
director of District Civilian Defense,
said Baltimore had submitted the
plan for shelter areas in operation
there, which had been turned over
to Col. Shows committee.
Commissioner Mason pointed out
that people could not be forced to
enter shelters unless they were
marked. He said that one Of the
objects of the black-out act was
to allow the Commissioners to take
over any area they needed for pro-
tecting civilians caught on the
street during air raids.
The Commissioners said they had
noticed people leaving buses and
streetcars as they had been required
to do, and then lining up on the
street.
Col. Snow pointed out that no
new construction is planned either
TO strengthen existing structures or
to build bomb shelters.
II and when Washington gets
repeated bombings instead of the
hi6-and-run raids that are expect
ed he said, land if the War Pro-
duction Board allows us the mate
rials, we will put up bomb shelters.
but none is contemplated now"
"One of Big Jobs Ahead"
The recommendation that war
dens will turn over to owners of
theaters, department stores, apart
ment houses, Office buildings and
similar structures include place
ment OF signs directing people to
proper areas. the number of people
a given part of the building can
accommodate and directions to pro-
vide separate areas for the normal
occupants of building and those
VINO come in from the street.
commissioner Young admitted
that Col. Shows work would not
completely deal with the problem
that arose today, since approved
nre-proof structures were not even
divided over the city but said this
was "one of the big jobs imme-
diately ahead"
Although the Commissioners were
well pleased by the cooperation of
all concerned, Commissioner Mason
complained that apartment houses
ne had checked were operating as
usual, and residents in the building
were not evacuated to previously
designated floors.
Minimum Of SnarIed Traffic.
Aided by advance knowledge and
traffic police on every busy corner.
working Washington succeeded in
carrying through the test with a
minimum of Snarled traffic.
A substantial number of the mora
than 100000 employees due at work
during the test period apparently
decided to beat the test downtown,
Traffic was heavy around am.
according to police, who reported for
duty at $50 a.m.-an hour-and-a-
half before they were ordinarily
scheduled for downtown corners.
Buses also went on revised sched-
ule, after orders were issued by the
Capital Transit Co. for the vehicles
to start out an hour ahead of their
regular times.
Thousands OF people, however.
inquired too close to the deadline
and were caught blocks from work.
Passengers filling buses on down.
town streets poured into every
See RAID TEST. Page A-40