Evening star., 1942-02-28
Defense Unit
Warned Against
Wasted Effort
Toft Advises Group
To Avoid Unnecessary
Committees

The 28 representatives from vari-
Gus Washington activities selected
by Welfare Director Conrad Van
Hyning as q Planning Committee
Of the voluntary participation d.
vision in the District civilian defense
setup met with local and Federal
defense officials last night and heard
warning against permitting un-
necessary effort to seep into the
organization.
Charles P. Taft. assistant director
of defense health and Welfare SER
vices of the Federal Security Agency,
advised the group to include in its
program every function, but to take
particular care that no unnecessary
committees are created.
You should not set up any COM
mittee unless it has a job to do,"
he said. IF you have a temporary
task to be attended to, form tenn
porary committee and disband it
after the work is done, thus clearing
1t from your books"
Hear bOlleS ana Daniels.
Mr.. Taft was one of three speakers
at the meeting, held at the Taft
House Inn, 1901 K street NV, and
presided over by Mr.. Van Hyning.
The others were Col. Lemuel Bolles,
executive director of the District
Defense Council, and Jonathan
Daniels, director of program plan
ming, voluntary participation divi-
sion, o. G. D.
The recreation task in the Dis
trict was described by Mr.. Taft as
particularly difficult in view Of the
numbers of baseball diamonds, ten
mis- courts and similar facilities
taken over as sites for temporary
Office buildings. He pointed out
that present estimates before Con-
gress call for at least 5000, 1000 to
replace them.
Urging the committee to provide
an overall representation of all
people interested in a particular
program, Mr.. Taft suggested that
the present is an ideal time to do
away with taboos of the past and to
meet a problem that is known to
exist. He cited that the extra push
resulting from the war emergency
affords a chance Ito get things done
that SHOULD have been done long
ago"
BolIes Sees Other Activity.
Earlier Col. Bolles told the group
that I'VE as a people don't know
the meaning of sacrifice in our
national interest" He said the o.
C. D. so far has devoted its atten-
ton mainly to completion Of the
protective services, but that. it now
is at the point at which it can turn
to other activity.
Mr.. Daniels, praising Mrs. Roose-
welt for the impetus she gave the
civilian defense program, declared
that people of America want to
mobilize and to be modified, that
they are impatient for "purposeful
participation" In the serious aspects
of war. He said the community
services will play an important part
In the emergency. both in relieving
the public from the impacts in store
for it and in conserving labor and
materials.
In closing the meeting, which he
called a pep" session, Mr.. Van
Hyning told the Planning Commit
tee that one reason he had called
for its organization was Ito have a
fairly representative body of citizens
to share the responsibility with me"
He explained that its duty will be to
initiate plans and obtain action Of
all matters relating to community
services.
Another meeting, at which the Or
ganiZation will be projected, he said,
will be held within the next two or
three weeks.