Evening star., 1942-04-30
Farley Is Called
ToAir Defense
Control Dispute
Friede Opposes
Decentralization of
Communication Plan
BY DON S. WARREN.

ny DUN >. WAhREN.
Dispute over the proposals Of
Federal o. c. D. Director James M.
Lands for decentralization and
other changes in the Districts COM
munications control system will be
aired tomorrow at a conference of
municipal officials with Commits
sioner Young, metropolitan civilian
defense co-ordinator.
The record of reports on the issue
shows battle already has developed.
for Herbert A. Friede. superin-
tendent of the District fire alarm
system and chief of communications
for civilian defense here. denies
fatty that the control system broke
down at the last blackout test or
that there is good reason for estab-
fishing four or more subcontrol CEN
ters, as Mr.. Lands suggested.
Col. Lemuel Bolles, civilian de-
fense director under Co-ordinator
Young, sides with the Lands recon-
mendations, suggesting there should
be a full-time controller" for COM
munications and six subcontrol GEN.
tiers, each with its own staff and
with at least a measure of local
control over handling of personnel.
equipment and problems resulting
from enemy air raids.
Effectiveness Under Fire.
The seriousness of the situation is
illustrated by the charges and
countercharges as to the effective
mes sof the present communications
control system and the system sug-
gested in the Lands report.
Mr.. Lands, in a statement re-
leased by Co-ordinator Young for
publication last Sunday, stated that
had there been an enemy attack
at the time of the lasst blackout
test there would have resulted "in-
calculable loss of life and property"
In his written reply, released yes
terday by Mr.. Young, Mr.. Friede
said that If the installation and op-
Grafton of the control center or CEN
ters were turned over to civilian
personnel the result would be chaos
and confusion"
Mr.. Friede, in declaring there is
no advantage in having many con-
troll centers and that such a plan
was not favored by municipal signal
engineers, said:
Since the communications svs-
tenn affects all branches of the
municipal government, especially
the emergency departments such as
fre, police, sewer, water and high
way, 1t must now be decided If the
existing operation methods of these
departments shall be changed to
fsmeet an entirely new and untried
Ifscheme or that it may be more ef-
l1ect1ve and efficient to train newly
formed emergency agencies such as
Wardens and so forth, to adapt
themselves to a tried and proved
plan which has been in existence in
our American cities for many years.
'Unworkable" for Cities.
III the communications system
now operated by the municipality
shall cease to function and these
matters turned over to civilian per-
sonnel for installation and opera
ton in strict accordance with the
pamphlet on control centers, which
cannot be applied to every city liter
ally and which Is unavoidable be-
cause 1t does not fit the functional
plan OF all cities, the result would
be chaos and confusion"
A central feature of the debate Is
that the control center is a unified
system in Fire Alarm Headquarters
at Mcmillan Park, near the filtra-
ton plant and reservoir there. which
are regarded as possible detectives
OF enemy bombers On the other
hand it is argued that communica-
tions can be dispatched through
Municipal Center Building phones
National 5000 and National 1000 in
case of need.
Denying that the control center
was unable to handle its job during
the last blackout test, Mr.. Friede
said incoming reporting of "inci-
dents" and their handling by chiefs
OF service was confused because. for
one thing, there were far too many"
spectators there for efficient opera
ton. He charged that lack of in
structions to wardens as to Use of
telephones "jammed" the Chesa-
peake and Potomac Telephone Co.
facilities, so as to make it impos-
sible to contact the control center.
He added that this would have
occurred had there been 20 con-
troll centers in operation.
SooS Enuinv~,o-x It'll
Furthermore, he added. the con-
troll center or control centers can
dispatch only so many pieces of
apparatus and man power to scenes
OF lnc1dents-dependent on the
numbers of equipment and men
regardless of how many calls are
received or could be received at con-
troll centers.
Answering the Lands declaration
that a control center plan for the
District had not been reduced to
writing, Mr.. Friede told the Com
mlssloners that a control system
plan was placed in writing before
the Federal o. C. D. pamphlet was
issued, and that subsequently a re-
pcio va ehiAo pldil WdS SuDIIllpb6Q 10
Col. Bolles last March 25. In an
other place in his statement Mr..
Friede said no reply had yet been
received from Col. Bolles.
On the Lands suggestion that
there be named full-time controk<
Ter for communications, Mr.. Friede
said:
The Office of Civilian Defense
does not define what or who a con-
troller shall be. Evidently they are
not aware that municipalities have
communications engineers who have
had many years of experience in
emergency communications and who
are directly responsible to the mu-
nicipal officials"
Mr.. Friede also advised the Com
that definite instruc-
tions" should be prepared to outline
to each of the various emergency
services just how and when they are
to be mobilized on the several air.
raid warning signals.