Evening star., 1942-06-01
DC. toAdvise
On Equiippiing
Warden Posts
Standards Will Be Set
And Spending Will
Be Supervised

Prompt steps to set definite
standards for the equipment of
warden posts and to supervise the
spending of funds raised by civilian
defense committee solicitation are
promised today by the city's new
chief air raid warden, William j.
Mileham.
Mr.. Mileham reported that a
civilian defense area head had
called him yesterday to ask his
advice as a result of the article
published yesterday in The Star
in which 1t was pointed out that
the national Office of Civilian De-
fense was revising its handbooks
to eliminate equipment whose pur-
chase might cause shortages. An
OCD spokesman was quoted as
saying that local civilian defense
heads should guide and assist
areas in applying the standards
set in the revised handbooks to
their individual situations.
The chief air raid warden said he
had advised the area chairman to
go ahead with the mass meeting
he had planned, but also informed
him that definite steps would be
taken to decide what equipment was
needed.
The spending of funds, he said,
was one of the things that would
be taken up at a meeting with De-
fense Co-ordinator John Russell
Young, Col. Lemuel Bolles, execu-
tive of District defense, and prob
ably some national o. C. D. expert.
$780, 900 Is Goal.
There's too much money being
raised by committees to Just have
them spend it any way that takes
their fancy" Mr.. Mileham declared
Some Of them are raising IS 900
and $4,000 and Just leaving it up
to one or two people to decide how
1t is to be spent"
A survey by The Star of half the
areas last week brought to light the
fact that about $4,000 already has
been raised through neighborhood
solicitation in those communities
and it was estimated that the goal of
all the areas amounts to about
5000 900.
Mr.. Mileham said he believed
supervision was essential to prevent
waste OF money. He said he be-
lieved 1t was a function of local
defense officials to tell the area COM
mittees what type of materials, out
side of operating expenses, they
should spend money for. AS an ex-
ample, he pointed out that some
areas were spending as much as SIS
for strip pumps when they soon
will be on the market for only a
few dollars.
Some of the posts he has visited,
he said, have very little equipment
while others "are stocked up like
hardware stores"
Definite Instructions Needed.
Nobody has definitely ordered
that the money raised by the posts
should be spent for a definite pur-
pose," he said. "And until definite
instructions are issued this confu-
sion over money-raising and its ex-
penditure will continue"
A spokesman for local 0. c. D.
told The Star last week that the
raising and spending of funds was
"a neighborhood affair" neither ap-
proved nor disapproved by the local
civilian defense heads.
The chief warden said he believed
some effort should be made for uni
formity in protection. People in the
poorer areas, he declared, shouldn't
lack protection because they lack
money to buy it.
"It makes for a very inequitable
situation" he asserted, ito have
same areas able to spend q great
deal of money and others without
a nickel"
He said he would 60 into the
question of uniform protection when
he confers with Commissioner
Young and Col. Bolles but said he
didn't know what remedy could be
arrived at without Government
funds,