Evening star., 1942-05-24
New0.C.D.U Unit
SET Up in Fight
On Sabotage
Personnel Of 200
To Handle Job;
Director Sought

A new. division in the Ofi1ce OF
Civilian Defense with a staff Of
about 200, including specialists and
clerical personnel, will handle the
anti-sabotage job given o. c. D.
last week by the President, 1t was
learned yesterday.
The new setup, for which chief
is now being sought, will be sepa-
rate from any other part of o. c.
D. and will be directly responsible
to o. C. D. Director James M.
Lands.
Several persons, it was UNDER
stood, are under consideration for
the task of giving anti-sabotage
measures a shot in the arm. Dean
Lands planned to interview sew
eral prospects while on his current
trip to the West Coast.
Liaison Men in Division.
The division will include liaison
men with the various Federal agen-
cies which already are doing anti
sabotage work as we'll as special
lists in highway protection and pro-
lection of such installations as
locks, canals and bridges, and ex-
perts on various kinds of plant pro-
lection.
The Army and Navy will furnish
lists of plants which are now work.
ing on materials for them and Will
determine the priority in which
further steps to protect them will be
taken. 1t was made clear that anti
sabotage measures will be country
wide since there have been several
explosions in Iowa"
State and municipal governments
and plant owners will probably be
required to take over the lions share
of the protection job. One possibil-
ity was that soldiers who have been
guarding essential installations
would be relieved for combat duty
and the plants and facilities would
be guarded by women. and older
men not engaged in war produc-
ton.
Few Field Inspectors.
The o. C. D. itself will not hire
an army of guards. 1t will work
through existing facilities and pos
sibly will have a few inspectors in
the field.
Unlike other phases of o. c. D.
work, the anti-sabotage job will
not be done by volunteers. it was
made clear. Plants will hire more
guards and States will expand their
police and fire-fghting forces to
guard essential facilities.
The States, it was thought, would
be able to provide additional per-
sonnel through curtailment of pub
lie works and other non-essential
construction.
The 0. C. D. division will be
planning rather than an operating
outfit. The first step, already un-
der way, will be finding out what
needs protection and what has been
done to protect it. The division
will then work out plans to extend
and perfect what is now being done,
tie up the work of the existing agen-
cies to prevent duplication of effort
and make sure that industry and
the States are doing all that can
~ 0OAlS W PAObNNS oSol4lol SoOOIdSCs
o. c. ID. Granted Power.
Action will be subject to the ap-
proval of the Secretary of War, but
the President has given o. c. D.
the power to require the adoption
Of measures it deems necessary.
The division will be responsible.
through existing agencies, for the
protection of communications, air
commerce, highway transportation.
rail transportation. public buildings,
forest, brush and grass lands under
the jurisdiction of the Departments
of Agriculture and Interior, min
erals, gas utilities, power and irri-
cation, domestic water supply, food
stuffs and storage of such materials
as flbers, naval stores and vegetable
oils.
Such measures as are taken will
be supplementary to and integrated
with the protective programs al
ready ordered by the President to
be established by the Army, Navy
and Federal Power Commission.