Evening star., 1943-03-22
BY HELEN KIRKPATRICK.


LONDON. March p. Plymouth.
the population of which dropped
nearly 100000 IN 1871 after the NaM
blitz. has now quarters Of its
preWar population living in the
midst OF devastation as bad as any
thing Britain has seen.
The rccuperatiye powers of this
city Of 100000. or perhaps the
stamina of this tough DeyonShWc
people. is nothing short OF amazing.
No matter what section of the city
is visited the scenery is the same
row on row Of shells that were once
homes. square after square which
once formed Plymouth'S shopping
and cIvic center 1t all 1ooks-tWo
years after It's worst raids-aS one
imagines Guernica looked IN the
old days when the bombing Of cities
Mortified the civilized world
Shortage of labor and full time
occupation of all PlymouthIans has
made the cleanup Of the devastation
impossible up to now But it Is
being tackled tOday-by the women
Of the city. Squads Of women rang
ing in age from 16 to 40 are pulling
down the tottering walls, separating
bricks from wood and SalVagmg pits
of metal And. judging from the
ones with whom I talked they are
enjoying he work enormously.
Shopping Arcade.
One of the principal problems,
when a town has lost the bulk OF
Its shopping centers IS what to do
to replace them when no rebuilding
Is permitted, Plymouth has solved
it uniquely. The old markets nave
now been converted into a shop
ping arcade. Former drugstoreS and
dry goods and Woolworth counters
are compete with vegetables. fish
and meat for the attention Of house
wives.
And from the viewpoint Of the
housewives, 1t is a sensible, time
saving arrangement. Complete lack
Of any domestic help calls for care
ful planning Of the housewives time.
Children must be taken on market
mg and shopping expeditions. Plym-
out has nursery schools, but like
most other cities, not nearly enough.
Sixteen Of the City'S schools were
totally destroyed and 35 damaged
more or less badly. out of a total of
so pre-war buildings. The pre-war
school population was 25.000. There
are now 1900 children back in
town, most of them having been
evacuated during the worst raids.
There still are about 5000 in the
country, but they are returning at
the rate of 200 a month. Forty-tWo
schools now are in full operation.
many of them in makeshift build
ngS.
Plymouth has many problems. the
outstanding of which is housing,
1t is estimated that 10000 houses
are needed. For, in addition to the
normal population, dock workers
and others, there are evacuees from
the Channel islands.
Advanced Social Service.
The city administration. partic-
ularly its social service, is most ad-
Vanced. Supervised groups have
been formed for Channel islanders.
Tor old persons-many Of whom
were bombed Out-for wives and
mothers, war prisoners and war
widows Boys and girls clubs are
doing an impressive work among
the teen-age, many of whom might
be potential Juvenile delinquents
owing to the breakup of their
homes and the disappearance of
most opportunities for recreation.
One hundred and forty women.
who would normally be considered
members of the leisure class. have
volunteered to 90 houSework for
the aged, invalds and Overworkcd
mothers. Most of these volunteers.
owing to lack OF domestic help.
must run their own homes and care
for their own children.
Perhaps Plymouth's history played
A part IN the revamping~ Of the
education scheme. 1t was one of
the first towns to put American
history in all school curTicula and
70 introduce courses in citizenship.
A panel representing all CONNER
cial and cultural interests is now
engaged III drawing up a postwar
educational program
II is an amazing city which stll,
today, has air raids. Being on the
coast, it is the victim from time to
time Of hit-and-run raids Should
large-scale raids ever recommence.
Plymouth is prepared Ninety feet
under the Devon Hills there is
well-eQuipped, ventilated tunnel
with beds for 900 persons. Workers
and public utility personnel VIII be
transported to the tunnel If Plym-
outh IS once again the target for
heavy bombngs
OcoDynght 1913, Chlcoso Daily News Inc)