Evening star., 1943-05-02

But they are leaderless.
elusive war services and will be used
in studying where nursery school
facilities are needed.
Rat Program Carried Out.
There are dozens of other ex-
amples. Rat control has been a
problem to Baltimore, which, like
Washington. lives in fear of cpl
denies. The Civilian Mobilization
Committee and Baltimore's Health
Department drew up simple fold
er explaining rat war strategy"
The committees health section
found out what traps should be
used and where they could be OBJ
tained. 1t urged druggists to lay
in supply of rat poisoning. talked
to the Bureau of Street Cleaning
for cooperation. Then the Block
Brigade took the circular and the
rat-control story from house to
house.
The effectiveness of the Block
Brigade is one of the principal rea-
sons for the success of the Balti-
more programs. Mr.. Bonnell or
ganized the Block Brigade by the
simple method of summoning to a
meeting about a thousand women
he knew had been active in fund
raising campaigns. They were each
told to nominate 10 women they
knew would work. wouldn't talk too
much and didn't have Gripping
preiudices. The women were then
written letters informing them they
had been selected as patriotic and
public-spirited" citizens to be block
captains.
The city was then divided into
80 districts and one district was
completely organized. The block
captains in that district were in
tecsively trained in the technique
Of becoming one-woman service
bu; eaus" rather than "checker-up-
pers.' The women were sent out
on their first campaign and the
guirea pig district convinced the
community as we'll as the commit
tee that the Block Brigade should
cover the city.
Procedure in Washington.
When Washington decided to or
ganize block leader corps, the
civilian mobilization unit got lists
Of prospects from the Civilian De-
fense Volunteer Office, made public
appeals and held a registration. A
month or so later, the groups that
were organized or partially organ
lied made their first house-t toulouse
canvass, causing barely ripple in
the community.
Despite all its difficulties on the
administrative end, however, the
Civilian Mobilization Committee
here has pushed child care pro-
gram, developed a service for draft
boards to investigate dependency
claims and delinquency cases, helped
develop lodging and recreational IA
cilities for servicemen and con-
Quoted sample price checking"
survey.
Through almost continuous cam
paigns, the block leaders are be-
coming the focal points in Baltimore
for all kinds of neighborhood prob
lens. Giving them added prestige
are signs in their windows, notifying
their neighbors where the block
captains live.
The block brigade. incidentally,
follows the brush salesman" tech
nlque. When the block captains ask
for something. they always give
something in return. When they
made their rounds on a War bond
QUESTIONABLE. they were instructed
to say, Here's some rat control in
formation that ought to help us in
this neighborhood and, by the way,
d like to pick up that bond ques-
tionnaire." When they did the
Womanpower questionnaire, they
gave the housewives a booklet on
OPA point rationing.
Block brigade volunteers also help
man the war service centers set
up by the committees consumer
section. To these war service CEN
ters, the people of the neighborhood
and their block captains can 60 to
get information on rationing. vic
tory gardening and a dozen other
wartime problems One of the CEN
tiers operates swap shop" where
mothers can exchange the shoes
their children have outgrown for
ones that will fit Another center
gave a fashion show of make
overs" including boys suits from
fathers old trousers. Block leaders
get instruction at the centers in
cooking and canning, to meet war
time demands in preparation for
the questions they may be asked
by their neighbors. A center is soon
to be started in the heart of Balti-
more's foreign population for the
benefit of those who can't speak
the American language, but have to
follow its wartime orders.
Shy of Overorganizatio
Baltimore has none of the area
committees or subcommittee fos-
tered here to carry out programs of
the city-wide committees. The block
captains and the youth mobilization
division do all that has to be done in
each community on the theory that
overorganization makes a program
topple of its own weight.
The youth mobilization division
was one Of Mr.. Bonnell's ideas. For
merly when there was a Job to be
done-distributing or collecting ma
terial-somebody always said, Let
the Boy Scouts do it" or the Girl
Scouts or the boys clubs or any Of
q score or more Of youth organiza-
tions.
MIR. Bonnell decided he could get
more thorough and prompter cover
age OF the whole city Il al youth