Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1943-01-11

Lie IcdIeSL IIllllS 10 al actual
bombing raid Washington ever has
experienced rocked Catholic Uni
versity stadium yesterday.
Almost as heroic" as the men
and women who fought real fires
and carried simulated victims from
debris were the more than 1000
spectators who peered through the
snow to watch the demonstration.
Actually the snow lent realism
to the spectacle. People heard the
sound of airplanes over the loud
speaker, heard William G. Sweet
man. the chemical warfare expert
in charge of the demonstration, yell
ing here they come"
The snow kept them from seeing
what might have been in the sky as
bombs shattered the shacks on the
field and fires ragged through the
debris.
Auxiliary firemen, rescue squads,
stretcher bearers, fire watchers,
wardens, gas decentralization and
road repair crews and auxiliary po-
lice went through their PAGES with
out rehearsal. For most of them it
was the first time they had ever
seen an incenditary bomb or worked
on a field constantly being rocked
BY explosions. ~ ~
More Than a Spectacle. -@
g. 1t wasn't just spectacle. Mr..
Sweetman. before the village" was
to be wrecked, went through series
of demonstrations to show the civil
ian defense volunteers what they
might have to face, as well as to
demonstrate to the general public
why they should keep their attics
clear of debris and how they should
use the stirrup pumps they will
soon be able to purchase.
Early in the game Mr.. Sweetman
yelled to a photographer venturing
near the shacks, Keep away from
there. You'll be blown up" The
spectators forgot their umbrellas and
leaned forward.
He showed them why they should
use jet instead of spray of water
on the bombs. Playing stream OF
water on one of the new type
"burster" fire bombs, which have an
explosive charge, he kept his dis
lance. Suddenly shrapnel and
flames shot high into the snow-f1lled
air. No sign of fire was left in the
shack.
You see, we can lick even the
new fire bombs" Mr.. Sweetman
commented.
Women volunteers were called on
the field to throw jets from hoses
against the incendiaries. Mr.. Sweet
man pointed out that they weren't
trying to extinguish the fire, only
to hasten its burning out. He
showed them that the sparks and
white flames streamed in the OPP
posite direction, away from them.
A line of laundry was strung be-
tween two shacks. To show the
effect of a blast, Mr.. Sweetman set
off a high explosive. The line Of
laundry disappeared.
Then came the hum of airplanes.
Fire engulfed shack. A warden
patrolling the area called in his
report to the control center set up
on the field. A road repair squad
was summoned first to clear away
the debris that blocked passage of
the fire truck. That vehicle then
appeared, manned by auxiliary fire.
men.
Wrong Way Demonstrated.
Mustard gas was suspected. Three
gas Decentralization trucks rumbled
around the track from their start
ing point. Mr.. SWeetman ordered
them to throw unmixed chloride of
lime on the gas-affected patch, just
to show why they had to make
mixture. A greenish explosion drove
them back. They mixed lime with
sand and went ahead
The planes returned in second
wave-that is, the sound of planes.
An explosion threw a warden off
his feet. A building crumpled. The
attack was mixture of explosives