Evening star., 1950-12-29
Civil Defense
Fund Hearing
Slated Monday
Teoeue Calls Session
On District Request
For Appropriation
By Miriam Ottenbero


BY Miriam Gutenberg
House District Committee mem.
bers will make a last-ditch effor'
Monday to convince their col.
leagues on the House Appropria.
tions Committee that the DistricI
needs more money for civil de-
fense.
Representative league, Demo
crat of Texas today arranged &
civil defense hearing for 10 am
Monday. Invited to attend were
Representative Bates, Democrat
OF Kentucky, chairman of the
appropriations subcommittee ir
charge of the District budget, ano
other subcommittee members.
May Take Fight to Floor.
Mr.. league heads the House
District Subcommittee on Civil De-
fense. He indicated that if the Ap-
preparations Subcommittee men,
bers remain unconvinced, he and
his colleagues will make a fight
for the funds on the House floor.
At issue is budget request of
$337 500 for District civil defense.
The House refused to include the
item in the $40 billion supplement
tai defense appropriation bill, but
the Senate went along with its
Appropriations Committee in re-
storing it. Senate House conferees
on the big defense bill will con-
slider the question, probably
Monday.
Chairman McKellar of the Sen
ate Appropriations Committee
told newsmen today he would
strongly support the District re-
quest in the Senate-House con-
ference.
Mr.. league asked Acting Dis
trict Civil Defense Director John
E Fondahl and Assistant Engineer
Commissioner Thomas J. Hayes
III to testify at the meeting Mon
day. Objective of the conference.
he said. was to give necessary sup
port to the District so it can have
an adequate civil defense fund
now.
Watchdog" Committee Urged.
Meanwhile, on the national
civil defense front, congressional
watchdog" committee was pro-
posed today to maintain close
check on the use of the sweeping
powers Congress is due to nand
the new Civil Defense Administra-
ton.
Senator Humphrey, Democrat,
of Minnesota proposed the con-
gressional check to prevent any
abuse of the unprecedented
peacetime powers for the civil de-
fense administrator carried in the
civil defense bill.
The bill, approved by Senate
House conferees yesterday, is due
for House action Monday and
Senate action Tuesday. 1t sets up
the machinery for preparing the
civilian population to defend itself
at an estimated cost of $3.1 billion
over the next three years.
Caldwell to Head Agency.
,Millard F. Caldwell, jr., former
Governor of Florida, is slated to
become the $17,500-a-year admin
istrator. He now heads the tenn
porary agency President Truman
created until Congress could act
on permanent legislation.
Mr.. Caldwell said in a radio
interview last night that the
areas producing the "sinews of
war" will be protected first be-
cause without safeguarding them
I'VE cannot survive"
He warned that, the American
people will have to depend largely
on their own resources to save
their lives in event of an A-bomb
attack.
Sees Heavy Casualties.
Mr.. Caldwell said the first
enemy A bomb inevitably would
cause heavy casualties" but he
added:
Il am inclined, however, to dis
count the possibility of a COM
pletely surprise attack now. I
think it will be practically impos-
sible for planes from any country
to approach our shores without
advance notice"
Alright Radar Defense.
Air Force officials have said re-
peatedly. however, that it is i'm
possible to erect an air-tight radar
defense of the United States, that
no matter how extensive the net
work, one or more enemy fighters
or bombers would penetrate it if
large enough numbers were dis
patched.
These assertions we're reiterated
during the recent hearings before
a House Appropriations subcom-
mittee on the $40 billion supple
mental defense budget. More
over, as originally outlined by top
officials, the radar defense plan
did not call for a complete circle
of air warning stations around
the United States.
It was explained that it would
be financially impossible to main
tain a complete, 24-hour radar
network off all coasts and bor-