Evening star., 1951-01-13
District Bomb Shelters
Held Up by Lack Of
Plans, Personnel
By Miriom Ottenberq

Plans to provide air raid shell
tiers for Washington residents are
stalled at the moment for lack of
technical information and person.
mel, Acting Civil Defense Director
John E. Fondahl said today.
The shelter program is empha-
sized in the Federal civil defense
bill signed by President Truman
yesterday.
Inspector Fondahl explained the
position this way:
The Federal civil defense
agency has promised-but not yet
produced-defnititive information
on the best materials and designs
for shelter construction as well as
the best methods of reinforcing
existing buildings. He said he had
been told, however, that the in
formation would be forthcoming
before the end of the month.
Federal Grants Authorized.
The bill that became law yester-
day provides for the Federal Gov
ernment to make grants to the
States and the District on a
matching basis for shelter con-
Struction and the District has been
told it would be eligible to get $50
million for this. However, Federal
funds will not be available until
an appropriation is made and the
District doesn't have the match
ing $40 million anyhow.
Further, no funds will come this
way until the District completes a
survey of possible existing shelters
and new shelters that must be
built. Funds were included in the
$250,000 approved last week for
District civil defense to make a
shelter survey of District buildings
but the necessary personnel can
not be hired until job descriptions
are prepared.
Inspector Fondahl personally
feels that emphasis should be put
on reinforcing present buildings
rather than building large mass
shelters. He argued that the i'm
portant thing is to provide shelter
where people can get to it in a
hurry.
Truman Praises Bill.
On the national scene Federal
Security Administrator Oscar R.
Ewing followed up the signing of
the Federal Civil Defense Act by
instructing all units of his agency
to give every possible aid to field
representatives of the Federal
Civil Defense Administration, as
well as to State and local civil
defense officials.
President Truman, in approving
the civil defense measure, called
it a m :jor step ito protect life
and property in the United States
in case OF enemy assault
The brief signing ceremony at
the White House was attended
by congressional leaders and high
Government officials in the civil
defense field. Among them was
Millard F. Caldwell, jr., former
governor of Florida, who has been
named by Mr.. Truman as direc-
tor of the new agency. His nomi-
nation for the Office is expected to
go to the Senate shortly.
Provisions Are Noted.
The President noted that "the
act will permit the Federal Gov
ernment to provide matching
grants of funds to the States for
constructing air raid shelters, "
provides for the stockpiling of
critical supplies and the installa-
ton of warning systems.
Each of these fields of action
pose complex problems that can
not be solved overnight" Mr.. Tru-
man said.
Calling on all citizens "to lend
their support to civil defense in
their own communities, the Presi-
dent added:
Much has been done, but much
remains to be done. 1t will re-
quire the best efforts of all of us
to get ready, and to stay ready, to
defend our homes. No true Amer
lean would want to give less than
his best to that cause, and no one
who knows the American people
could ask for more"
The measure, passed on the last
day of the last session, puts civil
defense on a permanent basis,
with sweeping powers vested in
the civil defense administrator.
The national civil defense pro-
gram created by this act is ex-
pected to cost at least $3.1 billion
over the next three years, but the
money will have to be appropri-
ated separately.
Civil defense officials have said
that, until they get some money,
they can make little progress in
carrying out the broad provisions