Evening star., 1951-04-29
Civil Defense College
To Open Tomorrow;
81 Studenfs Here


81 &Sfudents Here
This will be back-to-school week
for 81 State and local government
officials with the Federal Civil De-
Tense Staff College opening tomor-
row.
oficials on hand for the first
course include nine State gover-i
nors. The remainder are State
and city civil defense directors or
their deputies-some from as far
away as Honolulu. Alaska and the
Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico to-
learn the facts of saving lives in
an atomic age.
First classes will be at 9:15 am.
tomorrow in the Cafritz Building,
where the second floor has been
converted into classrooms and lee
ture halls. In the largest ROOM
formerly occupied by Civil Defense
staff workers. a huge relief map
represents "City x" on which stu
dents will work out rescue and
damage control problems.
Staff Offices Moved.
The rest of the agency has been
moved to the Gelmarc Towers
Apartment building. 1890 Colum-
bia road NV, to make room for
the college.
The preliminary one-week short
course will consist of a general
introduction to civil defense prob
lens and techniques, designed
especially for State governors and
directors. Lesser officials will re-
turn later to take the regular,
three-week series.
The school will open with an ad-
dress to students by Civil Defense
Administrator Millard F. Caldwell, |
jr. Featured speaker at the morn
ing session, will be Sir John Hod-
soil. director general of civil de-
tense training in Britain, where
an elaborate staff college has been
in operation at Sunningdale for Is
years.
After an hour and a half for
lunch, students will get an off the
record hrief1ng on this country'sI
vulnerability to attack from Maj
Gen. Gordon P. Saville. United
States Air Force deputy chief of
staff :
Varied Subjects Set.
At subsequent sessions this week,
officials will learn what plans the
Federal Government has for help
ing States and cities with civil
defense. They will learn how to
analyze local problems created by
an atomic attack; the plan to
divide cities into zones SO that
problems may be reduced to man
agable proportions, and the theory
of operational command, damage
control, mutual aid and mobile
support for stricken areas.
Toward the. end of the course,
the problems move from the theo-
retical to the specific. Gathered
around the huge map of "City X'
Officials say the fact that it is
actually a map of Baltimore has
no special signif1cance) each stu
dent will be given the data for his
particular zone. Then, assuming
an atom bomb burst over a Spe-
cific point in the. city, he will work
out his own problems.
The last two days will see more
detailed analysis of special as
poets of civil defense. Questions
of transportation. and supply,
evacuation and welfare, defense
against special weapons. enlist
ment, training and communica-
tions will be the subjects of lee
lures by experts.
Drama Scheduled.
The final session will be dra-
matte presentation of the attack
on "City x" performed during a
dinner at the Wardman Park
Hotel. The program viii feature
the actor John Beal, with radio
commentator Morgan Beatty in a
supporting part.
tits easy to explain civil de-
fense as a matter of theory" a
school staff member explained.
"It's another thing to make a
person visualize the thing actually
happening. That's the purpose
of the dramatics."
The Civil Defense Staff College
is under the overall direction of
Edwin r, Walker, dean of the
College of Arts and Sciences at
Florida State University. Dean
Walker hopes that once he gets
the college running smoothly he
can go back to the more congenial
business of teaching philosophy.
The college students-none of
whom is paid anything by the
Federal agency for attendance or
living expenses-are staying at
the Wardman Park. Eventually,
the college is to occupy the former
Longwood School, near Olney,
MI @.1 T.