Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-01-08
BY MOSBY GRANT

BY MOSBY GRANT
On Mary Tobin's desk. In Federal
Civil Defense Headquarters, Battle
Greek, Mich, there IL one telephone
that gathers dust most Of the year.
and the dustier 1t becomes. the
happier II Disaster Mary" for
when she lifts that phone from its
cradle 1t IL q sign that trouble Of
Immense proportions has come to
the Nation.
It u her unique function to re-
port the facts Of the disaster d.
rectly to the ONCE Of the President
Of the United States. While there
may be other women In Govern
ment whose duty is to keep the
Chief Executive advised. there is
NO one whose sole reason for calling
10 to bring him bad news.
In these times OF uneasy peace.
the bad news Is largely the result
Of FIRE, flood and storm. Since jan
uary, 1853, when FCDA was given
the responsibility Of dealing with
natural disasters. Miss Tobin has
been duty bound on IS occasions
to pass on the melancholy word
that local and State authorities
could no longer cope with prob
lens of death and destruction, and
that the Governors Of the States
had issued formal call for Fed
eral assistance.
These reports are the culmina-
ton Of her efforts, rather than the
full substance Of her job. AS FCDA's
Disaster Project Analyst "a job
which in itself Is unique in the
Federal Government-her desk IL
the information center from which
national disaster counter-action Is
given intelligent direction.
Looks for Disoster
Her duties begin the moment
there Is even suspicion OF trouble
on its way. Hurricanes. for instance.
are plotted on her wall maps even
before the Nays hurricane hunters
begin to track their course. Not only
must she keep her eye on potential
disaster, but be ready to evaluate
It when 1t comes, in terms Of money,
manpower and material.
The period from January, '53, to
February, IS, Miss Tobin had re-
ceived applications across her desk
and recommended final approx
al-for $40.9 millions in disaster
relief. Recent disasters have added
approximately So million to the
total (from FCDA funds alone ex-
elusive Of the enormous amounts
spent by other Federal agencies and
Departmental.
But as the Governments official
Voice of Doom. Disaster Mary
shows little sign of her staggering
responsibility. A diminutive woman.
i've feet tall, with q ready grin and
wit, and her Irish ancestry amply
evident in her speech. she has q
familiarity with disaster that can
only be known by one whose child
hood was spent In . coal-mining
region.
A Tough School
She was born in Glen Carbon.
Pa, where her mother and father
were school teachers, but most OF
her uncles worked In the mines, as
did most of the brothers in her
family of 10. "It was q tough
school" she said, recently. when in
terviewed for The Star. Life was
disaster. You expected 1t. You saw
1t happen and you learned to help
each other, and still keep on laugh
ing and living"
Miss Tobin was trained as q
school teacher, but on graduating.
In 1887, from State Teachers Col
lege, she went TO work for the
State Unemployment Service. In
'38, she began her tour Of duty
with the Federal Government in
the Public Works Administration.
Her section Of PWA was concerned
with the emergency needs Of COM
munities, 90 that actually she had
already begun preparing - and
creating - the position she now
holds.
Shortly before World War II,
PWA became the Federal Works
Administration. only to pass through
several other administrative trans
formations until its emergency
duties were finally assumed by
FCDA. The call-letters Of the
agency might change, but the ma
ture Of Mary Tobin's work was
simply a more and more intensive
training In the disaster needs Of the
American people, o training that
has an unhappy significance In the
era Of the H-bomb.
The Niekname
The nickname Disaster Mary was
bestowed on Miss Tobin by her adj
miring friends in FCDA after her
work In the hurricanes Of '54. q
stint which also led one ofiicial to
dub her "one-woman relief
agency"
When she Is pressed for the exact
details Of her job. Miss Tobin Ia
forced 10 admit she finds 1t difficult
10 explain. II think II I hadn't Lived
% long with it. it'd b saxsr." shs
sAid. 80 much Of the business II
playing By ear. Like in q flood,
yUu ~ Ia with the Corps Of Ensi-
nsees. end you know all those fell
Rksm &.amk vna.Anl~M