The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1961-10-06
By GRETCHEN G. BILLINGS

hood and the frenzy OF parents anu
their inability to accept the thought
of their child wandering alone in
the silent radioactive wilderness
would lead to such disaster as to be
incomprehensible to contemplate.
Most home made bomb shelters could
become an isolation cell for house
wives and mothers.
The comfort of the bomb shell
ter would be a prison of pain and
fear.
There would be no certainty that
anyone would be home to use shell
ter at the time a bomb would be
dropped.
A large percentage of the nation
live in rented homes even those
who own or are buying homes don't
know at what moment their jobs
might make it necessary for them
to move. How many bomb shelters
can one family afford to build?
The whole program is fantastic,
ludicrous and unrealistic.
1t is small wonder the American
people are fatalistic. They have little
choice.
Short of government moving on
massive survival front, to protect
the citizens of this country, our trial
by radiation seems practically as
sured.
An alternative to the shelter ap
proach would be a national uniform,
a required national costume as the
mantle of survival. 1t would be. made
of radiation and fallout protective
material, be equipped with tanks of
oxygen sufficient to carry any indi-
vidual, anywhere, to point of safe
ty. and transistor radio for survival
A ''means test would be required
to determine whether the government
should provide the uniform or whether
the individual could afford to pay
for it himself, but every citizen would
be entitled to this protection as a
right.
While the clothing industry would
suffer momentarily as the nation
shifted to the protective uniform,
free enterprise would undoubtedly |
rise to the occasion and among GER
,ain segments of the affluent society |
here would be market for "styles"
within the framework of the protec- |
i've aspects of the uniform. / have |
faith in the imaginative genius of
he fashion world, and the motivating
forces of the profit system.
Esfs
This nation, created to protect the
Lightly and the rights of the indi-
yidual, cannot leave millions exposed
20 the dreadful consequences of nu-
lear war. This nation can not leave /
he costly protection to the individual.
Individual bomb shelters are be-
vond the means of millions and the
of our population make them
as means of protection.
They hold little promise of security
IN a family basis because of the
lctive, restless con the gon nation
We have become.
Ii OUI DCllCNCO VIC uCCQ |
lets bend our collective
fforts to something with promise =.
national fallout uniform, available
o every citizen, equipped for sur
ival at any given point, and required
uniform of the day" until the world
rrives at some sensible approach to
peaceful settlement of our differ
noes.
This would still necessitate bomb
heller centers that would have to be
rovided by government, because it
something that can only be done
Y government. If it is true that the
-merican people need to build bomb
nelters for protection, and not just
S cruel, nationally demoralizing !
pproach to giving the economy shot c
/ the arm, then everything else
1ould be dropped until the maximum !
,curity of the people of the nation t
assured.
We should bend our efforts imme- :
ately to storing in our bomb shelter d
orehouses huge amounts of food C
I'D necessities of life according to ;
lie needs Of any given community
n any given amount of time. e
Business as usual should be aban- .
med and our national life keyed to =