Montgomery County sentinel. [volume] (Rockville, Md.) 1855-1974, 1961-10-21
Wick Byron's Column


built shelters In their Easements; others have
plans to build
Questions concerning this whole subject
Of fallout shelters have been considered
BY many Some have been answered and
some have not. There are those who are con-
WINGED 1t is absolutely necessary to build
some type Of shelter. David Soul belongs to
this group. Then there are others who believe
faIIout shelters win be useless In case of an
about t1ermonuclear war. We fall into this
category. In addition, there are those who
are completely in the dark about the whole
subject
In this weeks Saturday Review Norman
Cousins the editor. writes an article that is
the best we've seen on this subject Mrs.
Shiever, q reader Of The Sentinel, called it to
our attention and even got the permission
Of Mr.. Cousins to have IT repeated in this
newspaper. You might not agree with it but
at least it win give you food for thought
1t is called shelters Survival, and Com
mon Sense"
In home after home throughout the coIn-
try, the question of fallout shelters has be-
come profoundly important and perplexing
issue. The danger Of thermometer war has
become real enough-indeed it has been given
a razors edge by the Berlin crisis-so that
people are compelled to think seriously about
protecting themselves and their families in
the event of atomic attack. However grisly
shelters may be as a subject for home con-
yersation, parents are earnestly discussing
and exploring the matter in terms of their
responsibility to their children.
The p.,rv.nca ~ fIasc e.af4arsa1 fg ,,n4 r..
argue against fallout shelters per Sc. No
one can quarrel against decision by a citi-
zen to prepare today against possible dangers
tomorrow. But at least he Is entitled to full
and factual information before making up his
mind. Indeed, he has the right to be protected
against dishonest assurances Of complete pro.
lection when no such assurances are possible
or morally justifiable. And we can certainly
quarrel with the idea that the family fallout
shelter ID a fit subject for the exploitation by
fast-buck operators.
The key fact the dominant fact, In modern
warfare is that the civilian will be the prime
target Every bit of scientific ingenuity will be
modified and directed against nin-w1erever
he may turn All the inventiveness that has
found a way to kin a city with single ex-
plosive and that has devised vehicle to
carry cargo of death from one continent
to another in Is minutes this inventiveness
will not retire because people are going to bur-
row into the earth. Modern war intends to
hunt down the civilian wherever he is, suf-
locating him or paralyzing him or driving
him out into the open. No ventiIating system
has yet been made available that can guard
against gases that produce heart sickness, or
disease germs that spread cholera, anthrax,
plague, diphtheria, tuIaremia, brucellosis, ty-
phoid fever, influence, dengue fever, small
pox, pneumonia, amoebic dysentery, malaria,
Rocky Mountain fever, @ fever, undulant fe-
yer, typhus-all of which are now in the
arsenals of the major powers and prirned for
instant use
Consider first of all the problem of ventila-
ton, When hydrogen bomb goes off, it pro.
duces firestorms over a vast area. ten
megaton thermonuclear explosion will set
loose firestorms over on area of 5000 square
miles. Oxygen is consumed by firestorms.
Shelters may be equipped to cool off the air
but they can't bring in air If none exists.
Unless manufactured oxygen is made avail
able, shelters in the areas affected by fire
storms will become suffocation chambers. The
need for manufactured oxygen has of course
been considered but the difficulties of provd-
Ing it on a mass scale are regarded as in
superable Moreover, its volatility under such
circumstances makes it serious risk in its
own terms.
The next major factor to be considered
has to do with location. The problem of shell
tiers is different in a city from what 1t is
likely to be on the outlying areas. The prin-
cipal problem in the city will be getting into
shelter in the first place and getting out of
1t in the second place. 1t is by no means GER.
tain that an attack will be preceded by warn
ing. In fact the factor of surprise is molec.
ular part of the makeup of missile-cumnu-
clear war. And even If warning should pre-
cede rather than follow an attack, II would
be in the order of minutes. Evacuating city
is beyond possibility. Even getting people
into cellars is questionable enterprise The
idea that people in office buildings could take
cover by clustering together in the Railways
or sairwells or cellars has no validity in sit
uation involving multiple use of megaton
nuclear bombs. The purpose of thermo
nuclear bomb is to pulverze a city and all
the people in It; as many such bombs as are
required to execute that purpose will be used
For those city dwellers who are able de.
spite the limited warning time, to take refuge
in deep city shelters, the principal problem
will be getting out of them--because of the
tons of spilled brick and rubble overhead
Testimony before Congressional committees
has made il abundantly clear that thermo.
nuclear attack on cities would leave few sur
vivors, In fact, military calculations of 3d.
100000 American casualties in event of nu-
clear attack are based largely on the virtual
ia