RAID SHELTERS

Dominion, Volume 35, Issue 261, 3 August 1942, Page 2

RAID SHELTERS

Wintry Weather Has Bad Effect On Utility The simple philosopher who suggested that most people could be'classified not as workers or shirkers but rather as jerkers might well have based his belief on an observation of Wellington raid shelters, particularly the trenches in suburban gardens. Time has not dealt gently with them and the rain has condemned. It took a lot to shake the average Wellington householder from his firm belief that “it can’t happen here,” and though the emergencydninded spirit was developed to some extent, there has been a slide toward complacency despite frequent official advice that the proper thing is to remain prepared. Most home shelters wei-o the product of more perspiration than inspiration and were of doubtful utility. What measure of protection from bomb blast they they offered a few months ago has been reduced by their crumbling sides and frequently by their partial filling with garden and household rubbish. Public shelters, locked to prevent abuses, have largely escaped this fate, but, like the slit trenches, many have been rendered less inviting by winter. Reports recently presented on Wellington secondary school shelters confirm observation of those street shelters that are partly underground. “Bad weather has made the shelters resemble a quagmire,” reported the principal of Hie Wellington Girls’ College, Miss E. M. Norih, to (lie board of governors a few days ago, while Hie principal of Wellington East Girls’ College. Miss. N. G. Isaac, said that Hie recent heavy rain bad flooded three of the eight shelters aud drains were being dug to carry the water away. There are many shelters in the city where water has found,its lowest level and a similar tale could be told.