LONDON CITIZENS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24411, 24 September 1940, Page 8

LONDON CITIZENS

"IN THE FRONT LINE" COOLNESS AND VALOUR CARING FOR THE HOMELESS (British Official Wireless) (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) RUGBY, Sept. 22. Mr Malcolm MacDonald. Minister of Health, broadcasting, described the Government's plans for sheltering citizens,who have lost their homes, through the senseless and brutal German -air attacks.

Mr MacDonald said: "The care of those made homeless amidst the bombardment of air raids is now the major activity of the Government Many agencies are helping in the work. Local authorities have an important part to play and countless citizens are giving assistance one way or, another, but the main responsibility for seeing that those who have been ejected.from their homes are quickly provided with another roof, with food and clothing and other necessities rests fairly and squarely upon the Government itself. Generally speaking, our plans worked reasonably well through all widely-scattered raids on Britain until, the violent bombings cf London a fortnight ago; then the first day or two of that experience revealed some faults in our plans. " One important thing in war is to preserve an alert eye and mind to detect mistakes as soon as they become apparent and correct them swiftly and turn them to advantage. So in the past two weeks we have greatly improved our arrangements for looking after the homeless." Boundaries Swept Aside Mr MacDonald continued: " Some boroughs have received a heavier weight of attack than others and have at times found their centres temporarily crammed to capacity. Aid then has come . from other boroughs. There are omnibuses to take people from centres in the more hardly-pressed boroughs to centres in those which have been less severely hit. In all these movements borough boundaries have been swept aside. Different areas are helping each other. The London defence region, which is even wider than that. of the London County Council, is being treated as a whole. For people who cannot find new dwellings for themselves the official billeting officer must find billets. Here again there are no rigid boundaries between borough and borough, or even between county and county. A host of people from the most heavily bombed areas in London has recently been billeted widely outside their own boroughs. This has been done either by billeting people in other households or else by putting them into unoccupied houses.

Empty Houses Requisitioned "All local authorites have full powers, to requisition empty houses for' this purpose, and many have been exercising"•"' their powers energetically for some, -time.'. For instance.. I asked .the authorities- of 14 London horoughs ; where there are the largest numbers' of: suitable empty houses'to.:requisition those places up to 'capacity to accommodate more" than 20,000 persons, lest that should be required, which is not the case at present. A, local authority can take over furnished 'houses-if'it' likes, or it can requisi-. tion unfurnished houses; and itself acquire from Government stocks or by its own. purchases the / furniture required for. the use of' incoming householders. My friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer foots the :bm. ; : ••'; '.',■' Englishman's Deep Sentiment " The migration of homeless families into these residences is now proceeding, but we must never ignore the human factors in this situation. Often those who have been turned out of house and home by enemy action and who could be housed elsewhere are reluctant to leave their own locality. Over and over again omnibuses have waited to take them away, but they have declined to go. This solid refusal to budge from the danger zone is partly a reminder of the average Englishman's deep ssntiment rootine in the locality of his own home, and Dartly evidence of how little these niehtlv bombings have shaken the nerve of those who have been victims of the Nazis' fierce spite." "All In This Business "

Mr MacDonald concluded: "If our armies were engaged around you with the enemy vou would not hesitate to give whatever shelter and succour lay in your to our soldiers, but these London citizens are soldiers. They are front-line troops. Thev are our comrades who have shown. coolness and valour under fire. Thsv have been in battle like our airmeri and our sailors and our men of Calais and Dunkirk; And that spirit has already inflicted defeat on the erieniv Sustain and succour them. We are all in this business together, and it is by the firm union of the whole nation that our cause will prevail."