THE SITUATION IN LONDON
THE Ministry of Home Security announced last Monday the new and fuller measures it is adopting to protect civilians in heavily raided areas, and especially in London. The announcement was due, and indeed overdue. It was the sequel to more than two weeks' experience of intensive night bombardment of the capital, the possibility of which had been fully foreseen before the war began. In view of our knowledge of the enemy's methods the surprise has been, not that such onslaughts on civilians have occurred, but that they did not occur sooner. Now, after a year of war, they have put to the test the plans that have been made and the organisation that has been created ; and they have discovered the defects—the grave defects—in consequence of which suffering on a large scale has not been alleviated as it might have been.
The strongest side of the organisation is that which was prepared to meet the first brunt of attack. When bombs have fallen on houses wardens have been swiftly on the spot, fire-services have functioned well, first-aid parties have tended the wounded, and the police have worked wonders in the coolness with which they main- tained order and directed traffic. Road communications have been disturbed and diverted but not arrested, damage done to traffic routes has been efficiently repaired, and even delay-action bombs are now often disposed of. In emergency action of that kind London has reason to con- gratulate itself. But it is far otherwise in regard to pro- vision that has been made for the accommodation and care of those who have been suddenly deprived of their dwellings. The question of shelters has never been adequately envisaged as a problem of finding means for the continuance of work during raids and of ensuring rest and reasonable comfort and sense of security at night. There has been too little persistence in arranging for the dispersal of London's dense population—though it is in great measure the fault of the people themselves rather than the authorities that evacuation of children and mothers has not been more general. The time has now come when only those whose duties are in the firing-line should remain there. London as the great nerve-centre of Britain is functioning, and will continue to function, but those who control operations there, public or private, must fully face the question of decentralisation, so far as is compatible with efficiency, and of providing the best possible conditions of work in the capital for those whose tasks will keep them there. There is need of quick think- ing, elasticity, and abandonment of red-tape for the imme- diate present, and of long-range planning to cope with the conditions of cold and darkness under which destruction will be rained from the sky during the winter.
The two most urgent of all the problems are those of accommodating the unfortunate persons whose houses have been destroyed, and of finding better night shelters for those who have inadequate protection in the danger zones. Most of the rest-centres to which the homeless are directed for temporary refreshment and information are not constructed as shelters and were not intended for that purpose ; yet often the refugees remain there because they have no other place to go to. In boroughs in the East End where the devastation has been worst the authorities have the utmost difficulty in finding suitable accommodation within their own area. On the other hand, there are West End boroughs where there is ample poten- tial accommodation in empty houses and under unoccupied blocks of flats ; but in some of them the officials are unwilling to exercise their power of compulsory billeting in aid of refugees from East End boroughs. It does not seem to be realised that the machinery of a Borough Council accustomed to the routine duties of peace-time is utterly inadequate for dealing with a situation which demands imagination and, above all, quick decisions. The co-ordination between district and district is poor ; the evidence of a strong central directing hand has been conspicuously absent.
The Minister of Home Security's announcement seems to indicate that he is aware of the grave defects in the system ; and it is to be hoped that his department and that of the Regional Commissioner are getting together to enforce activity with orders from the top, to promote more efficiency among the officials, and to give fuller scope to the efforts of voluntary workers who are eager to help. An intensive survey of all the shelters of London, actual or potential, should be made without delay, and if necessary the opening of them to the public should be made compulsory. The Minister apparently realises that one of the necessities of an adequate shelter is provision for sleeping, and he promises to install bunks in basement, street and trench shelters. Heating, ventila- tion, and sanitary arrangements also must not be neglected. Rest at night is an indispensable condition of good work in the day ; the enemy's indiscriminate bombardment after dark and his harassing tactics in daylight must not be allowed to advantage him by reducing our output or impairing our efficiency.
The Ministry informs us that an intensive campaign to increase the movement of children to reception areas ia under way. There can be no question but that London has now ceased to be a proper place of habitation for children. The utmost pressure must be brought to bear upon parents to let them go, and when they have gone they must not be allowed to return. We are also told that the aged, the infirm and the bed-ridden will be assembled in institutions and cared for. As far as possible this should be outside the Metropolitan area. It is time to think of London as a front-line area where front-line work goes on all the time, housing only those whose occu- pation demands their presence, with all the protection and comfort that can reasonably be afforded them and not without full understanding that risks must be incurred and that danger cannot be wholly eliminated.
These, then, are among the tasks to which the Govern- ment has to give immediate attention. Having made provision for fighting the first disorder caused by bom- bardment, it has to be equally thorough in providing temporary care for the homeless, alternative accommoda- tion, and adequate healthy shelter. It has to look ahead in promoting the dispersal of the congested population.
It has also to exercise firmness, if necessary, in ensuring that postal, telegraphic and telephonic services are not unduly slowed down through raid-warning interrupticns, and it is to be hoped that the banks will find means of keeping open during the " alert " periods. It is worth mentioning that the railways and, for trie most part, the omnibus services have carried .on with commendable fidelity and comparative regularitY, and the taxi-cab drivers have proved the herNs of every occasion. What can be done so well in the sphere of transport should be done with equal continullY by other essential services. The suffering that has been caused is, in the main, among the civilian population, and especially among the poorly housed working-classes of the most congested areas. Efforts must be speeded up to ameliorate their hard lot. Yet no words could be eloquent enough in praise of the high courage and amazing patience with which the rank-and-file of the population have endured the barbarities inflicted on them by the enemy. Their morale is unshaken. Their willingness to carry on their daily work is -undiminished. Hitler's cruel assaults under cover of darkness upon open cities have worked havoc enough upon the homes of the people, but have failed to stop work; and in proportion as their fury has been ex- pended on civilians, less damage has been done to mili- tary objectives. But because it is true that Hitler can never break us in this way, it is all the more incumbent upon the Government to bend its utmost energy to the task of repairing the damage, minimising the suffering, and re-organising the country for a life as tolerable as may be under the conditions of total war.
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