LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND CIVIL DEFENCE
| Published date | 01 March 1953 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9299.1953.tb01765.x |
| Date | 01 March 1953 |
CORRESPONDENCE
LOCAL AUTHORITIES AND CIVIL DEFENCE
DEAR SIR,
I
was pleased to read Mr. Richards' contribution on Civil Defence in
your Winter 1952 issue of the Journal. The matters of fact seem to me to be
very accurately stated, but
I
take issue with Mr. Richards on the matters of
opinion he expresses.
He says, in opening, that-" an investigation into one of the ways in
which public authorities seek to promote the good life must
be
a happier
field than that of a survey of measures taken to minimise destruction and
suffering in the event of future hostilities "-and later-" action taken to
promote the good life frequently . .
.
arouses some degree of enthusiasm:
Civil Defence is felt to be everywhere a distasteful necessity, enthusiasm for
which might seem to show a capacity for morbid pessimism.''
But surely Mr. Richards
is
putting the cart before the horse, in implying
that the promotion of the good life is the main function of Local Authorities.
This is only secondary-to the prime object of providing an environment in
which any sort of life is possible. This has been well put by
K.
B. Smellie in
his
History
of
Local Government
(page
7)
when he says that
''
Local Govern-
ment has been established to make life possible
;
it could be used to make
life good
.
. . ."
Civil Defence
is
now one of the Local Government services
that is essential if life is to be possible in the world today. Its aim, by organisa-
tion and advice in peace time and by action in war time, is to sustain and
nourish
the
morale of the people.
It
does this by expanding and co-ordinating
a wide variety of services and offering them voluntary assistance in the form
of the Civil Defence Corps and allied services.
In our lifetime we have had two opportunities of preventing war. The
first of these was thrown away and the Second World War was the penalty
paid in a fearful cost in blood and tears. The second opportunity lies to our
hand today. What the situation manifestly demands is a voluntary association
of the peace-loving peoples of the world in sufficient force and cohesion to be
unassailable by any who reject this method, or who break their pact. This
task, immense though it is, is not beyond our ability, and Civil Defence is an
essential part of it. Mankind's past successes in bringing once sovereign
independent states into voluntary union with one another are guarantees
that we possess the experience and technique for achieving the great work of
political construction that is now demanded of
us.
We have the ability if
we have the will. (See Professor Toynbee's
War and Civilisation.)
It
is
possible to get enthusiastic about all this without being morbid
pessimists. At least as enthusiastic as in running a bus service, or laying a
new sewer, or educating the children. Good leadership from the Local
Councils can get a lot of things done well-inspired leadership will get them
done superlatively as well as enthusiastically and voluntarily. Local Govern-
ment is the right vehicle for Civil Defence, supported (as is envisaged) by
strong centrally controlled mobile forces, because
it
provides the vital personal
contacts which are
so
necessary in what is essentially a
"
self-help
"
service.
It
is quite different in this respect from the armed forces and their auxiliaries.
85
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