Air Raids : the Real Danger Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd, who
tested on Monday the efficacy of the A.R.P. methods of rendering a room gas-proof, appears to be completely satisfied with his experiment. That is reassuring.- Equally so is the opinion expressed by Professor Kendall, of Edinburgh, in his book Breathe Freely, which was published also on Monday. He doubts whether the number of effective gases has increased since the War and expresses his complete confidence in the efficacy of gas-masks. Mr. Duncan Sandys, M.P., in two recent articles in the Daily Telegraph, in which he describes the effect of, and precau- tionary measures against, air attack in Barcelona, expresses the opinion that gas—although gas has not been employed by General- Franco—and incendiary bombs will play a secondary part as compared to high explosive bombs, in any Future war. The damage which the latter have wrought in Barcelona is appalling. Hundreds of people, too frightened to spend their nights above ground, are camping in the tube stations and in caves which they have dug in the roads— causing considerable dislocation to traffic. A vast under- ground shelter is being constructed. In view of these facts it is to be hoped that the Government will not, in its endeavour to render the country safe against gas-attack, overlook the formidable effects of the high explosive bomb. Small pr. to tion can be afforded against a direct hit, but some -comprehensive scheme for providing underground shelters for the population of our more vulnerable cities is essential.
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