Defense In Space

In Washington's fusty old State Department building, representatives of industry, labor and local governments met last week to hear how industry should protect itself against the atom bomb. What they heard was hardly worth the trip.

Originally, the Government had talked of a grandiose plan to move armament plants into the interior. New plants would also be located in sparsely settled areas. But that plan has been dropped. Charlie Wilson told why. For one thing, said he, labor and materials shortages made it impossible to build all the new houses, churches, schools, utilities, etc., that would be needed. Furthermore, defense production itself would be hamstrung by shortages if such a mass movement was undertaken. And everybody objected--unions, management and communities which feared the loss of their industries.

The revised plan is a weak compromise; it calls for locating new plants at least ten or 15 miles from other industrial or urban targets. Since both new and old plants will often be forced to use the same utilities, a bombed-out power plant would shut down both. But at least the new plants would be out of range of A-bombs dropped on the old.

So far, industrial dispersion has been on a voluntary basis. Nevertheless, some cities have drawn up their own plans. In Seattle, Pacific Telephone & Telegraph Co. last week announced plans for an auxiliary long-distance center "15 miles from the present headquarters. But after Jan. i, the Government will put on the pressure. It will grant fast tax write-offs on new plants only if they are built where Washington thinks they should be.

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