Our Cities Must Fight (1951, sound)

[Music] oh hi Fred trying to get a hold of you Park your hat and grabb a chair huh I just got your message Jack what's it all about I got this story to do thought you might be the person that can help me most well listen to one of these letters to the editor the story here Fred but I'm afraid it's not a very good one I'm not at all sure it's the kind of story our readers would like listen to this dear editor usually I agree with your editorials but your call for civil defense volunteers was nonsense if this city has attacked my plans are made and they don't include waiting around to get killed I'm going to take my family to a place in the country where we'll be safe I think I'm as patriotic as the next guy but I'd be pretty dumb to remain in the city when those bombs start falling name doesn't matter take to the hills huh another member of the take to the hills fraternity seems to be quite a few of them yes I'm afraid there are the worst of it is that most of them are intelligent people good citizens if you like but they made up their minds without thinking they're letting fear push them it's pushing them into something pretty close to treason thank God most people don't feel that way but enough of them do to make it a serious problem you know there's really nothing to be gained by turning tail and running after an enemy attack first of all the highways would be about the most dangerous place you could be and second Mass evacuation of cities just doesn't work most people don't know that for the reason that they've never thought much about it the third reason is the simplest of all if War comes and we desert our cities we've lost the war if only we could help these letter writers see it that way we must make them realize there must be no taking to the hills their own experiences could help them realize it for instance it's easy to imagine what would happen if most of the people in town took to the highways all at once all you have to do is look at some of our Sunday traffic jams unless people know better an enemy attack would cause a 100 times as many people to jam the roads add to that the desperate fear and panic that it' be pushing the mob and Mister you've got a catastrophe on your hands the civil defense people are just being realistic and not planning Mass evacuations the roads have to be kept open for resue it for firefighting equipment that means every car which is not officially authorized will have to be stopped and moved out of the way as long as I live I won't forget what happened in the last war when some European people took the hills I saw miles after miles of refugees trying to get away from cities under attack all they did was choke up the road so hardly anything could move even they couldn't get very far this happened many many times and in many different cities it could happen in our cities If This Were tomorrow instead of yesterday if this were our town and you or someone you loved were trapped inside of it waiting frantically for help that help would never come the ambulances rescue trucks Vehicles carrying supplies and equipment would be stopped cold in their tracks they could never get through to help the injured put out fires bring plasma bandages and thousands of other things vitally needed in an enemy attack just as the roads must be kept clear so must the depot Terminals and airports every available kind of Transportation will be needed for emergency work we know that mass evacuation can never be permitted if only for one reason an all important one the fact that every able-bodied person is needed in the city before as well as after an attack putting out fires for example will require help from everyone we must realize that in Modern Warfare City dwellers find themselves right in the front lines after an attack our first responsibility will be to keep our heads and get back to our jobs for each of us has a job to do and no matter what happens the people of a city must be fed clothed supplied with electricity and heat the city must be kept alive and it will take everything the city has to do it you know Fred actually staying in the city to help after the atomic attack is not nearly as dangerous as a lot of people think the danger of well lingering radiation is not really very serious after an atomic air burst the danger of radiation and falling debris is over within minute and a half over and above that we know from the experience of London Berlin and other European cities that people didn't even want to leave their City most of those who did leave soon began trickling back into town of course a few people should be evacuated small children the Aged infirm so on these people should be moved voluntarily by their families not during an attack of course but the able-bodied person must stay and help Modern Warfare has no respect at all for civilians like it or not each of us has his share of fighting to do his share of danger to face running away from that Duty would be desertion pure and simple in the Army it would mean Court Marshal as a civilian it would not only be treasonable but it would mean having to live with a knowledge that in deserting your responsibility you failed yourself your family your friends your city deserting our cities would be handing the enemy a victory far greater and less costly to them than they could ever achieve through bomb damage alone their very idea in attacking our cities would be to destroy our will to fight the enemy knows that a city deserted by its people is a city robbed of its power to resist of its power to produce the enemy knows as we do that in an American city of today each of us depends on all the others that directly or indirectly each of our jobs depends on all the jobs of the others our biggest job will be to continue putting out equipment and fighting gear our nation depends on to Desert would be to throw away our most feared weapon America's power to produce there's no getting away from it when the time comes each one of us must stay in our cities and fight I wish there was some other way but there isn't yes there are some pretty Grim prospects ahead of us the hell of an enemy attacked and come smashing out of the sky at any time and every last one of us will have to be ready to face what happens then be plenty of suffering plenty of misery broken homes death dangers that used to belong only to soldiers but we've got to be able to take it and come back fight everything we hope for everything we believe in everything America has fought for will depend on us and what we do you know a lot of people behind the Iron Curtain are wondering whether we can take it if we're attacked they're carefully measuring our courage our capacity to fight our capacity for sacrifice they think they have the answers well you and I and every American has to examine their minds and hearts and come up with a few answers of their own question is have Americans got the guts have you got the guts