 It's time for the Lawn Jean Chronoscope, a television journal of the important issues of the hour, brought to you every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. A presentation of the Lawn Jean Wittner Watch Company, maker of Lawn Jean, the world's most honored watch, and Wittner, distinguished companion to the world-honored Lawn Jean. Good evening. This is Frank Knight. May I introduce our co-editors for this edition of the Lawn Jean Chronoscope? Mr. William Bradford Huey, author and analyst, and Mr. Hardy Burt, noted author and correspondent. Our distinguished guest for this evening is Mr. Val Peterson, Civil Defense Administrator. Mr. Peterson, our viewers remember you as the distinguished Governor of Nebraska who was very active in the Eisenhower campaign. And now, sir, you are the one American who's most concerned with how to protect American homes from possible atomic attack. And, sir, I believe you have observed the recent atomic test out at Yorker Flats, and you've been extensively briefed by the various agencies of the government concerned with atomic attack. So tonight, sir, first of all, will you explain to our viewers just what the enemy is capable of doing to this country now? Well, I wouldn't want to attempt to scare the American people because I don't believe in scared tactics, but I do believe in telling the facts. And the facts are that we know that the Russians presently have enough airplanes of the proper type, bombers, and enough atomic bombs to drop one or more atomic bombs on every major metropolitan industrial area at one time to make a simultaneous attack. Let me ask you this, Governor, do you place any faith at all in this Russian peace offensive? Personally, I place none whatsoever. I think the President has stated the situation correctly. We're willing to listen to anything they have to say, but they must give evidence of good faith by actions. But I personally believe that they're out to conquer the world and to destroy free governments everywhere. I would be inclined to disbelieve them myself. Well, sir, aside from the argument as to whether the Russians mean well or not, tonight, sir, you are stating to our viewers that the Russians are now capable of striking simultaneously every important city in the United States. I wouldn't say every important city in the United States, but I'd say a large number of them. I would say every major metropolitan area in the United States. And that's the use of both aircraft and submarines, I assume. I would assume that when they strike, they would strike from the air. They would strike from submarines 50 to 100 miles off our coastline. They would strike also with biological and bacteriological means, and, of course, a sabotage would be inflicted upon ourselves. And now you, sir, are concerned with how to meet that attack and how to cut down the damage of some such attack. My job is strictly that, yes, to minimize the attack. I want to ask you this, Governor, too, before we get on with this. According to your calculations, what would be the best time, what would be the best year for the Russians to launch an attack on us? Have you made a study of that? Well, that does not fall strictly within my sphere, but the information I have is that an attack this year would be a likely time for one to come from that sort, from the Russian direction. Why is that so? Well, because apparently their relationship to ours militarily is about as good from their standpoint this year as it will be in the foreseeable future. I'm not attempting to pick the year, however, that's out of my problems. But it is, you're stating that as a matter of fact, they are now capable of mounting the attack you have just explained. Now, sir, what can we do to cut down the damage to reduce the damage of such an attack? What's the first thing that can be done? Well, the first thing that needs to be done in America must be done by the Air Force because it is its responsibility. It must develop better means of apprehending an enemy attack in order that we may have a longer warning because a longer warning time obviously gives us an opportunity to do many things. Do you think that it's vital that we have some warning of the attack? Yes, and as a matter of fact, the Air Force itself needs all the warning that it can get. Governor, what part of the country do you consider most vulnerable to attack? Well, of course, the eastern sea coast, the western sea coast, and the Great Lakes area where the large concentrations of population and industry are located. Now, in making your plans to help each individual American reduce the danger of an attack, are you assuming that we will have some warning of an approaching attack? At the present time, we're guaranteed no warning other than possibly 15 to 30 minutes. But we're hopeful, and there are steps underway to increase that warning time. Well, specifically now, sir, what can the average urban family in the United States, what can it do to help increase its chances of survival under such an attack? Well, the first job for an urban family is to build some type of a shelter either in the basement of the house in which the family lives or out in the backyard. And that can be an inexpensive type of a shelter. How far out would the danger zone be? For example, I live in a suburban area. I live about 25 miles outside of a city. Would I be in danger of attack there? Should I build a shelter? You certainly should build a shelter, and I would say that you're in a reasonably good spot 25 miles from the center of a metropolitan area. What have your observations at Yucca Flats indicated as to the effectiveness of shelter? Well, if you'll recall out at Yucca Flats, we had constructed two houses, one 3,500 feet from the point of a blast, atomic blast, another one 7,500 feet. The building, the house which was located 3,500 feet from the atomic blast was just absolutely shattered in a matter of split seconds. But we had placed a dummy behind a shelter in the basement, a very cheap lean-to type of shelter that was built actually for about $46. That dummy was absolutely undisturbed. The radiation was lower in the basement than it was at the outside, and had a person been behind that shelter and remained there, he or she would have been safe. Now, are you advising every family that lives in a major city to make shelter, some sort of underground shelter, a primary consideration at this time? Underground or in the basement, yes. And if you're in the basement or some way underground, you have a much better chance of survival than you have if you're on top of the ground. A much better chance, and of course no one can guarantee that if you happen to be at the point where an atomic bomb explodes that you can find safety. That sort of a guarantee can't be made. Well, Governor, how about suppose you're in an office building? Is an office building a relatively safe place to be or an atomic attack? If you're in an office building, the thing to do is to get away from the windows and to get into the inside corridors of the building in order to get away from flying glass, and to get as far down in the building as you can get. You're safer in an office building than in your own home, though. Is that true? That depends on the location of your home. Of course, if you're home 25 miles out in the country, I think it would be a pretty safe place. Unless they miss place to bomb. That's right. Well, now, coming back to responsibility for protection, sir, where does the responsibility lie? You as the Chief Federal Officer, do you have the responsibility of alerting the people in the country? The real responsibility for civil defense rests with the mayors of our cities and villages in America and with the governors of the states. And my responsibility as the Federal Director of Civil Defense is to boil down all of the information that we can get from scientific agencies in and outside of the government, from governmental departments, information that is not available in the 48 state capitals for obvious reasons. Governor, I read... Boil it down, simplify it and get it out to the people. I read somewhere that you believe that secrecy is too strong a policy, military secrecy in our government, that the people aren't being told what they should know about Russia and about the weapons of war in case we would have an attack. Is that true? I think that's a relatively correct statement and I believe strongly that we should give to the American people every bit of information we can short of giving the enemy a comfort and assistance with respect to enemy weapons, enemy capabilities, and generally as much information as we can. There's quite a lot being hidden in that regard. Well, I wouldn't want to say a lot, but I feel more than is necessary. Well, as a government official yourself, no one's holding back anything from you, obviously. No, they are not. And just as rapidly as I can get over the government, I'm being briefed and I think very fully by the people who are in the thought. Would you kind of divulge a few secrets on Chronoscope? I certainly would not. But I mean, you haven't found that there's any policy of secrecy as far as our government is concerned. I found no conspiracy as far as I'm concerned. However, I'm not privileged to say everything that I learned. You think the Army is overclassifying, is that it? And so far, as secrecy is concerned. I think that the Army has a tendency to overclassify, yes. But what you're alerting the people tonight in an ever statement you make as far as to the nature of the danger that confronts us. That's right. And I expect to continue to do that just as far as I possibly can within security requirement. And as a matter of fact, I'm pleased to tell you that my opinion in that direction is the same as many other people in the government of Washington. What can you say, sir, as to the state of civil defense now? Are people rather complacent about it? I would say that civil defense in America is inadequate as of the moment. But I should also say that if you put it in the right perspective, bearing in mind that the idea of atomic energy is relatively new in the world, and that the idea of dropping bombs from heavy bombers has completely revolutionized military strategy. If you bear that in mind and put it into its right frame of reference, the remarkable thing is not that we have not solved the problem, but that we have done as well as we have up to the present time. Well, as a final question, sir, to our individual viewers tonight, to the American family that wants to do something about this problem, what is your advice? Well, the first thing that every American should do is learn to take the steps that are necessary to protect his own hide if I can use that word, and to protect his loved ones. Secondly, to protect his community, and thirdly, to protect the industry with which he is associated. And civil defense is nothing mysterious. Civil defense is merely the extension of already existing community services, fire departments, police departments, transportation, communication, mass feeding, medical programs. And each man is a better citizen for peacetime as well as for wartime if he trains himself in those regards. Well, thank you, sir, for being with us this evening. The opinions that you've heard our speakers express tonight have been entirely their own. The editorial board for this edition of the Lone Gene Chronoscope was Mr. William Bradford Huey and Mr. Hardy Burt. Our distinguished guest was Mr. Val Peterson, civil defense administrator. It was painted by Wessler in 1872 and called Portrait of His Mother. Today it is recognized like the carnation as a symbol of Mother's Day. As an honest gift to Mother on Mother's Day, many loving sons and daughters buy Lone Gene watches. For those who have this idea, Lone Gene with norjewellers are making special displays of their loveliest watches. For Mother on Mother's Day, for any important gift occasion, the world's most honored watch is Lone Gene, the world's most honored gift. Every Lone Gene watch shares the fame of the honored name Lone Gene. 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