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_ ‘ I I V k.•» - *TOURING WITH PYLEives Frisco Some TipsBlackoutErn(le}0i• iciNew Skyscrapers Stand Bombing Best;lt;One Question Really Stumps Pyle*(*By ERNIE PYLEScripps-Howard Roving ReporterSAN FRANCISCO. — My friendshere in San Francisco, being mostly babes in the war woods, arei Q. Could you pick off an enemy pilot with a rifle that has a range of. 5000 feet? A. Yes. if you were Annie Oakley and had your pockets full of horseshoes.Q. Mv Pop wants to hide in the hydrangeas and take pot shots at Jap planes. I say he's nuts. A. Aw, let him go ahead and enjoy himself. He might bring down a seagull for dinner. you never can tell.eager to learn all the little niceties of proper conduct in case the air raids come.And since I was exposed last winter to a few sashays of Ger m a n bomb ers. people o u t: here keep plying me with w a r - conduct questions, which t gives me the op-1 oortunitv that all'imen look forwardto—that of posing , as the fount of all iknowledge. jthis past week I’ve questions by theofemrlysIin-Pirn-calthe5 orErnie Pyle. .V.•VO.OJO*. . . .V , V.V.V.S'.W.vSvied,eir! onWhy, during been asked warthousand. No matter what the question. I answer it. My replies arequick and confident, even to problems I never heard of before. This is done on the assumption that the Japs won't come till after I get out of town, and then the local people will be too busy to remember what I told them.But the kids in The San Franciscohave seriously written out a of questions for me. and I think I'll spend a couple of days answering them in public. For even if Indianapolis and Denver never hear the crunch of a bomb, still people there might like to know. So here we go:Q. Do skyscrapers or small structures seem to withstand bombings better? A. I'd say skyscrapers, although of course London has noreal skyscrapers, the building limit there being, if I remember, about 10 stories.Q. Do you think the newer-type, so - called earthquake - proof buildout here are safest of all? A. Yes. In London it was the old brick building's, with dry crumbly mortar, that went down so fast. The jnew steel and concrete buildings j could take bombs up to 1000 poundswithout great damage.^ ^ ^SANDBAGGING PREVENTSinet\nyvyedtupifNewsbatch*lfermitigletckearypsreiotomgsido-eridn;diystiob-*SCATTERING OF GLASS*^j^HAT might a big bomb droppedin one of the local canyons of skyscrapers do to the surrounding buildings? A. Blow out all windows for several blocks, probably cave in the fronts of some of the smaller buildings, and twist and shatter all furnishings within the nearby buildings. But I can’t conceive of even the biggest bomb completely knocking down one of San Francisco's high office build*leatat;d3-)0Given’s offers you an oings.the purchase of footweiQ. What good does sandbagging do, and from London's experience, does it seem advisable here? A. It mainly prevents shattering of glass, and ©in the case of old buildingsCHRISTMAS HALF-PKdo yourself a favor by p-t-r-l-a!prevent the building's col-by absorbing the shock But London I believe has its sandbagging relatively un-j important, and I don't see much 'sense to it in San Francisco. as‘ Q. Should I send my two chil-to their grandparents in Ari-for the duration? A. No. I a lot of attention to children in England, and what I gathered was this—bombings don't bother them much (unless they get hit, of course). Children are easily adaptable and can take their bombings ‘pretty calmly, just as children ride on airplanes without fear when some older people can’t. It seems to me that the disruption of home life has done the English kids more harm than any direct nervousness from raids. I think that on the whole both parents and children prefer to take their bombings toll i gether.[ i * * *e j EXPERT IS STUMPED BY THIS QUESTIONmight I lapsei first.,i foundSAVE! BUaty I drenlezonapaid;sOur entire Fall aladies’ footwear wisl-eddn;eayLAIRD - SCHOIWorld-famous for quaThese shoesstyle.smartest buy in El Pas♦Regularly $8,95 NOW AT % PIONE point puzzling war novitiates is how opposing planes in nightesfights determine whether that fighter pouring in from the left is friend or foe0 A. The expert will now go hide his bald head, for he doesn’t know.Q. If an incendiary bomb falls on the roof will you know it right away? A. Yes baby, you’ll know it instantly, for the damn thing will probably come right through and land on the sofa beside you. I’ve seen them go through a sheet of steel laid over a skylight.Q. What if it’s a tile roof? A. It might come through anyway, but if it’s a steeply slanting roof it will probably glance off into the street.Q. Are plyboard frames for windows okay for blackout use, so long as the blackout is complete? Or will they shatter with concussion and add to the damage? A. They’re okay, at least they’re used quite a bit in England. They’ll shatter if the bomb is close, but so will every- J thing else. You’d think heavy j drapes would absorb the fine parti- j cles of shattered glass, but if the hit j is close the drapes blow out and the jglass chews them up.* * *oFamous for fit andBlue MedalRegularly $2.49 NOW AT V2 PIn newest materialsLNow At*SMOKING ON STREETSALLOWED IN LONDONQ. CAN red be spotted from air; auto stop lights, forstance? A. Yes. In London lenses of all traffic lights are painted black, with just a tiny cross left in the center for the red or green light to show through. Then over the light is a black steel hood. You can see these lights for blocks if you’re on the street, but from afifth-story window, looking down, you can’t see a light of any kind.Q. San Francisco has forbidden smoking on the streets during blackout. Is that necessary? A. I j don’t want to get into a quarrel with the Army. But everybody smokes on the street in England. You daren’t, however, LIGHT a cigaret on the street.them-the*Values to $8.95
Newspaper Details
El Paso Herald Post
El Paso, Texas, US
Fri, Dec 26, 1941
Page 14
Full Page
Clipped by
Anonymous
USA 12 Nov 2018
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