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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRemarks by Crawford Martin REMARKS BY CRAWFORD MARTIN SECRETARY OF STATE TEXAS CIVIL DEFENSE DIRECTORS CONFERENCE AUSTIN, FEBRUARY 22, 1966 It is a pleasure and a privilege for me to be with you this morning and to share the fellowship of so many of our county and community leaders. I was privileged to attend the five -state regional Civil Defense and Disaster Relief conference in El Paso two years ago and to speak briefly to the conference. It was a rewarding experience . . . one from which I obtained great satisfaction and knowledge. I have been asked to speak to you today on "Leadership Responsibilities for Civil Defense." Since all of you here today are leaders in your county and communities, I feel somewhat like a Legionnaire addressing an American Legion meeting on the American Legion. However, I would be remiss if I did not encourage you to continue the work you are doing and to compliment you for the job you have done. Your achievements in the field of disaster relief in times of natural calamity have earned the gratitude and respect of those whom you have served. And there is evidence that these successes are giving rise to public confidence in your ability to plan for survival in event of nuclear attack. Civil Defense and Disaster Relief are functions of government which we pray will never be put to the full test of a major national emergency. As a result, yours is the difficult task of buil- ding --a preparedness program despite the obstacle of public apathy and off- and -on public support. Yours has not been an easy task. Yet, much has been accomplished. But the job is not completed ... nor will it be completed until the people of Texas ... the people of our nation ... accept Civil Defense as part of their lives. You, the community leaders, have the Herculean task of "selling" Civil Defense and Disaster Relief to your communities. You have the task of dispelling the apathy of your citizens toward Civil Defense atrl welding the support of your communities to this vital function of county and city governments. It is obvious that you are interested in Civil Defense or you would not be here today. By your actions, you have shown you are interested in the - welfare of your fellow citizens. You have been placed in positions of leader- ship by your communities ... and by virtue of your positions are expected to assume the responsibility of leadership. - 2 - Where does this responsibility of leadership begin and where does it end? The Texas Civil Protection Act of 1951 places the responsibility and authority for providing a local civil defense organization upon the county judge and commissioners court for a county and its unincorporated areas, and upon the mayor and city council for all incorporated areas. Then your responsibility for a civil defense organization begins when you assume office and it continues as long as you remain in office. Responsibility for planning a civil defense and disaster relief program should not be taken lightly. It is a responsibility of the highest order. Your responsibility is to provide leadership and supervision in planning for civil defense and to coordinate supporting operations in an emergency or disaster in your county or your city. As you meet here for your conference and discuss Civil Defense and its aspects, the need for preparedness increases with each bit of information from Viet Nam ... from Peking ... from Moscow. As leaders in your communities, charged with the responsibility of protecting life and property of your citizens and to promote their general welfare, have you ever thought of the hundreds of lives that might be lost because of what you failed to do? Let me remind you that Civil Defense is NOT something that can be put away and called upon just when it is needed. It is a day -to- day program of preparedness which keeps its wheels turning, ready to protect lives and property in any emergency. The role of Civil Defense is greatly dependent upon the psychological climate in which it operates. Our concern is not the popularity of Civil Defense at any given moment, but the continued existence of the nuclear threat. And that threat exists stronger today than at any time in the nuclear age. When Red China exploded its first nuclear device, the threat of nuaear attack upon our country became more real. I am convinced that China - -- with its vast population and its problems of feeding its rapidly growing population - -- will not be easily deterred from plunging into a nuclear war once it has the capability of delivering to our shores its nuclear missiles. Should an attack occur, you may have time to get to a shelter ... but not time to build one. I believe that one of your most difficult tasks is to develop acceptance in your communities that Civil DE.fense is part of our daily lives . , , and that it is as necessary as the police department, the fire department ... the water department, the sheriff's office ... and not something dreamed up by the Civil Defense director so that he can have an office in City Hall. You really have a lot of help in your efforts to dispel public apathy. There are many in your counties and communities who are ready to volunteer for - 3 - this important task of serving in your Civil Defense organization. I doubt if there are many of you here today who have not discussed Civil Defense and Disaster Relief with your newspaper editor and found a friendly ear. I doubt if your radio and television stations have said "no" to your requests for publicity. I'm certain your school superintendents ... your pastors associations ... your civic and service clubs recognize the value and necessity of a strong and vibrant civil defense organization. Enlist in your ranks those who mould public opinion. Enlist all who -will listen to you. Every person in your community -- -young and old - -- must realize that we must stand prepay -ed if we are to survive and recover from the worst possible catastrophe - -- that of nuclear attack. Our communities must be made to realize that we are also preparing to take swift and effective action in all types of emergencies. We have had opportunities in recent years to test our Civil Defense programs ...and they have been found effective. Yet I wonder how many of us are fully prepared to combat the ravages of a nuclear blast. Do we know whether our water supply would be contaminated from fallout ... How would we communicate with our people if all sources of power were knocked out ... Do we know if grain storage facilities are full or empty .. Could we prevent looting? ... Could we restore the functions of government ... Could we care for the injured ... the dead ... These are some of the problems that must be answered by those who have the responsibilities of leadership. They cannot be transferred to the state or federal government ... the responsibility of Civil Defense in your county ... your city rests with you and you alone You can delegate authority for developing your plan to a duly appointed Civil Defense Director, but again the final responsibility for the difference between life and death ... order and chaos ... rests with you, the elected officials. More city and county officials are accepting this responsibility. A total of 161 cities and counties have submitted programs during this fiscal year to the Office of Defense and Disaster Relief in Austin. This is the highest number in the history of the office. This is heartening ... yet it leaves a vast number of communities and counties in our state either unprepared or who have not filed their preparedness pro- grams with the state office. I believe it is the latter. I cannot envision elected officials not accepting their responsibilities. -4 - I believe that once the true role of Civil Defense is conveyed to the people of our communities, they will rise to the challenge and accept this responsibility of people helping people in a program of personal and national survival. I feel that you as community leaders have accepted this responsibility, and that you will leave no stone unturned to transmit the importance of Civil Defense to every citizen in your county upon how well you do your assigned task. in your city. Our future depends #####