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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRemarks by Attorney General Waggoner Carr REMARKS OF ATTORNEY GENERAL WAGGONER CARR BEFORE THE ANNUAL STATE CIVIL DEFENSE DIRECTORS CONFERENCE AUSTIN February 15, 1965 On behalf of the Governor and the heads of State agencies, it is my pleasure to meet with you this morning and to join with the men and women of Texas who carry the load in defense and disaster relief. To say simply "Thank You for the job you are doing seems totally inadequate to express my true feeling in this debt of gratitude that all Texans owe to this dedicated group. What you are doing today the work you are performing... your time and your energy is one assurance that points toward lasting peace in this world of unrest. Many of you, without pay, without public acclaim, without thought of personal gain, devote hours to community service ..... much of it involving preparation for something we hope and pray will never happen. -2- I think we could gain inspiration and encouragement from the knowledge that we are in the same position as our fore- fathers were some 200 years ago. Certainly, there have been changes, methods are greatly improved, our economic standards increased, our mode of living far above any other country. But, 1 wonder if you have ever given any thought along these lines: Your forefathers and mine determined that the time had come to make a bid for freedom, and they found no sacrifice too great as they worked to reach that goal. Regardless of how times have changed since the days of the American Revolution, the issue confronting our people today .... freedom and peace.... are exactly the same. We determined to live as free people and to do everything possible to secure and maintain peace. A strong and active Civil Defense organization today is essential to that purpose. In the very early days of Civil Defense organizations, it was often common to find them regarded as something apart from government,..people felt that it was some vague group of -3- volunteers headed by something called a Civil Defense Director which would take care of them in an emergency, totally supplanting their elected government. In the family of government agencies, Civil Defense has been an orphan. It has been starved at the appropriations table, its schooling has been deficient, its text books out -of -date, its equipment left-overs and cast -offs. Your local organizations, however limited, however deprived, have maintained a sense of continuity, have kept the office doors open and the work going, despite heavy obstacles and the agony of defeat. It is good for Texas and our country that your fervor triumphed over your frustrations. Misunderstanding of the true role of Civil Defense has been and still is prevalent in many, if not most, political jurisdictions. Therefore, only through the definition and understanding can progress be made in establishing CD as a profession among the other activities of government. -4- To define Civil Defense, it is only necessary to say that it is "Government Functioning in Emergency" ... To understand it is to describe the relationship that exists between Civil Defense and the other operating agencies in the total civil structure° Civil Defense and disaster relief is becoming, for the first time, the professional field of endeavor that it deserves to be. The local organization in your charge will benefit accordingly. Henceforth, it will be easier to recruit persons with talent and training, and to take your rightful place in the high councils of government. Legally speaking, nothing can relieve your duly installed public officials, elected or appointed, of their responsibility for their citizens in peace or war, good weather or bad, daily work or emergency deployment of disaster procedures. Your Governor still has all his responsibilities as Governor, regardless of existing conditions. Your Commissioner of Public Health is still responsible for public health whether in -5- floods, tornadoes, or enemy attack; and so on through the heads of State departments: Welfare, Highway, Employment, Public Safety, Attorney General, Adjutant General, and all the others. At the local level, the Mayor in the city and the County Judge in unincorporated areas cannot do anything to rid themselves of the legal responsibilities for their people in times of disaster, a responsibility which is vested in them by the Texas Civil Protection Act of 1951. Neither can the officials in other city- county departments o... attorneys, auditors, police, welfare agents, and so on divest them- selves of their responsibility by attempting to place their emergency duties on the Civil Defense director. As we all know, the director is a coordinator, or chief of staff, who works with the various government agencies in planning. He helps direct their emergency activities on behalf of the Governor, Mayor, or County Judge, as the case may be. -6- Closest to my own knowledge, I, as Attorney General, am responsible for advising the Governor and State Departments on the legal problems occurring in disasters, just as my department does every day in non - emergency activities. On your local level, City and County Attorneys have an identical responsibility to the head of their respective government. For example, some years ago, following one of the great tornadoes to which Texas is subject, the City Attorney in one of our cities found that he was confronted with numerous legal problems for which the city was not, at that time, adequately prepared, and which might have resulted in expensive damage suits against the city. To give you some details: rescue efforts began immediately after the tornado to locate the injured and remove bodies still trapped in debris of heavily damaged buildings. In some cases it was necessary to wreck walls and floors and otherwise destroy private property in order to extricate victims. Damage suits were feared from owners who might later claim that still -sound portions of buildings had been unnecessarily wrecked by the city. -7- However, the law provides that a city may summarily abate a nuisance if it can be proved that a nuisance exists. To protect the city, engineers' opinions were obtained at each excavation site and pictures were taken. Signs were also hastily put up, warning sightseers that to enter would be at their own risk. In this city it was likewise found that little legal means existed for dealing with suspected looters or unauthorized entry, although a recently - passed "suspicious persons" ordinance could at times be employed. Damaged store fixtures, appliances and automobiles, which had to be removed during rescue operations, were removed with other debris and trucked to the city dump where it was guarded to prevent looting. The city found itself liable for payment of articles donated by business firms as a result of appeals made in the name of city officials. Also, many business houses were classified as dangerous, but owners refused to allow demolition without condemnation suits. -g- The City Attorney heartily recommended that other city - county attorneys, in making their disaster plans, consider all contingencies and make advance legal preparation with a city ordinance on the books to deal with them. More recently, during the greatest hurricane in Texas history, other legal problems arose having direct application to enemy attack situations. As Hurricane Carla approached the coast, some Mayors and County Judges were not immediately available or were absent, and it became clear that no one except the duly elected head of local government had authority to decide whether evacuation of an area should be undertaken. Elected officials generally doubted their authority to enforce evacuation, but force was seldom necessary where the official recognized his responsibility for taking a firm stand. When re -entry to the hurricane - damaged vicinity began, there was again necessity for legal authority to erect road- blocks and prevent the return of people to homes in unsafe areas. -9- 1 cite these examples to show you why we government officials, at either State or local levels, must carry our share of emergency planning and support the Civil Defense Director in our specialized field of operation. I am happy to tell you that, at the State government level, there has been much activity along these lines. The Texas Department of Public Safety has, in the past year, revised the State Warning Plan for which it is responsible. The State Department of Health has almost completed revision of three Annexes for which it is responsible....Health, Radiological Defense, and Mortuary. The Texas Employment Commission has just completed revision of the Manpower Annex. The State Welfare Department has just received a body of technical material which will eventually be incorporated into field directives. The State Adjutant General has recently received funds for military support planning which will begin at once. -10- The same support is evident from the many other state agencies who make up the State Defense Council. All of this is done under the able coordination of Colonel Homer Garrison, acting for Governor Connally. It is this type of coordination that keeps the Civil Defense program in balance, and it is a balance of responsibility that will, in the future, maintain our national security. The fact that warfare today, with its potential for lightning assault and massive destruction, has changed the appearance of war, does not put aside our fundamental responsibility. Indeed, this obligation is posed today in terms more insistent and compelling than ever before. The concept of balance is prominent in most of the Presiddn•t's programs, and particularly in the pursuit of national security. The President is maintaining a vital, but difficult balance, in the quest for peace. Positive efforts to improve the well -being of people abroad, and to remove the pressures on which communism preys, have received new impetus. -11- Arms control and negotiations for disarmament and test bans are now backed up by the best intelligence and staff work the government can bring to bear on these problems. The achievement of balance in our military forces is one of the dominant principles in the development of our defensive strength. Capability for successful conventional warfare, a versatile nuclear striking force, an active defense system and Civil Defense.... these all play a vital role in the total defense picture, and a balance among these elements is under constant review. The concept of balance is equally important within Civil Defense. Shelters, warning, emergency communications, damage assessment, radiological monitoring, the training of fire and police forces, research, continuity of Federal, State and local government.._ these are all essential elements in effective Civil Defense, and the proper balance in priorities must be and is being established among them,, Therefore, you, as CD leaders in your community, must concentrate on this perspective. -12- You are Civil Defense directors. As such, you have felt the weight of responsibility for an event which may never happen, and for an event which may prove your best efforts inadequate if it ever does. In the smallest sense, you can't win. Your cause will never be popular and your message will never be entirely welcome. But you will do this job because it is vital, and there is no one else in your community who will bring to it the experience and insight you have developed. Furthermore, there is a certain inward satisfaction in personally contributing to a clear national need. There are few opportunities for alert Americans, concerned about the fate of their country, to take a personal part: in the strengthening of our defensive position. To me, Civil Defense is such an opportunity. It is more than hardware production; it touches the lives of all people... in every city, town, village, and farm. It concerns hopes and -13- fears for the future, habits of work and play, children's schooling, the concept and understanding of Americans' role in the world. It is the means whereby every citizen can participate in the defense of his country not alone through service in the armed forces, not alone through tax dollars for guns and planes and missiles and submarines, but by knowledge and training and discipline and support to the basic tasks of survival. Not only the individual and his family, but voluntary associations of every kind, business and labor organizations, public service agencies, and governmental bodies at all levels, are involved in this great enterprise we call Civil Defense. The State government is only a part. State agents cannot do everything, they cannot pay for everything, they cannot be everywhere, they cannot see everything. The State government has command of great resources, but it cannot ignore the vast potential in local resources and initiative. -14- With this most of us agree, yet we must take care to sort out the problems properly and to keep them in perspective. Only through local organizations can we inspire the initiative which catches up the energies of those who feel responsibility for the safety of others. There is a vast reservoir of willingness to help. But it can only be mobilized through intensive organization, planning and education. Let me emphasize that we in government do not regard ourselves as custodians of all wisdom; it is not our purpose to preach or lecture. We are neither infallible nor intractable and we want to profit from the experience of those working at the local level. We believe that any effort of this type involving, as it does, a myriad of problems and a diversity of conditions and circumstances, will succeed only in an atmosphere of mutual confidence and respect. The world is in ferment and the precepts of freedom are being subjected to their most strenuous test. -15- There is no question about the outcome of the struggle between communism and freedom. Ultimately, the verdict will go to freedom if we are firm and vigilant, patient and persevering. Never before in history have so many people hoped and prayed so earnestly for enduring peace. And, yet, a peace upon which we can rely has eluded us. We must continue to live under the haunting spectre of armed conflict. What is required of all of us ..... each of us .... is an intelligent and informed understanding of the world in which we live, and the most constructive actions we can take to preserve and protect our way of life. In summary, the cooperative plan of governmental operations at all levels in Civil Defense and Disaster Relief; the contribution to public spirit and service which is being made by private citizens as they volunteer for work as auxiliaries to government agencies; revival of the pioneer spirit; and with its renewed self - sufficiency, self - reliance, self -help; -16- and the finer concept of neighborliness and obligation to the common good place in perspective the abilities of our people to survive and recuperate from any devastating blow,,, . whether it be from natural, accident, or man -made causes. We can hope that all of these things may make the effort in which we are jointly engaged one of importance for present need and one of significance in strengthening the tradition that our system of government is, indeed, an organization of the people, conducted by the people, and designed to function, in all effectiveness, for the people. Let us, therefore, approach our respective tasks in Civil Defense and Disaster Relief, not only as they concern the safety and security of the individual American, our institutions, and our heritage but as our professional discipline and competence will influence the future of freedom and the prospects for dependable peace.