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The article presents a statement of the Executive Council of the Friends Committee on National Legislation regarding civil defense and peace released during their meeting in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on March 9-10, 1957. The committee is profoundly convinced of the overriding need to achieve lasting peace and avoid the sufferings of war. Their view of the civil defense program is not consistent with this aim, and they cannot endorse it. They call for the U.S. citizens to unite and use their time, energies, and resources to prevent the bombs from falling and to build the conditions of lasting peace.

The article reports on the large scale test of a major city's civil defense plans which is carried out in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania involving the use of a hypothetical attack problem to test the formulated defense plans. The attack problem involved the explosion of two atomic bombs more powerful than used in Japan over heavily populated areas of the city which resulted in tremendous theoretical damage and loss of life. The test includes details as to the number and type of casualties and damage occurring in various parts of the city and sorrounding communities.