ChicSunTimes

Thousands here buy gas masks

September 28, 2001

BY BRANDON LOOMIS

Claudine Jordan trembled and struggled to speak when the sales clerk at Chicago's Army Navy Surplus USA store told her he would only sell her two gas masks, not the six she wanted for her family.

''You tell me who I should save in my family,'' Jordan demanded, as several people lined up behind her to buy their two masks. ''What child should I save?''

In the heart of America, the changing face of civilian preparedness now wears a gas mask. Illinoisans fearful of continuing terrorism are lining up to protect themselves, and their fear--and patriotism--have made these good times for the stores they turn to for gas masks, guns, American flags and even parachutes.

Army Navy Surplus USA, on the North Side, has sold more than 6,000 masks--at about $40 each--and chemical filters since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington; that compares with normal sales of about one a month, sales clerk Robert Finstein said.

It was only because the store buys large quantities that it could even offer two per customer. Several other surplus stores in the city reported selling out after a few hundred and having trouble restocking.

Outside the store, Jordan said she understood the need for fair distribution but that she got emotional because her adult children are anxious about the possibility of terrorist chemical strikes. She traveled from Oak Park because she could not find another store with masks in stock.

''I lived through the second world war, and I know about rationing, but how can I pick a child to save?'' she said.

Other shoppers browsing for clothing or household goods could not fathom buying a gas mask.

''I don't think I want to wrap my mind around the consideration of that,'' said Donna Davidson, a shopper from Miami. ''I'd prefer to live in denial a little longer.''

Davidson also questioned whether a gas mask will save anyone from terrorists. ''I think it's probably more for peace of mind.''

Across town at Military and Police Supply, Rick Boyce said some customers who work in tall buildings have asked about pre-packed parachutes, but he has cautioned against them. Most people from about the 30th floor down would not have time to deploy a parachute, he says, and even those on higher floors would have trouble getting far enough from the building.

''If you're on the 15th floor, you'd better have a 15-floor rope instead of a parachute,'' Boyce said. He has not yet sold a parachute, but he does have one in stock.

Boyce--who sold out of gas masks after 300 and is waiting for a new shipment--also cautions worried shoppers about price gouging. One woman told him she had been offered the $35 model he sells for $300.

Military and Police Supply has sold nearly 1,000 flags since the attacks and nearly as many T-shirts and decals. The Persian Gulf War was the last time so many Americans rushed to buy patriotic items, Boyce said.

Some gun shops report a sharp upswing in sales this month, although state officials report no unusual increase in the background checks required for gun sales in Illinois.

Harry McGowan, a gun dealer in Kankakee, said his sales have doubled since the attacks. That amounts to five or six guns a day, including many pistols and assault rifles. His store also is selling about five cases of assault-rifle ammunition a day.

''A lot of people are thinking the government, in its infinite wisdom, might want to disarm the public,'' McGowan said. ''Now, that's a stretch, but terrorists bringing down the World Trade Center was a stretch, too.''

In Shelbyville, about 50 miles southeast of Springfield, gun dealer Max Shanholtzer said he is selling a little more assault-rifle ammunition than usual, but guns are selling at a typical September pace. Sales are brisk, but only for shotguns and hunting rifles, he said.

''These ain't semiautomatic weapons for killing people,'' he said. ''They're for killing deer and turkeys.''

-- Anonymous, September 28, 2001