AN APPEAL TO ALL.

Auckland Star, Volume XLVIII, Issue 196, 17 August 1917, Page 4

AN APPEAL TO ALL.

I 1 Perhaps the greatest difficulty in the I way of creating v universal interest in a ' war louil is the bulief, the product of | peaceful times, that State loans are en- , tirely the concern of the wealthy. A war loau is not; it is the concern of ' all riie people in the State, from the working man to the rich manufacturer , and the hanker. The money for our 1 part in this war must be obtained. ]t is as essential to victory as reinforce-[ ments for our army in Trance and Palestine, and as a preparation for victory it concerns everybody in the community.' The only alternative to not raising it ourselves is to borrow it from England, and to all who realise the immense burden England is carrying, that is repulsive. This community must, for its own part in the war and its own self-,' respect, be self-reliant. |« We therefore most earnestly commend the war loan to the attention of all our ' readers, rich and poor. It is a safe and attractive investment. We are not concerned now with what we regard as its blemishes, but only -with helping to make' it a success, and to do so we emphasise its attractions. But there is a higher ground of appeal than interest nnd security, and that is patriotism. "And after all, how small are the sacrifices which are demanded of us compared with those that are being made by our sons and brothers?" eaid Mr. Bonar Law in launching the "Victory Loan." "Just use your imagination, picture to your- ; self what is happening at this very hour where these men, the flower of our people, are risking their lives, arc en- j during hardships of all kinds in order | to save for us the country which they | love. Shall it ever be said of us that we '• were willing to give our eons, but were : not willing to give our money?" The Chancellor of the Exchequer would have made the contrast still more striking if he had said "willing to give our money at 5 per cent." The people of Xew Zea-1 land are not asked to make the State a present of their money; they are invited to invest in the safest of securities. The investor forgoes investment in something more profitable, or abandons some enterprise, or does without something not essential either to living or business. That is all, and it is dust in the balance i i against the risk taken by the man at the front. It is therefore the duty of every man and woman in this country who" by any possibility can spare any-! thing for the purpose, to contribute to the loan. Every cheque, every pound note, every shilling is a missile fired at the enemy. "The first charge upon all your surplus money over your needs fnr yourselves and your children." eaid Lloyd George to the people of Britain, "should be to help those gallant young men of ours who liave tendered thoir lives for the cause of humanity. The more we get the surer the victory. The more we get the shorter the war." This appeal carries far beyond the shores of Britain, and we in this remote country shall be unworthy if we do not heed it.