The Bay of Plenty Times THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1943. EL ALAMEIN COST £10,000,000

Bay of Plenty Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 13335, 23 December 1943, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Times THURSDAY, DECEMBER 23, 1943. EL ALAMEIN COST £10,000,000

War is the most expensive tiling’ that men could undertake, and wars are getting progressively more costly. It is officially stated that the battle of El Alamein cost £10,000,000, and that the famous Eighth Army is costing £300,000 a day. During the last wax expei s expressed the opinion that the war would not last more than two years because of its costly character, but it lasted for fully tour years. The present war is costing more per hour than it cost per day during the last war, and the four-year limit has already been exceeded. Every bomb dropped and every shell fired means that money has gone up in smoke and in actual fact money is paid to kill and maim men, women and children and cause the utmost, i not the total destruction of varied property. But neither side can afford to let up on war expenditure. The greater part of the money that is being spent is for the manufacture of guns, mortars, rifles, shells, ammunition, aeroplanes, bombs, aerodromes, clothing, food and a hundred and one other items, and the nations are eompellec to concentrate on the production of these war weapons and accessories. To neglect to do so is to court defeat, and defeat means subjugation to another Power and perhaps slavery. When we contemplate the urgent needs of the war in the way of weapons and accessories, we can appreciate the demands foi more production. And this is not an asset, it is waste, stupid\ criminal waste, but it is war. When we think of the colossal cost of war we are apt to wonder how the needs of the war are being financed. Thev are being financed with paper money which is the easiest kind of money to obtain. Paper is plentiful and relatively cheap and the printing press is a tireless worker. Moreover the press could deliver in an hour more money than battle of El Alamein cost. In the British Empire and in the United States^ a real effort is being made to finance the war iri an honest way We are borrowing from the people in whose cause the war is being waged, and the people are responding cheerfully. There does,not appear to be the least difficulty in raising war loans. Australia has issued several £100,000,000 loans and they have all been oversubscribed. In New Zealand we have raised £35,000,000, the biggest loan issue in our historv, and there was no trouble in obtainng the money. This is due to‘the fact that the war expenditure, is passing to the people, who are receiving more than can be spent under present conditions and so it becomes a wise procedure to lend to the State what the individual cannot spend. What is advanced to the State is spent by the State and so the money comes back to the people. The settlement of the war debts after hostilities terminate will provide a big problem for the nations to solve. In the British Empire and the United States also, war taxation is likely to be continued for some time, and as this money will not be required for war expenditure, it will be available for repaying loans. This problem of redemption of war loans should not be as difficult as after the last war. The Lease-Lend system smooths the way for easy settlement. After the last war practically the whole of Europe was in debt to the United States which country demanded repayment. But the debts of that war are not yet paid and not likely to be paid. War is costly, but costs do not seem to prevent them.