THE SMALL INVESTOR

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3172, 24 August 1917, Page 4

THE SMALL INVESTOR

To many peoplo of moderate-means tho magnitude of tho War Loan rifay appear to make their insignificant individual contribution a matter of small moment. They see that tho country's monthly expenditure on tho war amounts to nearly two millions; that tho Finance Minister is seeking to raise twelve millions by September 3, and that another ten millions will bo required to bo borrowed locally in some six months timo, and they ask themselves : What is £50 or £100 or £500 more or less where such large sums are concerned'? This is a very wrong and a' very iinsound way of looking at tho matter. Every contribution counts and plays its part. The smaller contributions are by no means an insignificant part ol such a loan, or at least they should not be. If they are as numerous as the public spirit and the general prosperity'of tho peoplo of New Zealand warrant the Finance Minister in expecting, they will swell the amount which ho will have available on- the closing day of the loan to a very, material extent. But thoro is more in the matter than this. Every ' penny that is asked for is needed to carry on our share of the war. The money must bo obtained to pay our soldiors and to equip and provide them with tho best procurable weapons and to ensure their comfort and well-being so far as it is possible to do so. And the wider the field of contribution to tho funds being raised for these purposes, the larger the numrJer of tho people who share in this patriotic duty, the bigger the moral effect of tho loan will be; tho stronger the conviction it will carry of the wholehearted unity and inflexible resolution of the nation. Numbers count as well as the amounts contributed to the War Loan. The big investor in most cases has no doubt already familiarised himself with the details of tho investment which ho is asked to make; tho small investor who has not studied the question oan gain all the information he may desire at any Post Office. The system of purchasing War Certificates is generally known, and affords an admirable means of saving money while at the same time helping the country. The new system of War Bonds, which carry interest at the rate of 5 per cent., is a supplementary method of. enabling thoso of moderate means to participate in the loan. The bonds are of £100, and no person can purchase more than five of them. They are redeemable by the Government in ten years. There is frequently a tendency in such matters to put off a final decision until tho last moment. With most people this is unnecessary. It is tho duty of everyone to revvsw their position at once, if they have not already done so, and to endeavour to devise ways and means by which they.can assist to make the loan a success. The factthat their own individual contribution- may, bo

a small, one is no reason why they should hesitate to act promptly. They will' have the consciousness of duty clone, and their action may servo as an example and a stimulus to others.