FIRST MILLION REACHED

Dominion, Volume 34, Issue 124, 19 February 1941, Page 10

FIRST MILLION REACHED

National Savings For War

Purposes

CONTRIBUTIONS TO FUND

Au announcement that the first £1,000,000 had been contributed to the National Savings Fund was ma'de yesterday by the Minister of Finance, Mi. Nash. He said that though much of this money consisted of small contributions of a few shillings a week, the

total in just over four months was im-

pressive, the actual figure at the close of business on Friday being £1,007,231.

Of this total, the sale of National

Savings Bonds has produced £522,202,

and £484,900 lias been deposited in

National Savings Accounts.

"When it is realized that the deposits in National Savings Accounts have been made by some 90,000 investors. the power wielded by a steady flow of small savings can readily be gauged,” said Mr. Nash. •1 would like to emphasize that by saving more and thus spending less the persons concerned are making a direct contribution to the war effort, because of decreasing their own demand for goods they enable so much more of the productive capacity of New Zealand and of the whole British Commonwealth of Nations to be diverted to war purposes. With the withdrawal of millions of men from production, the problem of supplying all that is require'd by our fighting services is becoming increasingly difficult, and everyone desires that our men should not suffer in any way from lack of equipment or supplies of any kind.

"While production is being maintained at a maximum everywhere, it will be readily understood that every 1/saved out of civilian consumption means 1/- more for consumption by tlie armed services. This is effected by crediting all moneys as received through the Post Office, from the trustee savings banks, and from the trading banks, direct to War Expenses Account.

"I would ask people to think of their savings in terms of goods,” said Mr. Nash. “If this course is followed, it will be easy to realize that though it may be possible to find another 1/- in the place of the one that is saved, it is by no means easy in existing circumstances to fin'd another 1/- worth of goods in place of the lot that has been consumed.”