£2,000,000 DAILY NOW REQUIRED

Dominion, Volume 37, Issue 306, 22 September 1944, Page 4

£2,000,000 DAILY NOW REQUIRED

Victory Loan Challenge UNIONS’ AIM £1,900,000 The amount subscribed to the Victory Loan throughout New Zealand yesterday, £730,356, would barely cover the cost of the 108 operational and training aircraft which flew over Wellington between 12.30 p.m. and 1 p.m., and gave the public some idea of the performance of what, by the standard of modern operations, is a comparatively small number of planes. Despite high and contrary winds they put on a great show, specially the Harvards, which at one stage of the fly-past gave the public a - distinct thrill with close formation flying. As one last war veteran bystander in Lambton Quay put it as the waves of planes swept over, “Thank God, they're ours.”

The grand total of the Victory Loan is now £15,2i82,174, leaving nearly £25,000,000 to be subscribed in 13 days. That; will require at least -£2,000,000 daily, as there are Uwo Sundays in the balance of the campaign. Wellington, district has reached only a third of its objective of £4,674,000. Objective percentages reached by the 20 loan districts are:—Southland, 58 per cent.; Auckland, 55; Otago, 45; Taranaki, Marlborough, each 44; Gisborne-East Coast, 41; North Otago, Wanganui, each 37; Manawatu, Hawke’s Bay, each 35; Northland, 34; Wellington, Nelson, each 33; WaikatoKing Country, Wairarapa, South Canterbury, Canterbury, each 29; Buller, 28; Westland, 27 ; Thames-Bay of Plenty, 26.

Response of Workers. “The average New Zealand worker is determined to make his share in the Victory Loan an all-time record for this type of investor,” said the president of the New Zealand. Federation of Labour, Mr. A. MaLagan, last night. This organization, he said,-had set itself a target of £1,900,000. The response had already been remarkable, and there was every prospect of that figure being reached within the allotted time.

Mr. MaLagan described the organization of the loan effort among the trade unionists which would enable the maximum number of working people to contribute. There had been some commendable examples such as the offer of, a prize by one firm which divided its staff into four and was giving a prize to the section showing the best results. The total raised amounted to £lO a head. If every New Zealander managed to subscribe £lO to the loan the aggregate of these sums, plus the investments made by large institutions, would ensure a total far in excess of the £40,000,000 objective. Another Wellington firm nominated £lOOO ns the objective, but its 70 or 80 employees had already subscribed £1250 and one member of the staff, a returned soldier, had invested all his deferred pay, ' £2OO. Mr. MaLagan suggested' that there was good evidence' that the greatest possible effort was being' made by the small investors to ensure that their responsibilities to the Victory Loan were fully discharged and that the example set by some organizations and individuals should Inspire, those who had been holding back to get busy now. Air Force Band Today. The Band of the Royal New Zealand Air Force, which is stated to be equal to any military band in the world, will play in Wellington today following severa months’ tour of the Pacific, where it had a great reception from all it entertained. The band will march from the corner of Taranaki and Manners Streets at 1(2.115 p.m. via Manners and Willis Streets aud Lambton Quay to Victory Corner, where it will play on the plat-' form till 1.30 p.m. At 12.45 p.m. the mayor, Mr. Appleton, will give the baud a civic welcome from the platform. All members of this band are unfit for combat service, hut they have just completed a most strenuous tour. In the event of wet weather the band performance and civic welcome will take place in the Opera House. The industrial section of the Hutt Valley loan effort is doing splendidly, and with £7OOO already subscribed, it is not pretended that the campaign has yet gained full momentum. The staff of W. D. and H. O. Wills has already invested £3400 toward their £5OOO objective. General Motors’ staff figures are also large. The staff of Tod Motors Limited is well past the half-way mark in its objective. Additional subscriptions include: S. S. •Mason estate, £3150; staffs of Boots the Chemists N.Z. Limited, £118; Neeco factory, Kaiwarra, £77; Levy’s Limited, £320 in bonds and savings; Gregory Hats Limited, £llO, savings by the entire staff; Sander Tie Co., Limited, £163; National Carbon Co., savings £210; Alco Limited', savings, £110; E._ M. Jenkins and Co., savings, £2lO. It was decided at yesterday’s meeting of the Wellington Free Ambulance Board to invest £lOOO in the loan.

The Hutt Valley Electric Power Board decided yesterday to invest £2500 in the loan.

WANT PARLIAMENT TO ADJOURN

Wanganui Loan Committee Dominion Special Service. WANGANUI, September 21. It is the opinion of the Wanganui Victory Loan Committee that Parliament should adjourn now till the close of the loan campaign. The committee passed n resolution to that effect, and has received advice that the matter is being taken up b.v the governor of the reserve bank, Mr. W. F. L. Ward, who is to see the Minister of Finance, Mr. Nash. In the opinion of members of the committee the contentious measures discussed in Parliament and broadcast are injurious to the loan campaign. Mr. E. A. Millward said he would like to see Parliament close down and the members work for the loan in their respective districts. Mr. J. C. Batt, declaring that contentious matters discussed in the House were harmful to the campaign, said that if Parliament did. not adjourn, perhaps it could be taken off the air for the last fortnight of the campaign.