BRITAIN'S EFFORT

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 41, 17 August 1942, Page 3

BRITAIN'S EFFORT

ENORMi9tJS RESULT

GROWTH OF OUTPUT

(0.C.) • - AUCKLAND,. This Day. : An impressive survey of the : British war effort, expressed large- ■ ly.vin' figures/ some of which' have* : not previously been announced.' was given*to; the Auckland Rotary Club in an address by *■ Sir Harry Batterbee f> HighjCommissioner for tlie.United Kingdom. After a brief review: of ithe i present- grave war : situation and: a tribute to the magnificent achievements of , the 2nd ' : N.ZJS.F.,- Sir .'Harry.' said he; pro- / posed' to give/birigfly, a .birds-eye.: view .of'th^ United' Kingdom, war ; effort'at; the'close'-'of the third y,ear of war. - 7/./ .//■/'; ■'' '■■■';,■■ '<' y -. '. ] "As^Mr/;Beyin..said, recently in', the ; Housed of: Commons/ he z said, /' 'no ; country'in'Hlie history of'the;wm'ld has. mobilised"its;mW--ppwer and/wpman-; pow.er>.to*such 4 a; point, as has; in this;; war.' ;;■ Britain ; has a population;: of 47,<)00i000,f ■of ,\vhichr:l4,ooo,ooo r<. are; underil4! or over 65,/ieaying -33,000,000; available vf6n \ wprk. A-. large <, numbers of .these -are -•;• women..engaged ;•; in * the; care; of •-•-..children-' :iand' in -household! duties, > feeding., arid-, looking -/after, workers, but>no ,less?than 22;000.000,'areengaged Vin■•■• full-time/ v^ar' work,, ■ 77J) per "cent.-of * the^boys and: 67 £< per .cent:; of •' the--girls. -: between 14 'arid' 17 < arei engaged in .war-work.. Aparfcfromvfull- ; timei work,-vthere '; is/,'an ..enormous amount of •^part-time 'work.- '-■■■'■' "-'■ '; UmisXTION^F: $JL APJ-iPOWER;:: .' \ . "The".nrsi'pail/qh:-:.man-p(gw i er.'-:isVlQf] course,', f i,f pr;- the «.arhiejdv forces,", but". for obvious "reasQns'rthe! exact: figures ;can-' not ibe^disclpse'd. A rough- ide l a,-*h,6'w-;t ever,ipfothe|extent :,of mQbilisation; fpr> the forces* was'^given^ in: a:- statement? made* notxlpfig agpvwheir ißwasvsaid; that;the;^nUed 'Kingdom armed :fbrees; this year.vwpl^rd" be' about-the same'as; they-were-at^the end'-of: -thevlast1 war^ wheiv .they.amounted.;- to. between jfour,.; and■ five-millipris. ;"ThV.'second".call! •■'is for munitions" production. Here- •again. it is impossible' to- give -'exact "'tptal; figure?/ but;the "number is ;.just ;abput' double.; the nunibei*femploye<r in 'mtiinii: tions production" at. the; .end: of*-1941;; afte'r'iustpVSr two'years of-.waiv-thah ; at the'end Qp'tlie last: war..after,;more ; than - four. year.s, of war. t In." addition, since',the outbreak'bf' the : preseri t ■'■ war, over* a. million 'women have* gone intomunitions1 'prbduqtion '.'arid'- vitaldnaustries and services,-'and five and \§;half. million/men and; women are,-occupied today pn;}.vital war .-work covered--by essential war work .orders. Hours of work'i'.are not.: less than. 52 .in industry t and. ■ 46 V. fin' offices, ■and these ' are,; of' course, , not ■, maximum hours'..' The report of:the Soviet Trade. Union - delegation] that visited .Britain' recently .".states tlxat) the average -hours, for -the- British worker ' are ;fronr 55 to 60 a'week a.nd' that some work'7ol Before the war: the normal .'hours' w.ere 44 to 48. 5 Despite the long^ hours and i very' rare ''holidays, 'and; the disturbances . and: fatigues'' of "wartime conditions, 'including .the 'constant risk..of air raids,\skill",has. :beeri.kept, up -and speed-uji ',of-.' output::';;has',',;-generally speaking,- exceeded the estimates.' To give' an ' example:-in. September .last year, the 'Ministry of. Supply set. as -a. target' a 40 .per cent.; increase in - output for/ the next six months. Not-'priiy-was'.this object 'achieved, b.ut it-was jpassed.;! -•. : ;■ :,■ .' ,;. .--. ; ; ... :.. - WOMEN'S WAJR EFFORT. . ; -Of about 16,000,000 women between the' ages .of: 18' and 64;. 6,000;000 are taking care,of families under:. 14 ,or. are not'physically/1 fit.« By. June, 1942, 7,500,000'; \YPmen were already doing full-time' jobs in: some '.part of the national effort;apart from the large numbers serving" in-the; Army; ,Navy, Air- Force/ and..Land Army, and' tliose in the/"Wpnien's/ .Voluntary, S.ervice; and those who,, are carrying 'on.; their work at ;hdme, looking after, evacuees as well1 as tlieir own families, taking a share-of the 10,000,000. part r ti,me jobs and "doing" : important; voluntary ', war work,; are often,. just, as.:much, war workers' as ;th6se in*unif orm: <And' the women, of .Britain ' have .made.1 their, contribution jipt'ohiy. in numbers/ put in their 1 d^yoliph;,which' hag';be'eh."an irispit-atipn/'arid {example to 'aU'-. "who have.'see.iv:th'em"at;\yprk;» ;■' ./.';■' ■.■)■<■ USE'JOE^NATIONAii --.RESOURCES'.■ In -IQW- the -United: Kingdpmj Gov,-ernment'.-used'--'for; Stdte purposes less than one^fifth of- the . national resources, leaving' foiif-fifths ' for personal consumption/ . They are- now turning (more /than half- of 'the national resources • into various means of winning the ;war; keeping it back from civilian- uses,, even if feedirigV clothing; and ;hpusing'.of >the'armed forces' be counted; as > civilian "uses: • ''About :i6O per centi,. of ■■the* national income 'is now;:going.into the--war; 'Taxation- has reached ;a; magnitude' undrearne'd of in the1; pastvibut ; th"e ■•public" are 'bearing the ; burden readily and-almost "eagerly. Income: .tax 'and -surtax fake '94- per cent. jOilthe.dargesVincomes. • Indirect taxatian-is so -high:'that; put #io rf ';22d; I the <:;pri'ce. J of- -the cheapest,1 pipe tobacqo; " 17d' 'is .duty: •pf > 24cf' 'for-. 20a. -cigarettes,;.. ■<■ 1-7-av Is -■ duty; - -6f':l W a pint: for-v-beer, :duty.: Counting -.cpritributio.ns: for social insurance, i wars' risks,■an.d.^va'f".-damage: as' taxa'tipri, ! central -GOvernm-ent^taxatioh 'a.ccp'uiitedfor .40 per.^centvrOf-fthe- national' hi* come .in 1941>> Nevertheless, -vOluntaiy | savihgs;raised.^Ovef:'£l,6oo,ooo,ooo, per-sonal-savings in 194! alone' being'over £900,000,000.•: Taxation- this year- is intended ■tp raise "£500,000,000 more than..the ..enormous- figure for "last year, .and .the total; Government•- expenditure for.the,year is expected to be over £5,000,000,000 "million. OUTP.U'T OF .MUNITIONS.; The. immense scale of the'- ioutpiit from. - British!, war. .factories -is • ■ sometimes not fully, realised. In his speech on. January .27 MtV- Churchill stated that- the; United. Kingdom produced in 1941.,m0re than double the munitions equipment of the United States. :Of course, United States production has greatly increased during the present year.' Today f- Britain's air production equals or surpasses, that of Germany and ;her. totaliarmament productior.. approaches, that, of Germany, thus leaving almost, the entire American production >as "a .victory . stir plus for ;the. United Nations, iWe are f producing ■tanks,; jeeps, -and ~ other. ' mechanical vehicles :at;the rate' of 257,000 a 'year.' and big. guns: at* the rate, of :40.000 a year; ; War/ weapons 'output as a -whole doubled. ,in . 1941. ( The':• output" of machine, tools was' six times that of the.normal peacetime.level- towards the close-of ; last-year.- In the seventh quarter of this- Wbv -the .-total? output of; warjike stores "wqs nearly twace -as great; as .the; corresponding quarter of ■.'.-' )'~ r, i /'.!..' :'. -. ;

, the last war and equalled our production, in the fourteenth, and culminating quarter of the-last war. AGRICULTURE. The achievement of agriculture-is no ; less striking. Before, the. war.Britain■ i produced •■ only one-third of her food; ! requirements. Today we are produc-. ■! ing, two-thirds.with practically no: '.. extra labour and in spite of a great, dilution of farm labour from calling-' ■up of men and replacement with ' women, juveniles, and old people. '■ Britain is today easily.the most-highly • mechanised farming country in Europe: and has more than doubled the number of-'.- tractors since" the' outbreak of war. British farm output per man hour.is at least half as great again as that of Germany. Six million addi- : tional acres have been put= under the plough and yield per acre is .being kept' ' easily .the highest in the; world.- Land owners, farmers,; farm workers,' and , scientists are co-operating, and ,the i whole system;is;working, with-remark-able smoothness. This great expansion 1 does not'necessarily imply a threat' to: > thei market for New Zealand produce i after the war, for the name of.';; New Zealand-product, ranks veijy;high with : -British-housewives, and:the- products ■on which; British" wartime agriculture I has concentrated 7 do not-for the.most : part compete directly with the staple! i New, Zealand.: exports;of lamb,': butter. and cheese, consumptibn! of which" has ■ , perforce been -.vastly'! reduced.- Mprer: > oyer,: we.'look 'forward"' ; to! a greatvin- : .crease of total- .consumption ndt <<only. ; in. Britain but lin Europe,. as a' wliPle ; ,and ' t 1 c world.. after ■? the ; war;,.- '■•:,>.• . -, . . i APPLICATION OF MUNITIONS. ";"' ! ' MWhat has been done.'with the-great, output ,df munitions'f rom-United King-, dbm factories? ' The .guiding, rule fhas ! bepn.tofsendmunitidns and;.equipment. I wherever they are.'most wanted ~for active,.operations, to .the' ' absolute!maxi-, mum.,-The suggestion; which-;has.! sometimes {been, made that' military, re- • sources have-,, been unnecessarily pent; ' up-in-Britain -lias no,- foundation./- The j fact- the-United : Kingdpm, -,„de--1 spite/..substantial,, imports •■> from !,Amej rica.iisia big.net exporter ,of: we.apons;-: ; In- y1941. we..sent:jout- 9781 /aircraft as. ! against ;2js4i brought, in. . We-;sent.out. 1 SOOOrtanks as against -200-brpught:in.: ', In-'October.' 1941. alone we:sent.overseas ;2300'. Army .vehicles,;,l3oo .aircraft, . 400X100 tons; of military- and^airistores, ; arid,!:.some-; hundreds ;.bf: locomotives.' ■ The-, limiting ~-; .factor-.!; in,, sending; .;'■- re« : sources f'overseas"'' -has been ! As- Mr, Ghurchul -saidUn.^,! J,ah!uary,f . every/ scrap of shipping.-we-cquld jdraw away- from-our vital-supply; routes '.has, been.';-used- to" the utmost * capacity- to carry \ troops,. . tanks., and. munitions from 'the United Kingdom, and overseas.-^ ' More than half-the ships which . used to bring -food to Britain . have been- diverted- to supplying' and maintaining armies throughout -the It- was announced in March that' for months past- not less than 80 :per cent, of. our • total. military production ■'-. and every soldier for whom-shipping space was-available had been sent overseas. VAST i SHIPPING TRANSPORT^ , "Despite .great , economies of - shipping (through reduction- ,in time. of ships-turn-round, a. saving of, nearly 1_ .million tons-has. been 'effectecj). the ships; available : db not- nearly suffice for our "needs. In 1941 200 ships were continuously; employed round' the" Cape to, the Middle East,. conveying^mon? than .a million; tons .of goods■ and ■ 30,000 vehicl.es> in ccdnvoys., .At , the ,'. same time .Herculean efforts have been made, to get,supplies,to Wussia. in the faCe of ".'serious attacks on convoys, ..an!d. well over.9o per. cent., of, all cargoes sent by the northern route. have • been safely, delivered,. Over- 2000 tanks were-sent'to Russia- in July.. .In January; 1942, twice as much material- was carried over the- Persian! route as in November, ,1941, and it was hoped, po double- the figures again by -May. Amongst.the-goods being sent to Russia are'tanks,-aircraft, aluminium, rubber, copper, lead, oil,-jute, steel, machine tools, .sugar, and. boots. * For boots alone- (3 million pairs)- 40,000 tons of shipping space have, been necessary Large-numbers of British-tanks" took part 'in. the Russian winter advance, specially" manufactured" to operate at temperatures'- of 50 degrees below zero and, cpmplete with spare • parts; ' SUPPLIES FOR NEW ZEALAND. : "Despite - the heavy claims of the theatres' of active .operations, the '.efforts made, unfortunately to, no ...pj-irpose to s'eh'd'.considerable' quantities !ol ; muni- ; tiohs, to>the!Far East aria Burma, and ■: the necessity to strengthen .'the!",'•defences of India," the United' Kingdom Government-has,- since.-war-came ' td the -Pacific;..answered the.call 'of.; New Zealand! Ipr the supplies necessary, for. her defence. This has involved, send- ' 'ing: ; to. New Zaland considerable; quantities of equipment previously earmarked for 'other' theatres. ' A flow - of .munitions-of war- has been directed towards' • this- Dominion- from British '. factories.' For security reasons':publicity clearly, cannot be given to these j supplies.! but', .despite pressing, needs ] iri r the . theatres ; of,; active operation's, Britain has.-hot forgotten .New' Zealand r ah'd wiil.'never forget. New' Zealand.; ( '"'Such.vis -the picture, of' Britain's wai; ) effort, at-the: end' of'the third ;yea'r: of war!, .'and, it .is an; effort backed "to" the- : full by/all other 'British countries'' ah'd . by; all* the- United Nations. 'The--whdle ,\v^r is^ope. , A success 'In the Pacific; is;a help, to' the . war in the! Atlantic/ A-reverse in' Egypt is; a threat-'lto-1 Australia and' New Zealand/ r; The-outlook at-'the: moment Js diirk.'the' path beforeas- hard' and-dangerous," but- _ any'con-! fident -that; if We- all' throw.- liitb 'thi? war effort "everything , w-e 'have,; if -w!e all -back one", another; up to. "the.'utmostlimit Pf our if '.we .' ta'ke< Unity -as -our watchword, we .shall >vi the end -overthrow -all'vthe.-- .forces,."■ of evil "which are, arrayed .against: lis."