The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 1941. CALL FOR SACRIFICE.

Evening Star, Issue 23861, 16 April 1941, Page 6

The Evening Star WEDNESDAY, APRIL 16, 1941. CALL FOR SACRIFICE.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand (Mr P. Fraser) has delivered a message which should be heeded by everybody in the Dominion in a position to make some effort towards winning the war. Addressing the annual conference of the Party, Mr Fraser spoke no more than the truth when he said the basis of our social and economic structure was likely to bo severely tested in the days that lie ahead. The abnormal but vitally necessary expenditure on defence, together with the seriously restricted export market, has created conditions that must be faced in the spirit of a resolute national determination to protect this corner of the Empire and at the same time help the Allied lighting services now at grips with the Nazi war machine on several fronts. The alternative to complete victory is hideous to contemplate. The stories of Nazi oppression are no mere figment of the propagandist’s imagination. The people of each country that falls before the ruthless invader have precisely the same grim tales to tell. They are all living for the day when, with the help of the British Commonwealth of Nations, they will have their freedom and independence restored, and, apart altogether from the necessity to make our own position secure, we must not fail them. New Zealand fighting men have always proved second to none in courage, ability, and endurance, and in whatever war zone they are serving and in whatever fighting unit the men now abroad will preserve the honour of the Dominion. For their sakes, also, the people who have to stay at home must bo prepared to make the war effort, even if it entails personal sacrifice, the primary consideration. Mr Fraser introduced the right note into his speech when he said New Zealanders could support their troops best by working harder and by saving more money for war purposes. He stressed the paramount necessity of meeting wav needs in men, materials, and financial resources, and also the need to keep the everyday economic life of the community functioning and so carry the burden of the war. As in the case of the Home Country, the policy of inflation is to be kept at bay. It will be observed that the Prime Minister places last in his three-point survey of our duties the need, after the more urgent demands have been met, to maintain living standards above a reasonable minimum. The logical inference is that standards of living while war continues cannot 'be a main concern. It is certainly impossible to see how they can remain unaffected whatever is done. The big consolation, however, lies in the certain knowledge that by ’ making some sacrifice now the British peoples are safeguarding the standard of living for generations to come. The ultimate object is worth fighting for, both abroad by force of arms and at home on the economic and industrial front.

The declaration of policy formulated! at the conference of the Labour Party contained many worthy clauses, but inasmuch as its emphasis lay on the necessity for preserving the existing standard of living rather than on the call for increased production, it did not equal in impressiveness the subsequent remarks of the Prime Minister. Although the prospect of a General Election naturally meant that some attention had to be given at the conference to the question of the party’s campaign funds, it was a pity this should have 'been stressed to the apparent exclusion of reference to the public duty of contributing to the national savings scheme. The party president (Mr James Roberts) emphasised the importance of unity being maintained within the ranks of the Labour movement. More important still would have been some expression of opinion laying stress on the necessity for unity throughout the country as a whole. A National Government should be the object of the two main parties in New

Zealand] political life, without any undue stickling over the proportions of their representation and with a view only to the most effective prosecution of the war.