REPLACED—MAN FOR MAN

Evening Star, Issue 25462, 18 April 1945, Page 4

REPLACED—MAN FOR MAN

SERVICEMEN RETURNING FROM ITALY NO TIME TO PULL OUT (Special.) WELLINGTON, April 17. Should New Zealand make the provision of more food for Britain its major war contribution, but not send any more men away ? This was a question put to a conference of National War Savings delegates to-day by Mr Nash, Minister of Finance, who then made important statements in giving the answer. One of the most crucial spots in the present conflict, said he, was Italy, and one of the questions New Zealand must resolve early was in relation to Italy. In that country were 24 of the best German divisions, and there was evidence that they included three of the super-divisions"—men like those at Oassino, men who only gave up when they died. " The question is," he continued, "whether we should pull out now. I don't think so. We have decided that we could not send any more reinforcements ' without an ill effect on our economy, but we have agreed with General Freyberg that we will send replacements for the men sent back.

" We have agreed that our men who have served three years overseas shall come back home, arid that the men who do come \back shall be replaced. We will replace them man for man. We cannot afford to let our own men down or to pull out before the end of the conflict."

Mr Nash pointed out that if the division was allowed to dwindle down in numbers it would become ineffective. Therefore the War Cabinet had agreed to complete the replacement policy till the war was over.

Another important question discussed by the Minister of Finance was how to avoid the inflationary danger involved in the payment of gratuities. There were 170,000 men who had 'by overseas service qualified for gratuities, and there would be a lot of controversy how to pay them and avoid the inflationary period which arose in 1920, when there was more disaster at that point than during the war itself.. "Just imagine," he said, "if they all came along with their gratuity payments at once to buy goods that are not here." The National Savings organisation was, he declared, doing work of supreme value to the country in encouraging the investment of the surplus of money for which there were no available consumer goods in the market.