A FLYING START

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 52, Issue 3277, 18 June 1943, Page 8

A FLYING START

3RD. LIBERTY LOAN APPEAL TO THE WORKERS £7,398,465 RAISED FIRST WEEK , The 3rd. Liberty Loan campaign in its first week made a flying start with subscriptions of £7,398,465 and 5179 subscribers, nearly three times the number who supported former, war loans in the first week. This is all the more creditable because intensive work of local committee scan scarcely have reached its full strength. The campaign aims at personal contacts and the approach is now only to those with capital to spare. The latter point was strongly made by Mr F. P. Walsh who, speaking on behalf of the Federation of Labour, with its 200,000 members of affiliated organisations, presented the workers’ objective, £10,000,000, for the Liberty Loan to be achieved by every worker sparing two shillings in the £ from his or her wages. The new Minister of Armed Forces and War Co-ordination, Hon. W. Perry, made one of the most effective

appeals of the week —a soldier’s appeal and this in Army Week in the loan campaign. Having,in mind the two terms for investment and relative sacrifice asked of servicemen and investors Hon. Perry declared “These men of ours may be asked, for their lives which’ once given are given not for a few years but for ever. They fight with their 'bodies but .we are only asked to fight with our savings.” As a well-known racing enthusiast the Hon. Perry made a characteristic appeal to the punters after quoting the big totalisator figures as some index of the amount of spare cash available. “Now you punters,,” he said, “I appeal to you, aren’t we very fortunate to have racing at all. If you can risk your tenners on the tote you can invest them without risk in the Liberty Loan. Here your dividend is certain and your duty plain.” New Zealand’s Army is playing an active part in this week’s loan campaign. Samples of its splendid equipment will be seen in many parades and best of all the well-trained men. Without giving away State secrets one can demonstrate how the Army has grown by giving relative figures of yearly expenditure. In the first year of the war £3,572,532 was spent, second year £17,249,000 and third year £88,899,000. This suggests that not only in manpower but in ample equipment our army is splendidly efficient.