WARTIME ECONOMY.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 209, 2 August 1940, Page 6

WARTIME ECONOMY.

(To the Editor.) Sir, —In reply to your correspondent “Fond of Horses” 1 wish to draw his attention to the fact that he has run off the track, slightly, as tile point under discussion was not horse racing in war but, as above, wartime economy. The fact that horse racing was mentioned was only incidental, as an economic waste which should not take place in wartime. As petrol is one of the main factors in winning the war, then surely where glaring waste takes place attention should be drawn to the fact. After having read his letter, I conclude that his viewpoint has a very limited horizon, and well within the approximate circle of a racecourse. Otherwise his judgment of a very sensible remit or resolution by' a Farmers’ Union meeting in Hawke’s Bay would not have been so harsh. His suggestion that they are labouring under the impression that the Government are preventing Britain from winning the war is absurd. The truth is that the Farmers’ Union and most other responsible people who have given the matter a.ny thought at all realise that the position tc-dav calls for sacrifice bv all. Your correspondent surely could not have heard the urgent call that came from England and the Minister of Supply to save petrol and other essentials for ■winning the war. In the wonderful fight that the Empire is putting up for Democracy, everything that hinders must of necessity be put aside, and everything helpful made use of, even constructive criticism of tlie Government. In this connection one of the most helpful factors for success has been the speeches by Mr Churchill and Lord Halifax. The member of Parliament for Tauranga (Mr Doidge), I think it was, deserves much commendation for his suggestion that the speeches, especially that of Lord Halifax, be read in our schools. Further, in reply to “Fond of Horses” and in conclusion, as for racehorses being fed to pigs I have only to point out that that is the fate of many of them in any case, and also ,tha.t a lot of the breeding is not very thorough. Don’t forget what the Minister of Finance said in Parliament the other night about the person who invested £1 on the racecourse to get 4s back. As for “A Grade.” as he has said nothing I have nothing to reply to.—l am, etc.. J.M. Palmerston North. 31-7-40.