New Zealanders’ Fight On Home Front

Northern Advocate, 11 September 1944, Page 2

New Zealanders’ Fight On Home Front

"T he fighting men of the United Nations. not forgetting our own New Zealanders, have proved conclusively that they can and will achieve final victory provided we on the homo front give them further support. In a spirt of gratitude for the great service they have rendered we must at this most important stage of the conflict whole-heartedly “back the attack.” We must do our full share in helping to bring this terrible war to a successful conclusion.” So said Mr. C. Q. Coad, a member of the National Victory Loan Committee, when speaking during an interval at the Victory Concert in the Town Hall on Saturday Night. Continuing. Mr. Coad said: "But while we rejoice in present victories, we must not let events overseas so dazzle us that we overlook our duty on the home front. We must keep faith with our fighting men. Those who went away to fight are doing their part. We ought to do ours. Jf they fight, we surely ought to pay, particularly when that only means lending our money—just investing in the Victory Loan.

Paying the Bills

The war is costing New Zealand, on !ast year’s figures nearly £3,000,000 a week, or £290 per minute or £SO per second. Our men overseas will come home to find a rotten state of affairs if we don’t pay the bills and we pay the bill by investing in the Victory Loan. "The loan money is needed to pay the men of the navy, the army and the air force, to give them three square meals a day to pay for their uniforms and oots, to buy guns, mortars, ammunition. tanks, vehicles and bombs.

“People sometimes forget the last and very important need: the need for supporting the wives and children of our fighting forces, wives and children, who must be provided with food and clothing, and with all their daily wants while their husbands and fathers are away fighting for us. “As so much of our income today is coming out of war production and war activities and none is flowing back naturally in war procjuction and war activities, a proportion of the money must be put back by some special method, and that special method is the Victory Loan.

“The Victory Loan calls for £40,000COO a stupendous sum, but the money is in the country. We have £137,000,000 on current account in the three banks, and over £100.000,000 in the Post Office Savings Bank. The Reason Why

“I want to say with all due emphasis that the transfer of money from the Post Office Savings Bank is a real help to the Victory Loan. People say ‘why is that? The Government "already has the money,’ The reason is that the money in the savings bank is at call, and the Government must always retain a large sum in hand to meet withdrawals. If a large portion of the money now jn the savings bank were voluntarily transferred bv the depositors to the war loan, the" Government would have the assurance that repayment of that money would not be required for three five or ten years, according _ to the war loan, investment in which it was placed. “If you have money in the savings bank which you do not need iust at present, transfer it to the Victory Loan. You will still have it under State guarantee and you will be doing your duty right nobly by vour people.” Strength For Last Round Mr. A. J. Magee made a strong appeal for support of the Victory Loan. He said that though the war situation was satisfactory at the moment, that constituted the greater need to increase the Allies’ power to the utmost extent- Using the figure of the boxing ring, lie stressed that many a boxer with points hitherto in his favour, lost because he could not pack a punch sufficient to knock out his opponent. It was to ensure that the Allies possessed this power that the Victory Loan made an appeal which should be responded to by everybody according to his ability to contribute. Mr. R. G. Hosking spoke on similar lines, making an eloquent appeal to Whangarei people to place their town’s - contribution to the Victory Loan at a figure which would do honour to them.