NATIONAL EXTRAVAGANCE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 76, 14 October 1941, Page 5

NATIONAL EXTRAVAGANCE

SLASHING ATTACK MADE SPEECH BY AUSTRALIAN AIRMAN Sydney, Oct., 13. A slashing attack on what he described as national extravagance was made by Group Captain D. E. Wilson, R.A.A.F., in a speech today in connection with the Commonwealth War Loan rally. “Did you women who attended last week's Randwick races, with your j splendid two-guinea orchid. your 20j guinea model frock, your ravishing | little five-guinea hat. stop to think that [some of the money you spent on making yourselves look beautiful might eventually have provided a surgical 1 dressing to save the life of a badly ! wounded friend of yours in the A.I F.'.’ “Has it occurred to you members of : the racing public who are finding it so I necessary to journey to Melbourne for ; the cup meeting and filling interstate j trains to capacity that the money you | are spending on pleasure which is quite ; unnecessary in these days of national ; peril might have produced a protective fighter and saved the lives of a bomber “Do you members of trade unions i whose pay envelopes are made heavy because of this war set aside those amounts which otherwise you would spend on things you really don't want !so that you can contribute to the national war effort? A few of you may—the majority do not. "Are you employers ol labour who a:e finding this war such a profitable investment using this easy money so that when peace comes you can live on easy street? Your duty is clear. Give all you can voluntarily so that the nightmare of conscripted earnings may never come our way." Sir Keith Smith said it was reckoned that each daylight sweep by the Fighter Command in England cost £40,000 and the daily losses of bombers were £225.000. It might be an understatement to estimate the empire air losses from all causes at £4,C00.000. —P.A.