THE VICTORY LOAN

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 79, 15 August 1944, Page 4

THE VICTORY LOAN

ORGANISING THE CAMPAIGN IN NELSON ALL-OUT EFFORT NEEDED Further arrangements for the prosecution of Nelson’s campaign to raise £671.000 as the district’s quota of the Victory Loan were made at a well-at-tended meeting last night in the Nelson Institute rooms. After Mr C. Milner, chairman of the Nelson executive. Mr W. V. Rout, a member of the executive and Mr C. W. Letford, secretary, had explained the need for a whole-hearted effort to negotiate a stiff hurdle, subcommittees were elected.

Mr Milner said it was appropriate on such an occasion that they should adapt the motto of the famous admiral after whom the city and district were named and say that Nelson expected all would do their duty. A duty it certainly was. The men at the front had set a splendid example and we must back them up. Now some of the war clouds were tinged with golden edges certain people might say there was no need to raise the money. That was far from being the case. The war was costing New Zealand £290 a minute and this had to be found.

Banking returns showed that there was much surplus spending power in the Dominion and it was necessary to counter inflation on the home front by drawing off some of that money into the’ loan. ‘‘Let us tell the people that they are lending—investing—their money, not giving it; and they cannot make a better investment in a worthier cause,” concluded Mr Milner,

Mr Rout said there was a real danger that some people might be so flushed with the expectation of victory that they might be disposed to slacken up in their efforts. He would remind them that this attitude had lost many a fight, on and off the battlefield. Public enemy No. 2 was inflation, which attacked insidiously and, unless resisted, would cause suffering in the future. It would be a betrayal of our men overseas if we allowed them to return to New Zealand to conditions against which they were incapable of fighting, however well they had fought against the enemy overseas. Whether it was regarded from a selfish or unselfish angle every £ subscribed to the war loan was a nail in the coffin of the enemy and a step towards ensuring the financial stability of the Dominion. WASTE INEVITABLE Also, during the campaign, the organisers might meet those who were disinclined to subscribe because they felt disgruntled at the waste which had gone on up and down the country. Of course, there had been waste but no war had ever been run without waste and extravagance. Those were conditions inseparable from war or, indeed, from any other kind of emergency.

Another point which must not be overlooked was that the Victory Loan offered a better investment than that earned by much money to-day. It would be interesting to know, he added, how many millions were in the banks earning no interest at all while the highest interest rate the banks were paying was 2 per cent. “Here the best of borrowers—ourselves—are offering 3 per cent., 50 per cent, more than that,” continued Mr Rout. With a full knowledge of its value as an investment he urged all who could to take advantage of the opportunity which the loan provided for investment in death duty stock, which he described as “a treasure laid up here on earth.” ADVANCE SUBSCRIPTIONS Explaining details of organisation. Mr Letford said that the advanced subscriptions to the loan in Nelson at present totalled £30,000 to £40.000 less than at the corresponding stage of the Third Liberty Loan last year, while this year’s target was greater. Much of the success would come from persuading Post Office Savings Bank depositors to transfer part of the capital in their accounts to the Victory Loan. Among forthcoming functions in support of the loan he mentioned a Loan concert in Nelson next month. Miss Mary Pratt and Mr Henri Penn would be among the visiting artists. The prospects of the Nelson district having a bond wagon of its own were also be. ing investigated. Mr J. Agar said that National Savings which would go towards the loan quota at present totalled £40,000 for the district, £ 10,000 of which was from Nelson city. The opportunities that National Savings provided for subscribing to the loan were emphasised. “COULD FLOAT TWO LOANS” Pointing to the great scope existing for Post Office Savings Banks depositors to help, Mr F. W. Sissons. Chief Postmaster, Nelson, said that last year the deposits amounted to about £84,000.000, of which between two and three million found its way into the war loan. This year deposits throughout the Dominion were over £100,000.000. “It will be seen that those with Post Office Savings Bank accounts could float two war loans and then have some left,” said Mr Sissons, who added that, as Chief Postmaster, he felt sure that the depositors in this district would not let the loan down. All that was necessary was to transfer money from one account to the other.