WAYS OF HELPING

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23767, 21 September 1940, Page 15

WAYS OF HELPING

Sir, —The criticisms of "Tan" are not helpful. German prisoners are paid. If not paid by us, they will he paid by Britain. Children have not been kept in Britain by lack of shipping. It was expressly stated that shipping was abundant. It'wrts lack of naval escort. But no additional escort would be needed for ships, ships that must come in any case, bearing Germans. If Germans chose to murder their own men, that would bo their affair. I doubt if this matter of helping Britain is generally understood. If we raise funds for Britain, the money is not sent to London. It is exchanged for its equivalent in the sterling funds that we have received for our exports. As these funds are insufficient for our civil and military requirements outside the Dominion, and as Britain fills the deficiency' by lending the amount, any gift of money we make merely means that we must borrow" that amount additional from Britain. Even the interest we thus pay must be paid in sterling and must be supplied by Britain. Our power to help is determined by the work we do and the savings we effect. If we work to our limit, in place of loafing shamelessly for more than three-fourths of our time, and if wo ration ourselves to reasonable public and private spending, we can increase our exports and diminish our imports, and so increase the funds from which help can be £iven. At present we are not pulling our OAvn weight, but are leaning heavily on the overburdened and tortured people of Britain, while pretending to help them with gifts. Manurewa. J- Johnstone.