NIAGARA GOLD AND THE WAR

Southland Times, Issue 24685, 5 March 1942, Page 2

NIAGARA GOLD AND THE WAR

Sir, —A great deal of newspaper space has been devoted to the recovery of the Niagara gold. Those concerned are entitled to all praise and admiration for their triumph over unprecedented difficulties, but just what has this got to do with the war effort or with the nations real resources? Nothing has been added to the available supply of men, material or equipment, and now that the United States, the ultimate buyer of gold, is in the war, we can not even claim to be able to obtain more material aid from a non-belligerent through the expenditure of ships, men, equipment and explosives used in the twelve months of salvage work. One editorial on the subject makes the remarkable claim that “if one-half the losses by mines and submarines could be quickly recovered, there would be enough finance available to run the war for a long time.” Does “finance” run the war? Is our war effort dependent on the supply of a yellow metal, or paper, or figures, or on men and material? The peoples of the democracies are becoming very anxious about this. Our opponents have so clearly subordinated monetary arrangements to facts. We believe we are as strong and courageous as they, but somehow they consistently get ahead of us, - and all the arguments of orthodox economists fail to carry conviction when the enemy’s unorthodox methods stand so many tests. A report states that “at times the Claymore carried sufficient high explosives to have given Berlin a major air raid.” What did we gain by dumping those explosives into the sea off Whangarei instead of using them against the enemy? Is Hitler wasting his war material and man power and shipping on this sort of thing? I doubt it. So £2J millions of “gold,” taken out of a mine, sunk by another kind of mine, has been recovered at much effort and will eventually be buried again at Fort Knox, Kentucky, whence any attempt to reach it will be foiled by more explosives or water. Since, and while, our leaders continue to regard this artificially over-valued metal as vitally important, I have a practical suggestion to make with the object of preventing waste of potential wai’ material. Men and equipment and engineering skill are still engaged on gold production instead of the needs of war and industry. Let us assess what is probably there and issue our paper or figures against the assessment. What difference would it have made if instead of recovering the sunken “Niagara” bullion, the Reserve Bank had simply shipped the same quantity from its vaults to the original destination, and shown on its books that the gold reserve was held in a safe place off the coast near Whangarei instead of in vaults at Wellington. We knew it was there, which was obviously all that mattered. We only know by report that immense quantities are stored at Fort Knox. We never see it, and do not want to. Of course it is the men and materials which really count. Without them the paper money or figures issued against the gold would have no value in war or peace. When we learn and apply that, we shall have destroyed one of the enemy’s greatest advantages. JOHN H. HOGAN. Wellington, February 27, 1942.