The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 13th, 1939. BUSINESS AS USUAL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 1, Issue 61, 13 September 1939, Page 4

The Bay of Plenty Beacon Published Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 13th, 1939. BUSINESS AS USUAL

ONLY by "carrying on" jean we, hqpe to combat the growing tendency to give way to a certain understandable warpanic which runs the danger of gripping the country today. There is such a thing as the "home front" upon which many battles are fought and won, for it is to a very large extent the morale of the civilian population that lends heart to the .fighting forces. Since the first shock of the dreaded war news there has been a marked trend on the part of businessmen to economise, by cutting down staff, by curtailing ordinary activities, and generally by preparing to meet and successfully combat a state of stringency and possible privation. Such actions can only lead to paralysis of trade and a general aggravation of the state of the country. This at a time when it is vitally necessary to make every post a winning post, is a practice to be deeply deplored. The slogan for the present time is definitely "Business as Usual" and .those who fall short in this respect are not calculated to be doing their bit to meet the national need. The practice of tightening up when faced with an emergency is largely a ''fashion" the instigators of which usually suffer most. It is the man who carries on, who inevitably wins through. The urgent need at the moment on the home front is for everyone, in the war phrase of 1914-18 to carry on. No surer means of playing into Nazi hands could be conceived than by allowing misguided ideas of patriotism to hold sway. The activities essential to the prosecution of the war disrupt the economic life of a country in a sufficiently disastrous fashion as was shown in the period of the Great War. If this lesson is to be learned and the British Commonwealth of Nations is to maintain its position as a world force for the promotion of democratic ideals, mem!ber countries must maintain all possible normal activities while the war progresses so when Peace is once more declared unnecessary trade will not have been lost and there v will be less leeway to make up. The British Government has announced that it is making every effort to maintain its overseas trade, and the New Zealand Government has asked that all normal activities "should continue. It is for everyone to bear these points Continually in mind. The experience of the last war has also taught that far from encountering a period of economic stringency, the outbreak of hostilities was the signal for a general loosening up in the financial world* Money was never easier, and as far as funds for patriotic purposes were concerned, flowed like waller. Another aspect is that a town s .progress is merely a reflection of the type of people living therein. Whakatane and the whole of the bountiful Bay of Plenty have no reason to adopt the gloomy mask of fearful anticipation. Our role is obviously one of 'keep smiling' and above all BUSINESS AS USUAL.