SWORD IS MIGHTIER NOW

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 05, Issue 48, 4 May 1942, Page 6

SWORD IS MIGHTIER NOW

TO-DAY BRITAIN'S PEN MAKERS ARE ON WAR WORK More than 20,000.01)0 postage stamps a day are being turned out. Sundays excepted, by Britain's printers, or a total of (5.500,000,000 throughout the year. Tliey arc done on a special watermarked paper—each reign has its own watermark—the makers of which have been supplying paper for Bank of England notes for upwards of 200 ypars. All stamps up to and including the 3d are now printed in lighten' shades which means a saving of considerable quantities of dyestufl's to help the war effort, particularly in those countries which relv on British manufacturers for their industrial dyes. Although circulars l'rom mail order houses, money-lenders, bookmakers and football promoters are all refused in Avar time people are writing more letters than ever they did. They are finding it difficult to buy fountain pens to write them with. Instead of fountain pens the makers are turning out high precision instruments and parts for munitions. The output has net been entirely stopped and it has not been muoh affected by the present limitation of rubber as three tons of it gives enough ink sacs for 5,000,000 pens. Coloured and fancy pens however are sloAvly disappearing and soon a standardised black pen Avill be al) that is to be had. More than half of the supply now available is going to the troops overseas.