MONDAY, THE LAST DAY.

Taihape Daily Times, 13 April 1918, Page 4

MONDAY, THE LAST DAY.

To New Zealanders there is nothing of such present moment as the War Loan, the issue of which closes on Monday night. Everyone who is able to help his country in this hour of its very greatest peril should not leave the assistance they can givo a minute longer unrendered, particularly, those who have not contributed at all, or have not lent according to their means. Experience has shown that the bulk of purchasers of war bonds, and also of war certificates leave it to the last day, but far better is it to contribute to the country's needs while there is yet time than to miss the last day and not contribute at all. It has been made perfectly clear in Parliament that there is some difficulty about the nine and a half millions wanted being forthcoming. It is quite natural that those who have found the money for previous War Loans should refuse to contribute further till those who have not put in a shilling are compelled to do their duty. Consequently, Parliament has had no alternative but to amend the law authorising the Tax Department to furnish the Government with particulars of every man's income to enable it to commeae) putting into I'cice the compulsory claa.es of the Act. The Act is being amended to penalise those who have not done their obvious duty. All those who are called upon to contribute to the. War Loan will be allowed only 3 per cent, for their money, while voluntary contributors are receiving' 4i per bent. free of income tax. Surely men with money do realise that nioney to carry on the war must be forthcoming, and that they as possessors of money are the only people from whence it must come. Then why do they foolishly kick against that which must be? Why do they continue to demonstrate that disaster may result to the Empire from continuing the private ownership of wealth? . Because- they do not study the trend of future finance and. social progress they should riot foolishly conclude .that . the great ■majority of the, people of the Empire are not receiving continuous- enlightenment on that subject. They; do not seem to realise that every acre of land and every shilling of money, in the State, regardless of who is in possession of it, belongs to the State first and to the possessor second, and that the State will take that land or that shilling in any way it may choose when occasion arises. The Empire in which they live has been able to maintain such laws as have given them their money and land in such absolute security for their own enjoyment and determination, but such beneficient laws are now challenged by Germany, and if ouv money and our lands are not utilised to the extreme in driving off the menace to our hitherto enjoyed freedom, our banks and stores will fall into the hands of Germany just as those of Belgium, Servia, Bumania and Poland have done, and those in Bussia are now doing. Who would have believed three years ago that Germany would to-day be engaged in collecting from Bujssian banks' all Russian money and from Bussian farmers all Bussian food? That is precisely what is happening, and if we quit our duty as the Russians have quitted theirs no magician's wand can save us. Let us reason out the problem for ourselves, for we shall then realise that it is useless to go on sacrificing our brother if we do not train, equip and feed him to do the fighting for us. We shall also realise that victory cannot be ours if we continue to refuse to furnish the very essentials of victory. Monday is the last opportunity to contribute voluntarily to the essentials of victory, after that comes compulsion and 3 per cent.