ECONOMY AND THRIFT

Taranaki Daily News, 12 April 1918, Page 4

ECONOMY AND THRIFT

The Government are asking for a loan of £9,500,000, and obviously are. not enjoying a ready response, writes the Dunedin Star. Within a fortnight or so the Treasurer will announce proposals for further borrowing on a fairly large scale. Do the people realise that they must provide over £*20,000,000 a year for the New Zealand war chest if they are earnest about maintaining their forces at full and even increased strength in the field? This can be done safely only by a rigorous exercise of economy and thrift. If the banks have to subscribe the bulk of the money the currency will be inflated to a common disadvantage. The soundest method is for the people to curtail ordinary expenditure and lend their savings to the State to help the soldiers defeat the Hun. This method is not being practised. Statistics reveal gross extravagance and a careless, if not an indifferent, pursuit of pleasure. Take the racing and gambling returns, for example, for the year ended July last: Over £5,000,000 had passed through the totalisator on 280 "racing" days. On 250 days in 1913-14 £4,188, l3 1 00 was invested. More recently the gambling returns at races have been scandalously high. Then there is the remarkable trade as regards importation of luxuries. The increases for the first two months of this year were experienced in the imports of millinery, jams and jellies, piekles and sauces, whisky, wine, motor cars, bicycles, cigarettes, books, music, and pianos. Patriots may be confronted with bankruptcy, but they must have pianos. Let it be hoped that the instruments have not at least been maan in Germany. Commercial men admit that there is more whisky in bond in Wellington than there has been at any time before, and, that even transports bring back as cargo cases of whisky. One inlporter was able recently to import for his own commercial profit no less than 300 cases of champagne. Yet there are people who would keep a ''tot" of rum fiom a, drenched soldier in the trenches. A mad world! It is explained, however, that whisky has not, been carried by ships to the exclusion of more essential commodities. Th ese cannot be obtained at British ports, and vessels must either return in ballast or load whisky °r salt. So it is whisky more often than ballast. During the forthcoming session of Parliament the Government should consider the question of introducing a system of continuous war loan boriow ing by the sale of savings certificates and bonds. This policy has already proved very elective in Great Britain. It ensures supplies to the Treasury, aud it encourages national thrift.