LIBERTY AT STAKE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 June 1942, Page 2

LIBERTY AT STAKE

NEED FOR STILL GREATER EFFORT STRESSED BY MR COATES. CALL ON EVERY NEW ZEALANDER (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. The inevitable dislocation involved in a change-over from a peace to a war footing, was referred to by Mr Coates, Minister in the War Cabinet, in an address last evening in which he appealed for support for the Liberty Loan. He said that this country was passing through a dark and dangerous time, and though there was no doubt as to the ultimate result all must face up to a complete realisation of the situation. Till the enemy was defeated and destroyed there would be no peace and no security for anyone. “Each step taken to meet the needs of our preparations for war and our national security must necessarily disturb industry and the normal lives of all,” said Mr Coates. “All this change strikes at the very roots of our normal lives. Not a single New Zealander will fail to see that we are facing a crisis never contemplated, even in our most imaginative moods. If we can get firmly fixed in our minds the fact that our country is threatened, that the liberty of its people is at stake —and it is not a stretch of imagination to say that we are actually .fighting for our lives —then there is not room, on the part of any single individual, for a complacent thought. “New Zealand has done well. No one can deny this. But we are called on to do even better, and, what is more, and even harder, we must sustain our effort. The drain on manpower from every industry creates difficult problems. We are calling on women to replace men, and we are also asking women to carry out important military duties, and right well they are responding to that call. “Thousands of men are being trained, and more and more will be wanted if we are to put forward our maximum effort. It is not enough merely to say these things. We must realise what is entailed. These men must be trained, fed, clothed and equipped with arms. And these supplies must be maintained. The men are required, to provide personnel for artillery, infantry, tanks, anti-tanks, anti-aircraft; they are required to man ships, fighters and bombers, to maintain signal communications and to provide all necessary staff organisations. They need machineguns of every description, heavy, medium and light automatics, mortars, rifles and sub-machine-guns, and they must have transport—transport by land, sea and air.

“Men are required for the manufacture of automatic guns, bombs, mortars, ammunition and clothing; for the growing of food supplies; for the making of boots, and for the manning of ships (small though they may be, yet an essential part of Navy requirements). And these are but a few of the essentials of our war effort. The detailed list of all requirements is enormous, but each item is a necessary part of the huge effort that is being made in this country to provide for its defence. As time passes the strain will be felt more and more, but we are in this war to the last man and the last shilling.”