HEEDLESS WASTE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 13 October 1942, Page 4

HEEDLESS WASTE

IN DAYS OF TOTAL WAR CONDEMNED BY FEDERAL PREMIER. DEMAND FOR UNSPARING EFFORT. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) (Received This Day, 12.40 p.m.) SYDNEY, This Day. The Australian Prime Minister, Mr J. Curtin, has strongly criticised those who are not co-operating in the Federal Government’s austerity campaign. He said there were some people who seemed unable to find recreation except in “feeling about punting and getting drunk and trying to make a Roman circus out of a national tragedy.” “Flow ironical it is that in a country where every ounce of coal is needed lor the war effort we must provide extra transport for race meetings,” said Mr Curtin. “How ironical it is that we must provide refreshment rooms at meetings so that a man can have a spot as well as pick the winner. That is not total war; that is not organising the country to fight.” Referring to food shortages, the Prime Minister said: “We are going to send meat to the United Kingdom, so that Australia will have meatless days soon. We will send more dairy produce to the United Kingdom, so we must produce more. Our dehydration plants are already at work, preparing dried vegetables for shipment.” Mr Curtin said that, as leader of the Labour Party in Australia, and in common with Labour men throughout the world, he had to share the responsibility for not having prepared for war. “We believed that the days of settling international arguments by force were gone,” he added. “We believed in but-, tor before guns, but all this will be vanity if we do not win the war.”