RECOVERY OF BALANCE

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20911, 16 September 1939, Page 6

RECOVERY OF BALANCE

Though New Zealand has been at war only a fortnight, public opinion in that time has gone through the whole gamut of reaction from the numbing realisation that a state of war existed, to the excitement of the first days of warfare, and then to a sturdy determination to see the thing through and meanwhile to carry on the national life as little disturbed as possible. So there is today an absolute absence of panic and, apart from those who have been called into active participation in the war measures, a return to normal activities, with the addition of a reawakened patriotism, a will to serve and a decision to give to the country the best possible return for the freedom, the high standard of living and the prospect of better things which it offers in comparison with rule by the present enfemy. The people as a whole have adopted an eminently sensible attitude. They have demonstrated their willingness to provide the greatest possible measure of armed assistance to the Empire, and having done that, and keeping the offer open, are settling down to build their private and national lives into a strong position. Nothing can be gained but a great deal can be lost by neglect of business or farm, or by disinclination to render greater service in strengthening the position of the individual, the family, the business or the nation. The nation best able to withstand the shocks of a prolonged war is the nation that conserves and strengthens its internal economy to the greatest possible extent consistent with the maximum of military efficiency. The normal flow of business was seriously upset in the first week of war, particularly in some vulnerable classes, but there has since been a heartening improvement in conformity with the settling of the public nerves. P3 l fictions on the use of petrol struck a heavy blow at many classes of business, and the more generous allowance now made, together with confidence that the supply can be maintained, has permitted the people to travel and to trade more freely. Remarkably few dismissals of workers have occurred, wages standards have been maintained, and there is a prospect of an improvement in the national income as the result of the purchase by Britain of the whole of New Zealand’s export production. The decrease in business activity was due, in fact, to public caution rather than to a warranted loss of confidence.