Facts and Figures

New Zealand Listener, Volume 6, Issue 142, 13 March 1942, Page 4

Facts and Figures

(By

WHIM-WHAM

[Fiftyetons of paper a week from a city of 200,000 people would make 5,000 anti-aircraft shell containers, or 21,000 three-inch mortar bomb carriers. Fifty tons of metal provides two cruiser tanks. . . . More than six hundred-weight of bones a week would produce, etc., etc. . . .-British Official Wireless message.] T used to comfort me to hear Our Fuglemen of Industry Making it beautifully clear That by the Middle of next Year We should have Tons and Tons and Tons Of Battleships and Bombs and Guns, And Ranks and Ranks and Ranks and Ranks Of Armoured Motor-cars and TanksEnough, in fact, to turn the Trick, And break the Axis like a Stick! Oh, doubtless Much of it was true, But now it’s very plain to see That. Pounds and Pounds and Pounds and Pounds In Budgets aren’t sufficient Grounds For Confidence of Victory! It’s worse than Wishful Thinking, too, To think that Rows and Rows and Rows Ot Noughts can bring to Naught our FoesThis totting up of Treats jn Store Is not what’s meant by Total War! No Doubt such Figures have their Use In public Speeches, where they tell Of new Proposals to produce, I mean, to make Production swell; But oh, my Boredom makes me bold To say that Billions leave me cold! I do not wish to carp, or scoff, But wouldn’t we be better off With Less and Less and Less and Less’ ‘' Sky-high-financial Fulsomeness, And More and More and More and More Of what it takes to win the War?