DAY by day the good news of fresh Allied victories continues to come through; each day there are fresh stories of the wonderful deeds of the Australians, and each day sees the line that indicates the horrible leash that the Hun threw across Europe being taken further and further back towards the Rhine.
It is good news, it is cheering news; but not for one instant must it be taken to indicate that Australia is now at liberty to slacken in her war efforts.
Rather it means that still greater efforts must be made; it is the supreme time when there must be every assurance that all that is necessary to force the fight to a determined finish shall be forthcoming.
While men are essential to the gaining of such an issue, money is equally essential, for without it armies cannot be maintained in the field, clothing and equipment cannot be supplied and ammunition found.
For the greater part of the war the Imperial Government has been bearing Australia’s share of the financial burden and until the last war loan was floated Australia was not self-supporting in this respect.
In order that the Commonwealth may continue to be self-supporting the people of Australia are being asked to find the money for another loan of £40,000,000 – money that is to be used solely in the prosecution of the war.
It is not an appeal to one section of the community alone, it is an appeal to every man, and woman in the Commonwealth, and it is equally the duty as well as the privilege of every man and woman to respond to that appeal.
In order that the appeal may reach everyone – may, in fact, be taken into the very homes of the people, the system of allocating quotas of the money required to the various districts, and forming committees in every district to organise and control the work locally was adopted.
Thus, it will only be as the result of the direct efforts of these local committees that a success will be made of this the Seventh War Loan.
Unfortunately, in many parts of Victoria there has not yet been an attempt made to form the necessary committees.
Municipal elections have interfered with the work in most of the centres but now that those elections are past it is essential that a prompt effort be made to get this appeal to the people of the State into proper working order.
It will require hard and thorough work upon the part of those who constitute the local committees, but it is unthinkable that there will be one committee in the State that will be content unless the name of its district figures among those who have succeeded in gaining an honour flag by raising the set sum of money placed against its name.
And, it is equally unthinkable that there will be any local committee that will be satisfied before every house and every shop in the community is decorated with the house flag that will indicate that the householders and shopkeepers have done their individual part.
During its last war loan campaign America succeeded in gaining subscriptions from one out of every six persons comprising the population. Canada accomplished practically the same good work.
Australia, however, even in its most unsuccessful war loan campaign, the sixth, succeeded only in gaining subscriptions from one out of every thirty five persons of the population.
America accomplished her wonderful performance by adopting system of committees much as is being done in Australia in connection with the present war loan campaign.
If America can accomplish such things Australia surely can do the same. And, if Australia as a whole can succeed, Victoria ought to be able to outdistance every one of the other States in the making of this success.
There are more than 1,405,000 people in the State of Victoria and it ought easily be possible to succeed in getting at least 250.000 subscribers out of that number.
It may look a gigantic task on paper, but when reduced to the detail of every local committee seeing that every house and every shop bears a war loan house badge it is obviously easy.
All that is needed for success is that local committees shall “GET BUSY.”
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FLINDERS shire council has been authorised to raise the sum of £3,600 for the installation of an electric lighting plant at Sorrento.
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ON Monday next, Sep 9th, Messrs Brody and Mason will conduct their monthly market at Somerville, when cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, poultry, etc will be offered.
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THE annual meeting of the Frankston Athletic Sports Club is called for Friday evening next, and it is hoped that there will be a good attendance of members and those intending to become members.
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THE hon. secretary of the Frankston Branch of the Red Cross Society notifies by advertisement that the local depot will be open on alternate Thursdays in future instead of Wednesdays.
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THE Frankston Progress Association will begin its career of usefulness next Saturday, by removing the unsightly old fence on the eastern side of the Mornington Road, opposite the tennis court.
It is hoped that a good muster of town-folk, free to come will mark the initial effort of this very desirable association.
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THE balance sheet of the concert held recently in aid of the funds of the Langwarrin Camp was submitted at a meeting of the committee on the 9th August.
The total receipts amount to £22 3s; expenses £6 5d. leaving a credit balance of £16 2s 7d which will be handed over to the camp.
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TENDERS are invited in this issue for the conveyance of mails to and from Carrum Downs and Frankston twice a week, and to and from Stony Point and Fairhaven once a week.
Full particulars may be obtained at the General Post Office or any of the places named above.
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AT the meeting of the Frankston and Hastings shire council on Thursday, Cr C. Murray was elected president for the ensuing term, on the motion of Crs Longmuir and Turner.
The motion was supported by all the members and carried unanimously.
Crs Turner and Hodgins moved that the allowance be the same as last year, £20.
An amendment by Crs Unthank and Mason that the amount be raised to £25 was carried.
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A PUBLIC meeting of ratepayers of the shire of Frankston and Hastings will be held in the Frankston Mechanics on Wednesday next, September 11, for the purpose of electing a local executive committee under the Commonwealth Repatriation Act.
The meeting commences at 8 pm, and it is to be hoped that there will be a representative gathering from all parts of the shire.
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A FOOTBALL match will be played against Mordialloc on the local ground on Saturday, September 7th. The following players are requested to be on the ground: Cunneen, Faster, Williams, Cain, Gabriel, Martin, Peddle, E. McComb, Goodwin, Hunt, Darcy, Matson, Coxall, Gamble, Thompson, Burton (2), Wilkinson, Purdy, Prosser, Ryan, Bedcock, W. McComb, Paternoster, Keys.
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OWING to the high price of jarrah timber, a very considerable expense has been incurred by the committee of the Honor Avenue in procuring the jarrah posts for fencing the avenue, and an earnest appeal is made to all who have not yet contributed towards the cost of the memorial to our soldier lads to do so at once.
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From the pages of the Mornington Standard, 7 September 1918