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An Unlimited War Effort", June-July 194 1

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An Unlimited War Effort CHAPTER 9 "AN UNLIMITED WAR EFFORT", JUNE-JULY 194 1 1—THE PRIME MINISTER'S PROSPECTU S call for an unlimited war effort was made by Menzies in June after A he had returned from his visit to Britain and America . He had arrive d in Sydney on 24th May . He had been away for four months during which time he had passed over battlefields, met soldiers in the Western Desert , heard the bombs on London, seen devastation, courage, sacrifice, an d endurance . He had talked with Churchill and with Roosevelt, with Cabine t Ministers, Chiefs of Staff, generals, admirals and organisers of the wa r effort. From the palace to the tenement, from Cabinet room to factory he had seen a nation at war . He had been at the heart of things and ha d seen both the dire need and also something of the organising of the tota l effort by which alone it could be met. The Australian Prime Minister was moved and deeply impressed . He had been impressed by the leadership of Churchill. "He is not only in himself the embodiment of the traditiona l spirit of Great Britain, but he has in him, in his spirit itself, a burning flame which will never admit defeat, and which can transfer itself to othe r men and women so that they are able to breathe freely once more, an d again turn themselves vigorously into battle." He had been impressed by Roosevelt who "has not merely been an interpreter of what his peopl e think, but has himself been a very great creator of public opinion an d international spirit" . He had been impressed by the importance of the workshop and factory. "We shall begin to win the war only when we hav e been able, all over the democratic world, to marshal every last ounce o f skill and all the strength we have, industrially, for the production of machines which will outnumber and overpower those of our enemy ." Most of all he had been impressed by "that supreme and immortal thing, th e morale of the British people" . He spoke often of the fortitude, endurance, cheerfulness and determination of the people of the English cities who, in spite of the toll of air raids, and the "grim, grimy and depressing" way of life that war had imposed on them, were exhibiting energy, enthusias m and zeal, and more than these, the great quality of patience to endure . "Not only does one see these things, not only does one learn to admire thi s cool and undaunted temper of the British people, but one also, if he is an Australian, realises how little our life in this country has been altere d by war compared with what has happened to the people of Britain ."1 Menzies had not only been impressed but had also himself made a n impression on others and he could not have been unaware of the fact . Few touring Australian ministers in Britain and certainly none durin g the whole period of the war, so favourably commended themselves for their statesmanlike qualities as Menzies did in his journey of 1941 . Men 1 Quotations from Commonwealth Debates, Vol 167, pp. 10-24. 362 "AN UNLIMITED WAR EFFORT " of consequence openly talked of him as one whose great gifts should be claimed for even wider service. In his person, they said, Australi a could give a statesman to the whole British Commonwealth . In the inner room his criticisms and counsel had been listened to with attention ; in his public speeches and broadcasts he had found a receptive audience. For four months he had been (to quote the tag which air transport commands used during the war to expedite travel while concealing identity) a V .I.P. , a very important personage . He and his small staff2 gathered the fruits of their work abroad into a n imposing stack of memoranda and reports containing information and ideas on various phases of the war effort . The Prime Minister, however, carried home more than information . He brought back new inspiration and richer experience for the exercise of wartime leadership—a leadership which rested on a parliamentary majority of one Independent. On the day of his return a by-election was taking place in South Australia after a campaign in which Labour had made a strenuous bid to unseat the Government. The memory of the shifts and chances in the two years since he had succeeded to the Prime Ministership must have gnawed at inspira- tion and resolve as, unannounced because of wartime security measures , he neared the Australian coast. So far as the press reflects public feeling, the Prime Minister was given a warm welcome home . Tribute was paid to his conspicuous service to Australia overseas and the hope expressed that he might give the leader- ship and bring the greater war effort which the country required. The newspapers recognised the continuing political difficulties and looked fo r some bold master stroke that would end them. Even before his return the Age, which favoured giving the powers of the War Cabinet to th e Advisory War Council, said : Mr Menzies' return should be the signal for a brief, purposeful review of ou r political set-up for war and a fresh endeavour to repair any and every defect . Whether or not an all-parties Government prove practicable, the country is in n o mood to tolerate political upsets . It proceeded to make a very fair summary of the practical tasks to be tackled : Organisation of manpower, the type and scale of munitions production, the ship - building programme, taxation and financial policies, overseas trade and markets, th e maintenance and reinforcement of the fighting services, present a complex of far - ranging issues that go to the roots of successful prosecution of the war .3 Other sentences from other capitals were : "Mr Menzies has now a supreme opportunity to rise to his full stature as the wartime leader o f the nation".4 "Probably four out of five Australians . are looking to him for that one thing needed to gather up our strength as a nation—leadershi p that really leads ."5 • F . G. Shedden, N . C . Tritton, S . Landau and John Storey . See acknowledgment in Debates, Vol 167, p . 12 . Commonwealth •Age (Melbourne), 19 May 1941 . 'Sydney Morning Herald, 25 May. 6 Courier-Mail (Brisbane), 23 May. THE PRIME MINISTER ' S PROSPECTUS 363 Within a few days of his return the Prime Minister met Parliament and , both in a formal sitting and in a joint private meeting of both Houses, made long statements on his work abroad and the war outlook. Parliament rose from 31st May to 18th June . During the adjournment he presented t o his Cabinet colleagues his extensive papers on various aspects of the war effort and on the 17th June, in a national broadcast on the eve of the re - assembling of Parliament, gave the "prospectus of an unlimited war effort". The gap of three weeks between his return and the announcement , though fully occupied in Cabinet and parliamentary business and in the peculiar difficulties of the political situation, was perhaps unfortunate . People began to wonder whether he had anything to offer more definit e than the exhortations to do more which were contained in the speeches at his homecoming . In lack of more solid matter, much more attention than they deserved were given to some phrases in which he had expresse d his distaste at such a time at having to come back to the "diabolical gam e of politics" . To his critics the phrase gave an opening for attack ; and even to the well-disposed a glimpse of sickness of heart rather tha n strength. The speech of 17th June, broadcast over every national and commer- cial station in the Commonwealth, declared that an "unlimited war effort " was essential. So far the national structure had been, with some modifica- tions, largely that of peace . It must change to an organisation for war. In the face of peril all limitations on the war effort must go . We have in fact reached a point where your alleged rights or mine don't matter (the Prime Minister said) . The only way in which we can lose either permanently is by losing this war . The only way in which we can win this war is by bein g prepared to put into pawn every right that we have until victory is attained . If ever y man is to go on working where he likes, at the kind of job his employer chooses ; i f every manufacturer is to make what he can get people to buy ; if every person i s to spend what he can afford on what he likes to buy ; in brief, if we are to live as usual and largely leave the war to others, we cannot deserve to win and the perfec t equipping of our men overseas must be left largely to others. The Prime Minister indicated particular measures which would be taken. The whole list of reserved occupations would be drastically overhauled an d manpower would not merely be conserved but directed and used . The services of women would be used . Men, machines and money must be concentrated on war. Civil production would be reviewed and a new authority would be set up for that purpose. Civilian consumption would be re-examined and non-essential imports cut to the bone . To carry out this policy administrative changes would be made . There would be a separate Minister for Supply and a separate Minister fo r Munitions with an Assistant Minister to devote himself to Aircraft Pro- duction.
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