Waste Paper
There is scarcely a man or woman in the country who cannot do something in response to the campaign for the salvage of waste paper. How important it is to the main war effort will be seen at once when it is realised 'that waste 'paper can be turned into such things as shell containers, shell fuse components, dust covers for aeroplane engines, and boxes for aero-cannon shells. The restrictive Order which has just been issued by the Ministry of Supply will cause no more than a reasonable incon- venience which the public will readily bear. Shoppers must take away articles from retailers without a paper wrapping. Trade circulars will be restricted (that will also ease the task of the postman and remove a temptation to spend). There will not be a menu on every table in restaurants, And there will be no Christmas cards prepared for next year (unless the war ends sooner than is commonly expected). But the compulsory restrictions are not by any means the only restrictions which can be accepted. Cigarettes can be lighted by various means, and the pipe-smoker should consider the respective values to the community of a match and a paper-spill. Lawyers will have many opportunities of self-sacrifice which will benefit the State as well as their clients, and it is suggested that by an amendment of the Statute of Limitations, so that certain actions could not be brought after three years, thousands of tons of weighty and valuable paper could be released for munitions. Perhaps there is no other sphere of consumption in which economy will be so easy to effect with such great results.
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