AUSTRALIA TO-DAY.

Press, Volume LI, Issue 15338, 23 July 1915, Page 3

AUSTRALIA TO-DAY.

RECRUITING

fe"HOM OCX OTTST CORKESrONT>SNT.) SYDNEY. July 16. Thos© who have insieted tltat it ie the daty of Australia to send at least 100,000 men to the fighting line are T>Jeaef>d. A great wave of recruiting, started last week by a campaign in "which Federal and State members of Parliament co-operated in the employment of all th? eloquence and influence at their comma ml. hae contributed very substantia liy to the position that the Minister of Defence announces that over 100.000 nitin have now been enrolled for th-3 Commonwealth Expeditionary Forces. Of theso 80.000 hare actually reached or embarked for Egypt .and the Bardnnelles. The effectivnneas of such a campaign as that in Violoria is ilhis- ; trated by the fact that in that State ; 11,4.% volunteers came forwanl in a week. Over SOOO of them were accepte-1 ac fit for service. People tvho expressed doubts as to the ability of the authorities to prorwrly equip such a. flood of recruits were silenced by Ministerial : and official statements to the effect that any worry about equipment was the af- . fair of Ministers and the IMence I>e- | partment, and that it would be found that things could be managed all right. Others need only concern themselves , with getting every available man to • enlist. New South Wales is to bo made the scene nf a si in in r campaign, to be "officially" opened en August fith. Th? State. Premier, Mr Holronn, c.hided in the Press for putting off for weeks the day on ■which the Government, as a Oovernment. will move jn -the recruiting campaign, esperiall.v as he daily writes for publication in the Press a fresh app<v»l of which the dominant note is "'Urgency." However, the campaign has already been started unofficially. Local recruiting asscy-iatione arc being formed throughout the country, and are diligently raking over their respective districts for fighting men.

WAR LOAX. Our Commonwealth Ministers aro raovius faster, apparently v than those of New Zealand, in the matter of a big local war loan. Probably the need for Kuch a loan is greater hero. At first it was intimated that tho Federal Government would invite the people of Ans- ~ tralia to lend it ton millions. Now wo have the definite announcement thai the Commonwealth Government has decided S* upon a loan of .C2ff.CflO.ooO, in Aus- > tralia. for war purposes only. This loan * is to he issued in sections, ft will be |f issued at par. and will carry four and a half per cent, interest. Opportunity f. will be given, us wn* done in Great 'Briir tain, for email subscribers as well as bis investors, to share in putting at the dis- * poeal of the Government money which is badly needed to fulfil our Invperial ;t obligations. The Commonwealth hill of jjf. costs for war purposes alone during the year ended with June 30th, was fifteen Ie millions. It will be vastly gnator Tor >) the financial year now entered upon-. ■" Every man sent to th» front costs us ■" about 25e a day, and tho fire million people of Australia, which includes ' children and adults, will have to hear , the cost of keeping at least 100,000 men > at the front. Our wounded and crippled soldiers have to he provided for as •we]]-as'their dependents, and everybody agreed that in this respect we ou.eht to show an example in generosity ! and'justice. It is now that we are he- ' ginning to feel the: pinch ami strain: ' '. - NATIONAL STOCKTAKING.

Those who are charged with the immense responsibility of directing our affaire in this time of tremendous crisis appear to realise that it will not do to Droceed in a haphazard fashion, but ihat it is urgently necessary to take stock of all our resources of men and wealth for the formulation of something like business-like places in order to ensure that the best ~ we can do ie being done in- the best way. Thus the Federal Parliament hns before it., aid is expected to Dass without delay. Bills authorising the taking of an important war census.. This census for the organisation of our resources will be in two parts. One will cover men. and the other worldly possession?—money, real estate, live srtock, vehicles, implements, etc., etc. Th« schedules are most comprehensive, and put the income tax schedules that many people find 'altogether tbo searchins, completely in the shade. AH hien between the ages-of 18 and 60 will he reouired to supply returns settimr out their as* , , domestic condition, dependents (if any), state of health, tenure of employment, income, country of birth, and otlier thines. including a statement of wnnt other employment other than ibafc now followed could be undertaken br:them. : All : men' and women over the aw of 1$ will have to send in returns of thp ; r property, earnings and r*>venti<*.' ■ Th<\ Federal At-tornev-Generai, Mr Heches, says this measure does-not in any way con tern-| nlate conscription for military sen-ice, but at the same time he gives the reminder that every powrr necessary for couscrintion 'already exists in the Defence Act. Saxs 'Mr Hughes:—"This is time for sacrifices, and tho sacrifices miiet fall equally on all. There is the sacrifice of life which those physically fit must he prepared to make, and there are the sacrifice* of wealth which those who have it will be called' upon' to make." Of oouree, it is well understood that tliis census will b" tho preliminary to a wealth' tax. and no one expects that it will bn Ifcht. All the census cards are to hf» Font to Melbourne, ■β-hpre tbev will he dealt -with hv a. special staff of about a thousand derks and supervisors under the direction of the Commonwealth Statistician. AX INDIGNANT MINISTER, fnfortunatel.v some people cannot imagine a better contribution in the war of patriotic effort than tho circulation of unkind tales about their neighbours. Men in public positions find themselves called upon to refute mean slanders -which seem trt have jealousy the prkne motive. -Rumours have lately boon circulated to the effect ihat the wife of the Minister for Defence is a German. This is not true, but. has had added to it allegations about tardiness in defence matters, beinsr attributable to some nro-Germnn influence. Senator Pearce is naturally very indioriant. nnd is very anxious to have n chance of punishing the "contemptible creatures," as he calls them, who are responsible for the malicious slander. He -says:—"Tn order to ascertain whethe.- these creatines have anr spark of manliness I invite them to romp frocn behind their screen and make their charges nnWicly. I will then srivo them .an opportunity to pTove them in a <y>urt- of law. The ■ storms have been so ■extensively spread as "to surest an organisation, and if this is so. my irrrit-ition is extended to that orcanisation." MARKING THEM FIT. Amongst the many patriotic men who have been disappointed as regards their desire to serve the Empire a≤ soldiers are a large number who have been "turned down"' by the doctors at tht> recruiting depots, because of phy- ! ' ■deal defects, not serious or frremedi- I £ able, but sufficient to disqualify. We I hear of some such men r .-iking together I 1 all the money they can ;',et lor fees to , rice tors for the removal' of variooso " reins, etc., in the hope cT being able <j U> pass into the ranks after treatment. :

What some men have done in this connexion borders on the heroic. The State Government of Victoria is showing practical sympathy with men who have been rejected for remediable physical defects, but remain anxious to enlist. It has arranged with the principal metropolitan hospitals for such men to be treated free of charge as far as the ordinary work of the hospitals will allow. As reward it has many expressions of hearty thanks from men of exactly the right spirit for soldiering, but themselves unable to pay for minor operations that are necessary to enable them to be accepted ac militarily fit. POST-MORTEM UNIONISM. If, tnkes more than a war of worlds to disturb tho devotion of some trades unionists to their trades union practices and principles. Although by,occupation they deal with the lifeless, the members of the Undertakers' Assistants' ,and Cemetery Employees' Union of Victoria pride themselves on having a very •live" body. They have entered upon a preferenco-to-unionists' campaign as far as their calling is* concerned. All the other trades unions of Victoria are being asked by circular to formally agree to the proposition that their members decline to be buried by any undertaker whose name does not appear on the "White Lif-t" distributed hv tho Undertakers' Assistants' Union. The circular sets out: "No unionist worthy of 'the name, and not a traitor to himself, would think of dealing elsewhere.' . Further, the eomnlaint is made t'>at Labour members of Parliament, "after livinc to roach those positions through their unionistic principles." had bopTi buried by non-union-ists. Apnnrentl-*- the Undertakers , Assistants' Union does not belie-re in tho broad principle of "live and let live.' , CHALLENGED. We road almost daily of some member of a municipal council or other body being told to "act and not only talk" when speaking upon the need for recruits, and to follow up by challenging the interjector to accompany him to the recruiting depot as a volunteer. In most of theso cases nothing more is done, and in others the excuse is afterwards given that on the parties attending at a recruiting office in accordance with the challenge, both were told that they were too old ©r not altogether fit physically. Two members ot the j Federal Party, both Victorians, Jiavo figured in -similar challenge exchanges. According to a report in tho ".Melbourne Argus,"' Mr Frank Brennan, member of the House of Representatives, told a meeting addressed by him that he was a man of peace, and if at Gallipoli would not shoot a Turk. Mr W. A, Watt, ex-Premier of Victoria, and now also a member of tho House of Representatives, on the side (Liberal) opposite to that of Mr Brennan, called the latter a "pigeon-livered" man, and also spoke about Mr Brennan's Irish descent. This led to an impassioned reply from Mr Brennan on the floor of the House, and a challenge I to Mr Watt to prove his courage by accompanying Mr Brennan to the front | as a soldier. Mr Brennan went to the ; rocraitinK depot at the appointcl time, j but Mr Watt was not there. He said ; afterwards that ho harl not receive ■ Mr Brennan's message of challenge in time Hr> said, also, that he wa s willins to go to tho front when men of < his age and condition wr(* called. The j affair ha o therefore fizzled out, and both Mr Brennan and Mr Watt are still at home. Be kind to yoni mother, far -whe-rj you were ' small, j 1 Sh« awl car««s«i you, if you had a ' fait. • I She nureed you in sickness, and laughed at 1 your joy. For «He was your motlior ajid you her dear ' boy. ; I >«o friend* could b* kinder, no friends could i be truer E'han moth*! , —and Wood*' Great Poppermint i Cuxel ' 13 .