POLICY OF DRIFT

Evening Post, Volume CVI, Issue 126, 24 November 1923, Page 13

POLICY OF DRIFT

UNDEFENDED AUSTRALIA

GENERAL MONASH'S •■' WARNING,

(FROM OUR OWN CORUtSPONDENT.)

; .. : SYDNEY, 15th. November. . General Sir John Monash, Australia's greatest citizen soldier-^who knows, by bitter experience what war is, and what are the essential conditions for the safety and defence of Australia—painted a very' dismal picture' in. a speech this week of our utter'unpreparednesg in the event of an. emergency. "There is," said General Monash, "a very grave danger' that the public of Australia will misread the lessons : of the war. To begin with, lots of people thought that there was no necessity for a defence system—people . who .said there would be no more war, and. shibboleths of ■ that-kind.- -Is there any man or woman'who is justified in believing anything of 1 the kind ? Perhaps . with the process of. evolution we shall invent; paliations and means -of delaying war, but anyone who has read history will'agree with me when I say that I do hot. think-' we . shall ever prevent war. At present the League of Nations, which I heartily support, is trying to do something of this ■ nature. It has potentialities, but they are not of such' a kind that we are justified in abandoning the defence of Australia. '• "We-might' just as well here to-night pass a resolution abolishing burglars, and then go outside and disband our Police Force.

"Year by year the defence vote is being" cut down, and those officers of the A.I.F. who have, tried to keep the work-of the defence system going "are becoming, more and. more disheartened and discouraged at. the general lack of public support as reflected in Parliament/ .-.■■-- : .- . ' -.'-•• '■].' J^^DYING'.^ELEMBN-TS.'. ..'.-. . ;: "As the year? go on the A.I.F. will slowly ?die,; and -thai time will come, even- though the :tradition may live, when:'the'-.element^- for ra-crpating another such army • will be gone. You •must not' forget'that: the A.I.F. was only made possible because we had in | Australia an adequate supply of train-ed-officers and trained staffs: "We are not only destroying our defence system, but'also the means of recreating it. We should at-least insist upon a sufficient nucleus of ; trained commanders and staffs. / LACK OF EQUIPMENT. "It is a deplorable thing to realise that the men we 'are training 1 to-day could not be adequately equipped. It is perfectly useless putting, an.army.in the field if it could- not Toe given the equipment with .which to fight. \ . .'.'The'air force to-day is a sham. .We have no tanks. We have':not. enough ammunition to outlast the battle of a singje day. .- We have no Mills bombs. I know I shall be peppered for sayihc this, but I wish.-to be perfectly frank. The men.of the A.I.X. trusted me, and I. hope the people of Australia will trust me." ■ •■ • . . •.-'■'■ Sir John Monash said in; conclusion that when he spoke of the defence of Australia, he -meant that-. Australia would have to be defended on Australian soil. Her; safety in the Great War had been fought for 12,000 miles away. That' would have to be done ■ again sooner or later. It behoved the Commonwealth, 'therefore, to insure itself against the day of evil by maintaining a sufficient force for all emergencies. ."TOO PESSIMISTIC." ' Mr. Bowden, Minister of Defence, says that Sir John Monash took a too pessimistic view of the outlook, and contr»ds that the Government is doing all that it can be expected .to do. .Dr. Page, Acting-l^rime Minister, points out that the appropriation- equals last year's expenditure, and the general defence policy is dependent' upon •' the outcome of the Imperial Conference. He claims that the problems of peace are more urgent in the. circumstances than those of- war. ..','. ...

Mr. Charlton, Leader of .the Federal Labour Party, considers that if the position is as stated by Sir' John Monash it has not been brought about by lack of money: Rather does it. indicate the necessity for a: searching inquiry into defence expenditure, he says. -