NOTES FROM SYDNEY

Grey River Argus, 29 November 1920, Page 6

NOTES FROM SYDNEY

WORLD SAFE FOR DEMOCRACY? m*msmJt\im*mm The greatest empire "the world has ever seen and at its centre, according to recent cables, there are 250,000 exservice men without employment. These men have just returned * from the task of making the world safe for democracy. So safe bas democracy become that these soldiers of tbe. empire | crowd in their hundreds of thousands in the streets of London for that . wherewith to buy bread. How much longer will these teeming and hungry thousands remain safe? And. of this much talked of democracy in Europe. How is it faring there. Figures quoted by Keynes, author of that startling book. "The Eponomic Consequences of Peace." Show that in Austria alone 35,000 persons died of tuberclisis during the latter period of the war, and that at the present time 350, 000 • 100,000 persons in that stricken country require treatement for tuberculosis. As result of lack of food "a bloodless nation is growing up with undeveloped muscles, and undeveloped joints and undeveloped brains." From reliable accounts to band from Ger-j many conditions are almost as. bad n.>[ in Austria. Tbe story of bow the children liave suffered and wil']) . suffer through the remainder of. their lives should be impelling enough to. cause every man and woman to work for peace. Democracy safe! Democracy i-. in misery and tears, but it has enough life left in it yet to shake off j its tormentors and establish a reign of justice and liberty. EXPULSION FROM PARLIAMENT. The Irish question naturally enough claims some attention in the Common- - wealth, and, and as a result of » speech made by him, at an Irish demonstration a few days ago, Mr Mahon bas been expelled from the Federal House. The impeachment was made by W M Hughes himself, and in that, task 'he ' gloried. The circumstances were splendidly suited to our Prime Minister's temperament. Tn the names of liberty, justice and honour, be was able to wedge in a slashing attack not only upon Mr Mahon, but upon all who dared to voice Irish grievances. It was a long speech, but the chief accusation against Mr Mahon was that he had used the words— in reference to England's treatment* of Ireland— "lt's a bloody lie" This is bow Parliament is conducted in Australia. Of course Mr Mahon is reported to have said other things. In the Sydney press, we read that Mr Mahon said that under tbe worst of the Czars in Russia there had been no such infamou- ,r_uvrtfftr as that of the late Alderman McSwiney. Other charges against England were delivered, all of whica Mr Hughes m his speech made reference to. What better opportunity than when impeaching a member for alleged sedition to deliver a liomily upon British justice liberty etc— and Mr. Hughes made tbe I most 'of it. He told the House in dramatic s|yle that all we have, we owe to Britain, our liberty, our institutions oi justice,, or the Magna Chart* itsel —oil these things come to us as a heritage from Britain may be, noble as our courts of justice are, they have I been superseded by the War Precaivt- < ions Act an act that is in force in Australia to-day. Mr Hughes bas deported WITHOUT trial many ter. from this country. Courts of justice did not appear just to him then. He set them aside It pays him at this juncture to flaunt them— the eyes of tbe public. Mr Hughes' has again takenthe law into his oavii bands. He has summarily expelled a political opponont from Parliament and expelled him by tbe ordinary political party means of out voting him. Is this jusnee? It is very much to be doubted whether Mr Hughes is such a good friend ot the British Empire as be makes out; as to him the glib phrases of ''British justice British liberty, British freedom" The people are coming to think that many dark deeds are done. ARMISTICE DAY. We're bad another Armistice Day. The people observed it in what they thought a fitting way, though the capitalist press took advantage of the occasion to perpetrate tbe Avar spirit. How this so-called polished press revels in slaughter and the bigger the scale the. better! So that Aye may be reminded frequently of this awful tragedy, they are asking us to enshrine « number of war trophies. Their chief purpose, probably, is to impregnate the minds of the children Avith glory of war, Avhile away across the seas there are' thousands of their little brothers and sisters dying because of this socalled "glory" of war. The grown-up people of the Avorld in their ignorance and folly have done the children a fearful Avrong. Is there any reason why they should continue to do Avrong by debauching the tender minds of the young? SENSATIONALISM. Plenty of it in these days. But where is it leading us. Recently in England application was made by a film company to make a picture of proceedings at a murder trial. The judge took occasion to say that such moTbid sensationalism was of a most degrading character. We now rea-d in the Greenwood poisoning case that the accused who has been acquitted has sold his. life story for a large sum of money. In Sydney many of the picture shows foster a cheap and degrading sensationalism. Such putrid stuff as goes on the screen at times cannot but have a bad effect upon the children, to say nothing of the grownups. In school avc teach civics. At the picture shoAv avc teach the easiest way to become a bandit. At church we teach reverence, on the screen life is presented as a sort of sexual chase. From its earliest years the child heaTS of the great quality of love. We send him along to the picture show to sec it travestied aud dragged in the gutter. What choice will the child make. What do we expect if we feed it on such sensationalism? i