AUSTRALIA'S PART

Grey River Argus, 5 January 1940, Page 9

AUSTRALIA'S PART

GERMAN PROPAGANDA REFUTED. ** MR. BRUCE’S BROADCAST. RUGBY, January 3. In a broadcast, the Australian High Commissioner (Mr. Bruce) said that the question naturally /arose why Australia,' 12,000 miles away from the conflict, had entered the war, pledging, aid> to her maximum capa :- ity. Remarking that he was peculiarly to answer the question, Mr. Bruce-said that he witnessel every move and effort to meet reasonable German claims, and to avert the catastrophe of - war. Australia had pledged her utmost endeavour because she knew..that the Allies were fighting for those things Australians believed made life worth living, and to free the world from the dominance of force and constant fear of aggression. “Where . Austral - a stands, there stands all : the other Dominions of the British Empire.” Mr. Bruce said.'. ' The German propaganda machine .he continued endeavoured to impress in Gerrhan minds that Germany had been reluctantly forced to ’fight, in order to preserve German independence -and the right to live. I He doubted whether ever, before there had been a comparable exI ample of the deliberate misleading of a nation. . “If the German, peop’e believe/tfiis ,propaganda, they will believe. anything,” he added. - German propaganda also tried, to shd*xv that the Empire was not unP.cd in this-wqr. If the German peopl ■ also believed this, Mr. Bruce said,

a rude awakening lay before then, and he referred to the arrival of the Canadian forces, adding: “important as it is, it is only the forerunner of mighty land and air forces being mobilised and trained throughout the Empire.”' After stating that the Empire was never before so united, he mentioned the speeches of the Allied leaders, from which, he said, a picture of peace aims could be constructed, and he concluded* “We have also prepared! the way for a peace settlement which will secure for nations and peoples liberty, material pi >- gress, and social justice. In this task, we can rely upon the active participation and co-operation of. all the principal neutral nations.’ ■, -