AUSTRALASIA'S ALLY!

NZ Truth, Issue 169, 12 September 1908, Page 1

AUSTRALASIA'S ALLY!

lln the -midst oi ;the hospitality, that showered upon the heads o^ the American v{|itors--'hos^it4lity the like of whic^i has -oeyer been displayed by .Amcr : i(?ans to men of AtisttaJasiah blood, but J which nobody m. this cduntry begrudged JF the guests-rthere came .upon our' heads r a. cola doudie HMt) it v^iay pc/ will lead come people to} shape C^ their conduct tpwards : the American visitors - •with • reason Bad moderation, ' This upon tlw headed heads of the'ivictiras of presspi:omqted• hysteria; domes' from the Americans .themselvei— not frpm oyr visitors, i$ is true, b\lt fr<im those Jnore influenWal m Amerlta than cerUta of the newspapers ol ;the United Stages. /A caWegramt.^ppe^iced recently ." $* 'the'"- -Australasian newspapers, which vni^r as^ follows :-*v • ■' ■%s '■ -■■'■ '" SpiLe American neWspapers are indiaed to exploit: ftl)e' ; visit. of the Amer- . lijaa battleship Meejt to .Australia and I :ifr warni welcpine ■pbliincally, m a ' irtaiai hostile . to"' thd Anglo- Japanese r treiity. ■'.-., " "•'.. 1 Tni Ybtk ■ Sun" remarks: [ . "Amtralii says hands^ across the sea, \' miwnjißg to America; nbt to the moth- % tstthkA. Tie , ,"Svin'?; . adds, becam P*bi- • rfiows, tjbafe ;Aus.traiia?s^aje .: Ilymg Jf. other nfi.wspaiptirß declare that m the m ifljegt -of any,. ultiraate" 1 quarrel between " (Jr««i Britain ttnii v Japan, involving the iatogrity ol Australian or New Keal»hd territory,' America will not .interferjj*>'-.'. ■'-.■' ■' ■-'■<- ' '■;.} ■ ''; ■'••■ ■"'..'. ' : ;* l ' : '*"■-. ~ The: people of: Australasia hdye shown bur more ,frlendlinesß tb the American man^l-war's men visiting us than isusii-' tiifZi T shown to Australasians , visiting Aiierica, far more 'friendliness for them L Wlan' 'is ever shown. in ' ,^ie United States * iteol^'jVoUt 6ities : were lavishly decorate^ % U h^iibrot the visitors,.. our theatres and J tAei ; places i of entertainment. .' were I them fr|e of charge at 'f tihe Expense ".of the pibpjf of the ! A-ustrai [ lian ; * j^ojnmdnweiiitih aiijJ' the Dominion r of New.^Zealand'; aad,! but recently,, the i p»»ple?oi, Sydne"* anil lflelbou.rne turned •H.l; almost 'as onejierso^ to do honpito tp" visitors; ; and [ tp^ > Reclaim them air moat as if they men of superior day" tp . themselves. In j their own country, the populaWoh; of any city that made us jmUcii' noise aud fuss, as the people of Aud^a'nd, SydneyV and : Melbourne have Just made a,bputr-:the American biuejack»ts Would probably ;be, considered mad; k for ia that'cowtryi. thjerfe are,restaurai>ts %l the proprietors of whibh^'refuse to , serve % jtjiuejackets, and theatres where bluejack-, 'Ik rts are; not admitted m any circumstancI es^^erjainiy not- at .thetxperse of a GoyI ernthent. In thai excellent American L Diaisazine •♦ ; -^e' : 'Are'na;'iV:;'.ior''---Matoli" 0,1 j^ear, Albie Ppsdidk '". R'anson, Pfesi- • 'Sent of the Blujackcts' Friends' Society, , : : writes a, ipfig; article descriptive ..; of the ; " ( insults .that are systematically offered td Ameiican btuejackets m the United States. • V .What he says as 'to Americah man-of-.i war's men would, if it were read by^ the * V 4 Tictims of press pretence m Australasia j constitute a revelation*:" :- •-1 • . .'. '>' ■"■'■) : '-' '. ' • « ■ ■ : ' : ". J Rasori'sl article is.- am protest I ftjrainst the treatment 'to 'which Americ--1 ans subject their own tluejackets; He Mr says, among other thihgi:— . ' , iV'c permit proprietors of public amuse- ! • - nights to shut, their doors m the faces j of tee ■ eD listed men, .jand- , allow ; owners of revtau rants to refupe them looi when vlotihsd m the garb: which, it .should bp our , delight' to- horior. : . ; -,.;. We see these |-a(rl<jtic' boys walking the streets of t'_ij ci t-tes imwillihg tcf 1 . look the p>sserl>v m tlic f.atc because of:. the scorn: upon it. . '. Our doois /'aref .closed -"against ! 'i,Le;u v.i:on' on shore, we neglect 'arid in^ult them m every . possible -yay, mak- • inj' Ui'oni icci that,- while scrying .our wiualr-jr ■ they tliemst^ves havt-hp'..coun-- .\\ j, Iv witness of the truth ,pf this -&o to Westnort News, : 'Vit> .•iniii. L'ule-li it has .been very recently, ''<'xr.Q~e'i yoa wi|l see at the^ end pt bu.ari A^ejfue. a. sign, which -,re.acls, "Do -•:. .Niiger.s, and Warines. keep oK tb>.Qr.i';s.»". . .:."... \ . : ■'/ . '■> Thus we sre iwlmt Am6ncairs ? •■thiiijc ol the men .to whom \ve behaved,-. -.'with |j<v.:.:t -.iity whose la-vishiiess . has .never been v;;izv,iicd m any country. How^ lamertiih'iv ■•liioJriiig-" is aoy co'nsideratfbn oil U:c. pi' rl 0' Americans for their own blue•'iic'^s was di::i::enstr^ted m Auckland, , ihi'. oi.U'cns qf vvliich city were,, hbrrifted / ut. And- •«'■«». mo-edtp xiotby, the. vio- !«•.:■!. M'. i atirent by the," American patrols fit' iiiWimwl naflors. This helps us to umU-rfinnd why wany of the bluejackets k ( »j, ye were iniorincd } by ; cable) deserted ■ trsm-' the Fieet upon its arrival at San f J'raiicisco,' and have continued to desert wbilo m Australasian waters. Suth deM -sertions from the American navy are Ik conjraon. The deserters, when arrested, H are fient to a nav&l ; prison. . The sprt ol j§ youths and men that, at* to be lound m

the' naval .prisons is thus, described yy Bluejackets' . Friends' '• P. residenjti, „ Kanson :— '..'..;" '','■■.' '■'•'■■ '■'v,'.''. , '.1-' In/ O^arle^town .Naval prisou during the .fiscal ' year ending. June 30,, iaO7. 516 : ' prisoner- were confined: Qf these 376' were deserters, 'ahd/ 123; absent without leave . (a distinction" , without' a difference from / desertion) ; the remaining 211 \yfere guilty of various ! : p'iii^a-~ e'es, ranging from, murder down. 1 'Che prison originally .Built fotlso'has, held anywhere from 'that riumijer : up.to"3oo.'; , Among, ithese. are. boys, who; while conscientiously endeavoritig ■ to do their "whole duty, stumbled ' and fell .over! a mistaken idea- of what.- constituted ■;du v ty ;' deserters 1 from . reasbnsTpt kind, fraudulent enlistments;: enibeazier&; men. who, .have committed feyefy crime m the caie'ndar— here they are, tier sod - tier, mingling-: 'in one great family. '

• Thus our readers are enabled to judge, ,f ron\ the . ;.tes timony of an -.'. Amet jc^li himself, .and him' a, man occupying a no-, sitibn peculiarly qualifying him to/ speak with authority, how immensely, the trektr. ment meted out to bluejackets ih tie United States differs from- that which has , been p;iyen to. the "Jackies" here. Vet,y right m theMnidst^ of the rec|p-' tions tjSat^tlie pedpb .of Australia are giving vto^fSlit ;■ hive b^eh taught to y regard as^ "cousins, " there comes a cabiegrani' ihfprniii£|: us that certain American newspapers' declare -tfijat should at any time an atteiiipt be made by Japan to .take any portion: of Australia or any portion of New" Zealand, "America will not interfere !" |

Our country: may' be invaded, our territory seized, and, perhaps* ourp'sople treated with the barbarous ruthlesshess' with which the Japanese treated ;tlie' Ohinese and the, Koreans ; and— "America will not. interfere" ! Sweet ! !ln fact, not one American newspaper ; - has averi suggested, that, m any circumstani> esj it woiild be a proper thirtg/. on' ,the part;, of the United States/Ho saverthe civilisation, of Australia; from being submerged beneath a wayis. of Asiatic aggression, indeed, tjiejisiew York : statement that: "iji aiiy^ ruture' > Y'iritern&tional complication c6ncerniiig/'- 1 the *%t East the Qommpnwe^lfti of Australia will have.' to be reckoned wfth,'* /'appears, mei'cIy to mean that^wc are iniicii 1 more vigorous and virile thaii-Ne^iYbik.jburrial-ists thought . possible, arid that We a^iS, therefore, m spite of the smallness pf dtii popuratipn, likely to ; make : k determined resistance to the devious des.igris kit diplomats who might contemplate, sacrificing us m order to. secure the triumph of th^ir own policies of ayarjee ji.nd aggtessioh. ,/"'..-

The- talk of New. York newspapers wfth regard to Australia does hot surprise any man who has" personal knowledge of Aitierica, as distinguished^ from ;/mere bookknowledge "• or newspaper^knp^/iedge. New Ziealanders, Australians and Britons speak of natives of the United Stated as kills'^ men and cousins. When the average AUstraiasian, however, goes to America, ilie ! is astonished to find that there, is not, on the part of the average American, the friendly - feeling for \ Australasians that might be expected frojfa "kinsmen" and' "cousins" : quite the contrary. The Australasian is expected to call God "Gahd," and to say "I cant'/ when he means V'l can't." If he "cant," or will nat, he may be snedringly told to "speak. United States." Mbreover, i; he will/* probafily hear the boast tliat "Americans"Hnieaning the people of the Unacted States) "licked Britishers 1 ' Once, aM'can J-'lick" them again. Itis owing to such peculiarities on the part of natives pf the United States that, although many thousands of them r emigrate to Canada .every year,— ii^7Bl persons emigrated to Canada frpm the United States m J!tO6,-~ : the Cana-iiaus are most dcleiininedly hostile to annexa- • tion to their Yankee neighbor.

The lesson to be learned from the facts to /which we have referred is . that' the p'lutish press 01 America .is as iperniqious as that of Australia ;.fo'r i$ is the American press that is responsible for such ignorant and' narrow-minded \"nationallisnt.'"'The"*'Americah people are all right ; and when" their minds are unprejudiced by the preachments of the plutocratic press, are as willing to go to" the assistance ,ot a nation m reed of assistance as; the people of any other country. This is proved by the instance of Cuba. Unfortunately, however, we could not be certain that American press influence would not be against us n we were m the same plight as ■ Cuba. Therefore, Australasians must rely upon themselves. What is vranted^is more population, a sound policy of immigration, equitable land' laws, and what is still more wanting, :a reasonable reduction m the cost of /living.' -Until Australia and New Zealand attend to these

New YpWs" Yellow " %i;nalists Yeft.

matters, it is neglecting the safest and soundest method of rendering Australasia. <a land inviolate. To ttly <dpon Aineiica would, ia face of'the statetneut that AmI erica n journals la">e just throws m our 'faces, be foolish and dangerous.