AUSTRALIA TO-DAY.

Otago Witness, Issue 3332, 23 January 1918, Page 28

AUSTRALIA TO-DAY.

(Feom Odb Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, January 2. A report of recommendations recently made by Wellington business men on the subject of cargo-pillaging was recently reprinted in Sydney papers, and caused some interest. A wholesale merchant in a big business has sent a letter to the newspapers here which deserves some attention. He says quite definitely that, in addition to the petty thieving by wharf labourers, which goes on constantly, there is a large syndicate at work. "What wo want, and we want it now, is the suppression of theft in the nolds of the ships, on the wharves—and elsewhere. We lose largely on what is taken out oi cargo before it is put in the slings for sending up, but we lose also on stuff taken after it has been delivered. I am not disposed to put all the blame on the wnart hands. • Stuff is stolen by . these men—it is a custom r.l the business. There is not the slightest doubt about that. . . . Kvidence in a case before the .courts recently set outside the region of speculation the existence of a large syndicate for disposing of goods irregularly come by—stolen, to' be quite plain. Tho head of the gang was given a long sentence, but the syndicate still exists, and more or les3 reputable brokers are handling the goods which have been invoiced to me, but never delivered until they came through the hands of these brokers. If there were not facilities for the disposal of this stolen stuff, there would be leas of it stolen We are buying, say, blankets by the bale. We know all the importers of these goods— Who had them in stock, and how much of each line he carries. Yet there arc men, middlemen between the thieves and the receivers, who can fill orders for these blankets whenever they are wanted. Of course, the wharfie does not carry off bales of blankets—at any rate, he does not bring them ashore in his billy. We have a pretty good idea how these goods are taken away. To get the information has cost us money—but the syndicate and its backers have found all the money wanted for its protection—and for all necessary purposes. If you can read its meaning into the last sentence you are at liberty to do so. "In connection with nothing in particular, least of all with pillaging, I am prepared to assert, without being in the position to offer a shred of' evidence, that there is more ' graft' in Sydney to-day than in any city of its size in the Empire. And tho proceeds are divided among tho members of a ring, in which the maligned wharfie is tho smallest profiteer. If the police will break up tho gangs of receivers we will account for the thieves." ' REINFORCEMENTS-A PUZZLE. Recruiting during the week ended December 29 yielded the following 262 soldiers: Queensland ■• 39 Victoria 55 West Australia 29 New South Wales 100 South Australia \ 19 Tasmania 20 One must remember that that period included tho Christmas holidays, when enlistments cannot be expected to display briskness. Yet it is not so very far short tif tho average set up in the preceding weeks. The military authorities announced some time ago that the minimum enlistments required each month, to keep the Australian divisions at full strength, were 7000. Actually, it is to be doubted whether half of 7000 men have been volunteering during each of the last few months. Transports have been sailing regularly enough, and the streets seem always to bo well sprinkled with khaki, but the numbers represented are probably just about half oi what they should be. While the referendum campaign was on, and there was some chance of conscription being operative, there was activity in the recruiting offices, but this did not last long. To-day, the prevailing sentiment is something like this: The man who does not wont military service sees no obstacle to remaining comfortably at homo, and the man who is not unwilling to do his duty asks why ho should go and make sacrifices while there are so many men in Australia dodging their duty. Recruiting had been hard, uphill work for some time before the referendum, and the result of the efforts of the huge recruiting organisation which has gradually grown Up in the commonwealth was pitifully small. One would hear of a recruiting train, carrying a train staff and a party of returned soldiers and organisers, travelling over back country linos for a week, for a net gain of six or eight recruits. The cost of each of those recruits must have been something considerable. With • the pronouncement of Australia's "No" the heart has gone out of tho recruiters. Both the chairman and tho sccrotarv of the New South Wales Recruiting Board resigned, and it was suggested that the leading antioonscripfionists, whoso ardent advocacy of voluntaryism ("which had not boon given a'fair trial") was one of tho features of the referendum campaign, dhould make an attempt to get recruits. The suggestion, curiously enough, was quite bitterly resented by the "nntis." They said that the recruiting organisers had resigned out of pique, and that their system, anyhow, had failed. They argued that it was not voluntaryism but the methods by which it had been employed., which were at. fault. They also said that, before they would take up recruiting, there must be higher pay for privates, increased separation allowances, a more generous pension system, and_ a bettor repatriation scheme. So what with one thing and another tho

Australian recruiting outlook is rather gl °° m RAILWAY MUDBLEMENT. A State-owned railway naturally becomes the target of every disgruntled crank or dyspeptic newspaper critic in the country. New Zealand railways, for instance, are generallv regarded over here as an exceedingly well managed institution, yet in New Zealand there would probably be a certain lack of unanimity on the question. And so in New South Wales, whether the railways aro good, bad, or indifferent, there will always be a host of eager critics. As a matter" of fact, the railway management here is notoriously bad in some departments, and instances are coming to light every day which will presently compel re-

form. In the ooinion of long-suffering travellers the luggage system could not be worse. It is almost an axiom here that, if one wants one's luggage to arrive with one, it must never be allowed out of sight. The trouble starts at the railway station doorway. The department recently abolished the regular porters, and let loose a horde of licensed porters, whose greed is only exceeded by their insolence. They are entitled to make a ehargo for each package. The prosper-ous-looking traveller gets prompt attention ; the farmer's wife, struggling with a host of parcels and children, is probably ignored. To reach the luggage room is a costly process. The leisurely methods of tho luggage room clerks have become a byword in Sydney. If ono rushes in, hurried and perspiring, eager to get a train, these lordly young-gentlemen take a delight in ignoring one as long as possible and then working at the limit of slowness. A score of frantic travellers, seeking to leave or receive luggage, may almost always be seen fuming at "the counter, while the clerks argue happily among themselves at one end of the room. Then tho experienced traveller, on tenterhooks, awaits the end of his journey. If he is lucky, his luggage will turn up; if he isn't, it wont. The manner in which luggage goe3 missing in this State is little short of marvellous. The fact that the traveller will often recognise and point out his bag on some ofjscure shelf while the clerk is assuring him that it has not arrived is a sufficient indication of the methods in vogue. A bag of potatoes was sent from Wagga to Sydney, carefully addressed and marked, to be given over to a certain firm of carriers. The man to whom the package was addressed received a note- that the potatoes were on the way, but long and patient inquiry elicited nothing about them. About a fortnight after they were despatched he was officially informed that the potatoes had been sold as unclaimed. That was the first notification he had received from the department. He received 5s for something worth £l. A countryman brought a kangaroo to the city to be raffled for a patriotic fund. He saw it, well boxed, on to the train. His agents met the train, and were emphatically informed that there was no kangaroo. The countryman, who had arrived in the city, went to the goods sheds and himself searched, and found the kangaroo, upside down, under a heap of cases. These are only two of scores of instances frequently quoted of New South Wales railway muddling. , SHEARERS AND ZEALAND. A report has been circulated hero that shearers in New Zealand refuse to work with Australian shearers going to the dominion, and that a number of Australians who ent across for the shearing season are being returned for military reasons.' The New Zealand (government agent here, Mr Blow, after cable communication with the New Zealand Government, was able to announce emphatically that New Zealand and Australian shearers, without exception, wore working amicably together. As for the deportation of some men by the New Zealand Department of Defence, this is stated to bo probably a fact—that a few may have got across to New Zealand who, for certain reasons, were considered undesirables. Officials of the Australian Workers' L T nion, to which the shearers belong, state that there has been no exodus to the dominion. Those who usually went to the dominion sheds are this year remaining in Australia owing to the operation of conscription in New Zealand. Tho officials say that it is unlikely that tho members would fight against conscription here and then visit a country where it is. law,

COAL MINE NATURALISATION. • The proposal to nationalise the coal mines o f New South Wales has been revived recently, and it is thought possible that it may come before the next session of the State Parliament. It is not a now suggestion. It was first mooted in 1910, shortly after the Labour party came into power. Tho expenditure then considered necessary was set down at about £14,000,000. To make coal a State monopoly, it is pointed out, a piecemeal acquisition would be futile. It must be all or none. It is suggested that the great difficulty of finance would be overcome- by tho issue of long-dated debentures. / The principal reason for tho nationalisation idea is the need for tho State to find a new source of revenue to replace the Federal per capita payment of 255, which ceases in 1920. _ It is believed that the State, without raising the selling price of coal, but by reorganising the industry under one department, and doing away with management duplication, could make from £1,000,000 to £2,000,000 per year. Something has to be done before 1920. The mine proprietors do not view the proposal seriously, so far, but they are nevertheless showing a certain amount of strained interest in tho revived discussion. FEARFUL STRUGGLE WITH MADMAN. A terrible struggle between a man and his demented eon took place in Ballarat last Sunday. Tho man escaped, but the strugglo was almost immediately renewed between tho madman and the police, and was a rather dreadful affair. .. Gitsham, a cab proprietor, iiad retired to bed, and was awakened by tho click of the electric light in his room being switched on.- Ho a man, brandishing an axe, standing beside his bed, and ho gave an involuntary yell. The man stopped back, and Gitshum sprang from his bed and olosed with him. He recognised the man then as his own son, 24 years old. Both are strongly-built men, and u terrific struggle ensued, in the course of which they worked their way out of the bedroom. Mrs Gitsham, in an adjoining room, had been -awakened by her husband's shout. Sho glimpsed at the struggle in progress, and without waiting an instant,. in her night attire, sho raced through the streets to a nearby police station. A constable immediately ran back to Gitsham's house,

getting another man from the beat as he went. They found that the madman had dropped the axe, and was prowling about the yard. When the constable approached he backed into a corner and put his hand in his pocket. The constables rushed him, one on each side, and tried to handcuff him. He produced a keen-edged butchers knife, with which he slashed at thorn. He attacked each policeman in turn, cutting their hands most severely, and displaying terrible strength. One constable miraculously escaped a furious upward slash at his stomach, which ripped open his tunic. At last, they knocked the knife out of his hand. By this time the handcuffs were on one wrist, but the operation- was not completed without a most desperate fight. Finally, the constables overcame the madman, and Gitsham then harnessed a horse and drove them into Ballarat. At the station here, the struggle was renewed. It took a number of constables a long time and all their strength to put a straitjacket and "kicking trousers" on the maniac, who bit at the rough canvas until his mouth was cut and bleeding. Two of the policemen had to have surgical attention afterwards, the wounds in the hands of one being- serious. It was ascertained that the unfortunate young Gitsham had been for some years in a lunatic asylum, but had been recently discharged as cured. Two doctors had no hesitation now in declaring him insane, however, and he' was sent back to close confinement.