OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER

Taranaki Daily News, 30 September 1929, Page 13

OUR AUSTRALIAN LETTER

THE FEDERAL CRISIS AN INTERESTING SITUATION. HIGH OPINION OF MR. BRUCE. Sydney, Sept. 13. When the Bruce-Page Ministry fell the staid old Sydney Morning Herald exploded. “DEFEATED,’’ it shrieked in huge type, that spread across three eoluSl So much.solid, ink' had never appeared on its news page. Never before had one word received such prodigious display, A The eliect of the message was to •"make John Citizen do some Mid think; ‘.'iijg about political matters. Previously, ."itlip. doing’s of Parliament as reported, m the Press had been read by him with only half an eye. The whole business . had seemed just like other news-cables, racing, scandal or crime. It seemed to 'exist in the papers only, as pictures do on the screen. Now he began to realise, fairly and squarely, that it wasnt “news” but fact, and a fact that con.'.cerned him very materially, “Hiis abolition of the Federal Arbitration. Court, what do 1 really think about it?” he wondered. “This Amusement Tax, how ja that going to hit me ?” he asked himself. “That withdrawal of the prosecution against John Brown, was that right?” ho enquired, “Bruce, or Hughes, or Scullin? Nationalist, wrecker, or Labpour—under which banner do I, stand? MR. BRUCE, PRIME MINISTER. Ono • of ', the outstanding features . of ' Australian. politics is the high opinion that exists throughout the’ Common- ' wealth of the character of Mr. Bruce. For solidity, sincerity, integrity and patriotism, ho is universally admired. 'There is a large body of people of all classes in all the States, who regard him as the ideal public man. Such people are not always political students. ..Let a man gain, .their ,esteem and 'they follow .Jihn ..through thipk apd" thin. They will not be turned ' aside by any party bias. Mr. Bruce is well aware .of .this fact. “There is a quiet., voice in. this., country,” he said 'recently, “and ..if you travel in Queens-’ land'and, the .far .west of. Australia, and tho Centra! States you. would be .amazed at .its influence, and how adequately .it .expresses piiblio., opinion, You would be Amazed’ at the number of letters I re* ceive from tli.eso people. If an election is The remedy, I am .prepared to face it with. confidence.” '".MR. W. H. HUGHES, EX-PREMIER. Of Mr. Hughes, nothing similar can be said. He has his personal- following, but it is not that of a party. He may compel 'admiration for his brilHe may command attention ; from the Diggers of the A.I.F. But Labour has definitely cast him over’board, and he will'never be. supported by. capital, His only hope is that in ■‘taie.’siiufHA of the elections he may at ’.'the finish find some cards in his hand /that . will enable him' io take an odd ‘trick,' and do some bluffing. MR. SCULLIN—LABOUR LEADER. i .Mr. • S cu kin,. the : Labour. Leader; has .jpoi,,.yet. won his- spurs as a party.- cap;ta'in,:ajid, Mr,: .Theodore, his lieutenant,; pie .slipping from favoiir among his com-. jad,ps, b.The -Country- Party is.as : solid! jaa.ftjoek, .... • ; • .....The- danger , point of the conflict lies ‘ L, New, South .Wales, the .pivotal State jof.,the elections, where damage may be f dope to Nationalist candidates by the .exertions of Mr. Hughes, the support ipf the Sun group of newspapers, .and! the formation of a new political party—the Australian People's Party. This, last mentioned creature is de- .! dared to have been cunningly incubated and .secretly hatched by the ;Sun under the attention of Mr. Hughes. Unfortunately for the bird, the sudden .dissolution and the early date of the elections have given...the fledgling no chance to emerge from the pin-featl.er .-stage, and it is impossible .even to tell whether it is going to be a fowl or an eagle. Then, of course, there are the picture theatre interests and the unpopular Amusement Tax to be considered, the increases in all kinds of taxation, .the usual Labour tactics and class propaganda, the unsatisfactory record of .the Government in finance, its extravagance and all the rest of the welter and turmoil that distract the judgment pi electors. After all, the .most stable dement in the coming. uproar is the deep-rooted faith in Mr, Bruce as a ,man. How he and his party will emerge from the dust and shindy will soon be ,the history of one of the most important flpd dramatic episodes in our politics. ’ PICTUREGRAMS, [Pictures may now be sent by telegraphic means between capital and capital, and this week the first speci,jnens:. appeared, in the Press. Within a,, few minutes a portrait, a prospectus, a news article, a finger-print, a cheque—anything capable of graphic reproduction —may be put upon a machine in Melbourne and bo reproduced in 20 minutes in Sydney, How it is going to enter into the general life of the people is not apparent. It will be of great value L& newspapers, .which will use it to de* piet current happenings in other cities. The rapid transmission of portraits and finger-prints, will add another terror to criminals, making a, get-away from one city to another. The means of transmission are won■;derfuliy simple and effective, A jictpra-

10 inches by 7 inches can be transmitted on a coarse screen in nine minutes. A fine screen picture, almost equal to a studio photograph, takes 15 minutes. The charges for a picture this size are 47s Cd for the coarse screen and 67s for the fine, but it is probable that the rates will be greatly reduced at an early date. BALANCE SHEETS. This is the busy time for accountants and auditors —or perhaps it is just over—and the commercial columns of the papers'are running in full spate with reviews of company balance-sheets. Certainly the editors of financial publications are going for “the lick of their lives,” comparing this year’s figures with previous ones, and making comments on profit and loss accounts, so that shareholders and the general public may. learn the, story of gain or loss, of progress or decline that the figures reveal. As a rule the customary dividends are being paid,, with a nice little sum tucked away to reserves as well. ’ But the reading of scores of balance--sheets (and their reviews by the aforementioned editors) brings vividly to the mind the difficulties and dangers of these times in Australia. Melbourne Steamship Co., Ltd,, for instance: ■‘Tho admitted profit of £23,791, about £270 less than last year, is considered to be disappointing, haying regard to the assets employed. This result is attributed to the waterside workers’ six months’ strike and tho coal • stoppage, which with general quietness in trade, prevented the fleet from being fully employed.” Henry Berry and Co. (A’asia.), Ltd.: “The prolonged strikes and drought conditions which prevailed during the year, no doubt caused a shrinkage in the subsidiary company’s earnings.” Sargents, Ltd. (caterers and cafe proprietors): “The directors do not ofler any comment on the reduction of £3765 in the' net profit to £40,007.” But it is well-known that the bad state of unemployment in Sydney has adversely affected all eating houses. Sargents lost the price of thousands of meals from penniless men who dashed past the cashier’s. desk shouting. “Charge it to the Government!” .George, Farmer, Ltd. ar curers, Victoria): “The directors attribute. the decline in earnings to the lower range of prices ruling for most of the year and adverse trade. conditions generally.” (And.yct they paid 14 per cent.) Bennett and Fisher, Ltd. (stock and station agents, South Australia): “It was scarcely to bo expected that in the face of tho unsatisfactory conditions prevailing in . tho State . that this company would bo. able to show any increases in .its earnings.” Mort’s Dock and Engineering Co., Ltd. (N.S.W.): “The decrease of 824 in the number of ships entering the port and the' consequently reduced tonnage of 219,063 tons were responsible for the shortage of work at the docks, while the troubles in the coal and timber industries also had an adverse effect on earnings.” Samuel Allen and Sons, Ltd. (general merchants ship-, pingj etc., Queensland): “Having regard to the depressed conditions in Queensland during tho past year, tho increase of £6,834 in the gross profits to £185,692 is rather satisfactory.” And so on. The trials and tribulations of Australian commerce have their causes in climatic and human obstacles—droughts and strikes. The former is being steadily overcome by. the application of science. The latter has been met with legislation and tho results have been .profitless. " When Labour an Capital square their accounts,, when the spirit of co-operation prevails —and there are unmistakable signs that both sides are seeing the light—the .golden days will return and' the balance-sheets, in house-, hold as' well as in trade, make better 'reading. . ......... ! ..i RULES FOR MODESTY IN' DRESS. “ (1) Girls from, four to ten years, wear dresses to the knee, .and sleeves at least to the elbow. “(2) Girls from ten to fourteen years wear dresses not less than two inches-, below the knee when sitting, and sleeves of dresses at least to the elbow, ' “(3) Girls over fourteen years—(a) wear dresses at least four inches below the knee when sitting; (b) sleeves, including those of sports costume, to the elbow; (c) “V” necks never to be worn; (d) sleeves of evening dresses to cover the shoulder 'and pit of arm; (e) necks of dresses, in every case, to be not more than two inches below the pit of tho throat; (f) transparent material for dresses to be rigidly excluded, unless worn over a non-transparent slip; (g) flesh-coloured stockings not to be worn; (h) bathing costume to consist of a two-piece costume reaching to tho knee, beach robes, closed from neck to knee, are always to be worn; (i) bathers are never to loiter in bathing costumes on the beach, or have photographs taken in bathing costume. Such ar©: tho “rules for modesty in dress,” formulated by tho Association of Roman Catholic Religious Women. They were incorporated in a pastoral letter by tho Roman Catholic Archbishop of Sydney (Dr. Kelly) and were read last Sunday in all Roman Catholic churches in Sydney. So far, after careful observation, no difference is visible in the shortness of skirts. “V” necks are very common and flesh-coloured stockings particularly so. However, as soon as Sydney girls wear 'em longer, or cover more up, or go for woollen stockings, you will be advised by first post. THE DIGGER SPIRIT. A New Zealand Digger, consumptive anfl penniless, wrote to another New Zealand Digger and said that he was down on his luck, his wife was ill, aud his two children living on charity. Was there a branch of the R.S.A. of New Zealand in Sydney to help him? Digger Number Two replied in the negative, but reported his case to Dr. Purdy, who is president of the New Zealand Association and also newly elected president of the Retii.wed Soldiers’ -and—SaikgfiLJiiiM

perial League for New South Wales. The case was that of an ex-soldier who had developed tuberculosis after tho war and was therefore not entitled to pension. The league promptly came to his aid, granted him and his wife financial, assistance, and saw that the children should not want for clothing. The R. S. S. I. L. ,of New South Wales never stays its hand when a poor or distressed soldier needs relief. There is the case of a Mons veteran who received succour in his distress. Even the funeral expenses of a German were paid from their funds. It was enough that he had fought for his country. “No soldier shall be buried in a pauper’s grave,” is its motto, and when the German residents of Sydney heard afterwards of the case, they raised hundreds of pounds for the league’s funds. This is how Digger Number Two replied to Digger Number One, a complete stranger: , “This letter is typed because it is my usual way of conducting correspondence. You see, Johnny Turk made a mess of my right hand, and my writing is unreadable. Hence the machine. “I am out of a job myself and have a wife and three kiddies. I walk to town from Bondi each day for work, but have had no luck so far. I cannot afford tram fares. Still, I have my health, and although I cannot help you financially I can at least shako up- those who are able, and I think willing to help you when your case is made known. “What size are you? I have an overcoat which might be of some use. It is one I had in New Zealand and still warm but a bit shabby, and I got a new one at the beginning of the winter. I am only sft 4in in height, so you can tell if it would be of any use to you. If not, let me know as there will be some other chap it might fit. Also let me know your size in boots. “Cheer up, old man.” We used to say in Palestine, “They cannot shoot you before dawn, anyway.” All I can do is barrack and battle for you at present and I will do that.” Digger Number Two has since got a good job. Good luck to him! Wherever New Zealand Tfcgers