Indianapolis Times, Volume 34, Number 168, Indianapolis, Marion County, 24 November 1921 — Page 7

Australia I - .".: ; i. ji ui. ii 11 1.. ■ .ii. ;!i i iili ,BL.Li I !:11 , ” 11 /‘V :i: ~ , II n * \V hiiter ami his unconventional method

YDXEY, NEW SOUTH WALES, AUSTRALIA.—It has been said that development of a country's transportation is the measure of its progress. If that is the ease then Australia surely has progressed in the few years of its history. Yet it is still only at the beginning of things. With its 2,974,081 square miles, a bare half, million less than continental United States, in 1918 it had 25,308 miles of railroad, less than one-tenth the mileage in this country. If we deduct the area of our Great Lakes, Australia has a larger land surface than the United States. One might jump to the hasty conclusion that this meant that in the matter of -ailroads the United States was ten Unu j as progressive as Australia. However. when you bear in mind that the population of Australia is only five million, you might easily decide that, man for man, the commonwealth was twice as progressive. The fact of the matter is that Australian railways have been developed under the greatest of handicaps. Long distances, sparse population, great stretches of waterless desert, coastal mountain ranges which shut off the interior—these, coupled with the early self-sufficient character of each of the states, have worked against transportation development. Each state, as yon have read in other issues of the Times, has acted independently to solve its railroad prot lems in its own way. The first railroads, bnilt by private enterprise, were planned to fit only local conditions. As the states took oyer these first lines they carried on the plans as they had been begun. The result is that while the railways of New South Wales are of standard gauge, 4 feet SVi Inches. Victoria has a gauge Australia, 5 feet 6 inches; South Australia, 5 feet 3 inches, 4 feet B*4 inches and 3 feet 6 inches. A passenger landing at Brisbane, on the northeast coast, must change to a different typo of car five times in riding to Perth, 3,476 miles to the southwest corner of Australia, and even between the two largest cities, Sydney to Melbourne, 582 miles, no through cars can be operated. The commonwealth has now undertaken the tremendous task of linking together the different elements of this transportation system. The first step obviously Is to standardize the gauge, but this is no easy matter, as it entails an expense In nowise warranted by the earnings of the roads. At the present time practically all the railroads are state-owned. Up to June. 1920. 1,732 miles of standard gauge railroad had been built and was being operated by the commonwealth, at a loss, of course. JEALOUSY OF STATES GREATEST HANDICAP. The greatest handicap of all has been the jealousy of the states. When the commonwealth was formed, many years of rivalry lore fruit in a pact which gave full recognition to the doctrine of state rights. In the few years which have elapsed the feeling of solidarity and union has been growing, and there is hope that before long the selfish interests of the individual states will give way before the urgent needs of the whole country for a unified transportation system.

The Great Desert of Australia divides the country into two distinct parts, and West Australia is as completely Isolated as if it were a separate island. Until the building of the Trans-Australian railroad there was no land communication between this state and Its nearest neighbor except by telegraph. The boat Journey from Sidney to Perth requires twice the time from Australia to New Zealand. The Trans-Australian railway, from Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta, 1,051 miles standard gauge. Is the important link in the commonwealth railways. The building of the Trans-Australian was unique in the history of railroading. The line was laid out by compass; there are no tunnels, no steep grades, and a few bridges and culverts were required. In all its stretch no permanent body of water is crosstd. There is one length of 300 miles without a curve—a world's record, without doubt, in “straight" track. The most remarkable feature of the railway, however, is its location in a region uninhabited even by aborigines and where the ordinary engineering tasks of grading and tracklaying were secondary to the need of providing water. The preliminary surveys were conducted by means of camel transport; then well-boring outfits were dragged by camel trains of fourteen or sixteen. Catchment basins and shallow wells were dug, but in the actual construction work chief reliance was placed upon tank cars hauled hundreds of miles over the new track. At certain points water was sold at $2 a gallon. For a long time at least there can be no hope that the commonwealth railways will pay a dividend. There Is no doubt, however, that increasingly they will play a big part in the industrial development of the country. And in time of war, as Lord Kitchener pointed out. the strategic value of through-by-rail transport can hlrdly be calculated. But for neither military nor pastoral purposes can the project hope for any great measure of success until it is possible to ship from coast to coast without reloading, as the change in gauge now makes necessary. onlj la the cost of such shipping made i rohibitive, Cut much valuable time is lost. It is practically impossible to ship stock and perishable goods under present conditions. AMERICAN-TRAINED RAILROAD EXECUTIVE. The attitude toward the railroads, both state and federal, is slowly changing. In Melbourne, for instance, I found in Harold W. Clapp, newly appointed chairman of the railway commissioners of Victoria, a broad-gauge executive who had very distinct ideas of the value of unification. Mr. Clapp's father and mother moved from California to Australia about fifty years ago, and his father established a stage coach line to the new gold fields reached through Melbounre. Afterward he owned the first street railway line In Melbourne. Although born in Australia, Mr. Clapp las received the better part of his railroad training in the United States, having spent seventeen years in close contact with the traction problems as construction engineer with the General Electric Company, the Southern Pacific end Just before his appointment as chairman, having been vice president of the East St. Louis and Suburtan Railway. His experience has been with both steam and electric roads, so that bis viewpoint is necessarily broad. His slogan, as expressed to me. is one which might well be adopted by the railroads of the land which gave him his training: “Service before salesmanship." Thanks to his efforts at least one very practical step is being taken. This is an attempt to Increase the average daily i mileage of freight shipment. The present J average is twenty-three miles. If this can be increased to thirty, says Mr. j Clapp, and he Is sure it can. It would ! kdd several thousand “trucks,” as freight wars are called in Australia, without the : necessity of buying or building a single j new one. I was interested in what he had to j say about wages: "Demands for higher wages without corresponding efforts to i attain the greatest possible production | will undermine the industrial foundations i of Australia. The inevitable result of granting these demands will be an almost prohibitive tariff, still farther lnerea* ing the cost of living and wiping out i all effects of the Increased wages." Commissioner Clapp attacks the-break-1

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An aborigine couple. Ethnologists ea II the blaekfellows the lowest order of the human race. Scientists believe that A>istralla has “stood still” since away back in the Jurassic period, millions of years ago, when some upheaval spilt oil the continent from either Africa, South America, or Asia. Cm off from contact with ail the rest of the world, the blaekfellows are our closest link to primitive man. !

of-gauge difficulty with characteristic American directness: “Unification is the only satisfactory solution,” he sa:'!. “Third rails, adjustable axles and such expedients are all Inadequate, both from a technical and a broadly national point of view." In the last few words, ‘‘a broadly national point of view,” is the keynote to Mr. Clapp's attitude, an attitude which will take the railroads out of the state politics. For iu Australia, as in the United States, during the last few years the railroad problem has threatened to become a political problem as well as an industrial one. And Australian politics, I have found, are already in a sufficiently muddled state. If they let Mr. Clapp alone politically he will make a great success of the railroads. The rivers in Australia amount to little from a transportation standpoint. Part of the year they are only a lot of connected ponds; at other times they arc torrents or spread over a wide area in this low, flat country. At places in the interior of Australia the laud is below sea level. Australia is one huge island with ocean ports on nil sides. Ocean transportation is plentiful and cheap. Ail big European I

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A typical Australian passenger train as seen on the Melbourne to Albury run of the Victorian railway*. Australian passenger cars are built on American rather than European lines.

and Japanese lines, as well as two C.v nadian and U. S. lines make Australia. KEY TO POLITICAL PUZZLE OF AUSTRALIA. The key to the puzzle of Australian j politics is to be found in the Labor party. Its history is full of surprises j even for those who live with the kau- ] garoo, the creature of great jumps. When the Australian commonwealth actually < came Into being at the beginning of the present century the Labor party was a controlling factor in the new order. Today, as the world is trying to settle down, after the desperate upset of the war, it is still the producer of political ( storms. Yet the Labor party represents a minority of the electors; it never did possess a majority even in its own or ganization. Again and again it has been given power because of its promises and evident sincerity, but always by the hand of the “balancing voter,” as the inde pendent voter has been called. Every election shows that the balance of power In the commonwealth lies with those who are neither hard-shell conservatives nor red revolutionaries. In the recent election the Labor party was defeated, and largely because it has failed to keep Its promises—or rather because the keeping of its promises has failed to bring the results predicted. In failed to bring the resulted predicted. In Queensland, for Instance, when In it found a state treasury with a surplus of $10,000,000. Today Queensland's public finance is in a desperate muddle. A hand-to-mouth policy has been followed. Wage increases to state employes have created defiiclts and have put state-owned rail

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The Right Honorable William 'Morris Hughes. I*. C'., K. C., Prim© Minister of the commonwealth of Australia. Photograph of a bronze bust, by Prof. Derwent Wood, R. A. The bust shows plainly the qualities which have carried Hughes from poor immigrant to Premier.

roads and other public utilities far on the wrong side of the ledger. Before I had left the United States I had heard a great deal about the labor courts which had done away with strikes and lockouts. I had this idealistic view knocked out of me by landing in Sydney during a big strike of the transportation workers, both water and rail, which lasted nearly three months. The labor courts cmld do nothing, as the “workers” would not obey the courts’ orders. Os course, decisions against the corporations werl enforced. The labor courts worked bully while wages were going up but they were almost helpless on a falling wage market. When the trades unions, about thirty years ago, gathered strength, one great strike after another gave them much advertising. They were told to gain their ends, however, by constitutional means and carry their demands into parliament Soon political organizations were formed and the Labor party came Into being When the fight for federation began thd party tried hard for a constitution mors Ilka the Canadian than the United States.

Labor leaders really wanted unification and the organization was determined to send solid Labor delegations to the federal convention. When the question of passing an enabling bill came before the Queensland parliament the consciousness of Labor strength was too much for the opposition; it was feared that a solid Labor block would be sent from Queensland, and that indeed was prophesied of New South Wales. Not a single Labor delegate was elected! AUSTRALIAN PREMIER INTERESTING MAN. I think the readers of the Times will be as interested in reading about tho present Premier of Australia as I was in meeting him. The Right Honorable W’ll- : liant Morris Hughes, I’. C., K. C., I found |to be an affable, human, likable man, very deaf but with little of the politician ! about him. The story of his life reads i like a romance and is not unlike that of ! some of our Presidents. | ne was horn in Wales in 1864, but at ! the age of 20, with a schoolboy cornpnn- ; ion of the same age, he set out for Aus- ; tralia. landing in Brisbane in ISS4. As I poor as H was possible l. tie, this youth, frail in body, faced the continent that | whs later to acclaim him as its Prime I Minister. He went about four hundred

miles inland, where be worked in a railway freight shed. Later, on sheep ranches, or stations, as they are called In Australia, Hughes was shearer, stockman, fencer. In 1890 he opened a small shop In Sydney, where he sold books and repaired looks. Here he read a great deal, and the study of Henry George's “Progress and Poverty" resulted In his forming a land tax association in Syd ney. He organized the Sheep Shearers’ Union of Australia. In lb!Hi tlie great shipping strike throttled Australian Industries. Defeated as strikers they turned to the ballot box, and at the election of a large number of labor members were sent to parliament. Into this campaign Hughes threw himself with Indomitable fervor and the workers recognized him as a born leader, with the result that in 1894 he was one of the labor representatives elected to the parliament of New Soutn Wales. This was when he was 30 years ■“fid. At one© he sprang into prominence, carried through bv h!s instinctive knowi-

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INDIANA DAILY TIMES, THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 24, 1921.

edge of human nature, his skip a debater and his unconventional methods of attack. Tho first labor government came into power In tho federal parliament in 1904 —the commonwealth was formed in 1900. Hughes took office as minister for external affairs, a position for which he had made himself eligible during his state parliamentary period, when his “spare” time was spent in the study of law. He was chairman of a royal commission on the Australian navigation bill and a delegate to the imperial navigation conference at London. Though anti-militarist in principle he advocated compulsory" training for young men and helped bring into being a citizen defense force and an Australianowned navy. He had been, acting prime minister on two occasions, lint it was in 1915 that he became in actual fact the head of the Australian federal government. During the war he was an electric personality in uniting the country against the German menace. Ills war speeches swept the country with him. Having left, the Labor party because of its failure to recognize Australia's war obligations, he led the Nationalists and was returned to parliament with an overwhelming majority. He smashed the German monopi oly that controlled the products of Australian mines and instituted compulsory 1 pools to control the output of wool, wheat and butter. The abnormal conditions of war time demanded decisive action, and with characteristic directness Hughes was the dominant Influence over a sphere that extended far beyond the coast lino of Australia. When no ships were available for carrying supplies, it was Hughes who secured them. He was Australia's representative at the peace conference, and while there did signal service in presenting his country’s arguments for the continuation of its policy of a "white Australia.” When he returned ho was able to say: "The white Australia is yours. We believe i:i our race and ! n ourselves, and iu our capacity to achie e our great destiny, which is to hold this vast continent in trust for those of our race who com© after us, <d who static with us in th© battlo of *. adorn." No wonder Hughes has been called a “piece of political radium," or that Lloyd George described him as “one of the men upon whoso courage. Insight and inspiration the British Empire depends.” Australia is, of course, laboring under

I tho saute burden of readjustment to postwar conditions as aro all tho other countries which took part in that struggle, i She has, however, ono great advantage | In that many of her resources aro still I undeveloped. During tho war she raised $944,521,767 from her own citizens, in addition to borrowing $231,158,750 from tho British government. This brought her public debt on June 30, 1919, to the sum of $1,585,425,723. During 1919 and 1920 this figure was further Increased by $104,I 660.000 for repatriating purposes, and ! additions are constantly being rnado by j state borrowing. | In this latter lies the key to the flnan- | clal condition of Australia. Asa cotni monwealth Australia Is easily solvent, jas both increase in debt and Interest ! charges on the whole debt are very large- ! ly offset by interest earning on reproductive assets. But the sarno can hardly be said of tho Individual states. Tho following figures will give you an idea of where each stands: New South Wales, $742,543,408; Victoria, $387,382,200;

West by Southwest New Zealand, Australia and South Sea Islands By 4V. I). BOYCE. Organizer and Leader of the Old Mexico, Research and African Big Game Expeditions, Author of “Illustrated South America," "United States Colonies and Dependencies” and “The First Americans—Our Indians of Yesterday and Today.”

Queensland, $308,424,251; South Australia, $217.904,942: West Australia, $205,872,420; Tasmania, $73,414,105. This brings the rather staggering total of $1,039,570,426 as the collective indebtedness of the states as individuals. In the Times of Oct. 27 you read the condition of Queensland. In no other state is the case so serious; and indeed, the undeveloped resources of the country, once the requisite capital is available, ami the population to make it effective, are ample security for the debt. I have just finished the reading of a book which discusses ably and broadly the many problems of the island-con-tinent and its neighbors large and small. It is called “The New Pacific,” and Us writer, C. Brunsdon Fletcher, is editor of the Sydney Herald, the most prosperous and important newspaper in Australia. I feel that Mr. Fletcher has summed it up when he says: “The trade of the Pacific in future should grow by leaps and bounds; and Australia must be ready to gr, et the world with fair play and with reasonable terms if she is to survive herself. She must compete in the world's t arkets, and accept the world's prices, if she is to handle the growing products of tropical possessions, fertile beyond the wildest dreams of the farmer in temperate regions.” AUTRALI.VS ATTITUDE TOWARD THE U. 8. I met many big men in Aus ralia, men who do big things in a big way, in business iu politics. Before the war Australm was not disposed to be very friendly with the United States. I always pointed out to the people there that the United States, and Canada, which is British, too, were quite friendly, because < atiada had a better chance than Australia to understand ns. The Australians could never answer this. When they asked me why we were "late" in getting into the war. when Great Britain, to which we were bound by bl„©d ties, was In sore need of our help, all I could do was to frankly admit that we had many good Americans of Goman Idood iu the United States, and. further, that We had been quite friendly to the old Russian government and did not like England s backing the Japs In their war Wlih Russia. As the Australians dislike the Japanese this last reason seemed good to many of them. , v 111 s,lstain a population of one hundred million as well ns our counl"'> hundred million. And H wi.l be a white population. However, th.j country will always be more or less hard up and In bad shape until they get rid ot the two evils which are sapping (he m.-uev and the health of the whole couniry—l refer to crooked horse-racing and booze, both of which have an ntiderhold on the country. However, the best peoP e in Australia tell me they see an end of both. Australia being pure white and l ritlsh is honest through and through, end any one oau be proud to be a citizen of this great commonwealth. New Oil Field Found Near Tampico, Mex. MEXICO CITY, Mexico, Nov, 24.-An Important, new oil section has been found, according to reports received here at Chicoy, a point on tho railroad to Monterey, about twenty miles north of Tampico. Oil, it is said, has been found at a depth of 1,500 feet, making the drilling of wells much less expensive than 1n the other fields adjacent to Tampico. A number of new wells have been brought In at Chicoy and early reports Indicate that th© field may be great enough to take the place of the areas In other sections which have felt the encroachment af salt water.

■ --n——■ i -A LINK IN A CHAIN OF STORES- ** The Economy Spot of Indianapolis 99 INDIANA DRY GOODS STORE 306 East Washington Street Just East of Court House OPEN DAIEDf TILL S:3O—OPEN SATURDAY NIGHTS UNTIL and O’CLOCK

I Friday Special H 10 Rolls Toilet I : Paper for J 1 29c | You'd pay 5c a roll for it most Mtt any place. 4 ounce rolls of w Speedway brand crepe toilet paper. Only 2.000 rolls on sale g so we must limit 10 rolls to |V any one customer. No phone orders; none delivered. On sale gs Friday only, while iC lasts. Be K ON SALE DEPARTMENT 32. R 81.00 Quality || lAPERY | ETONNE 1 i9c* I s a big special. Full ie heavy cretonnes in a Ms ortment of flo-al pat- w It's a special purchase £9 : $1 quality placed on lay while it lasts at 59c Jr| You will appreciate B r if you need cretonne Vl LE DEPARTMENT D. || I Closing Out Big Lot K Bear Brand f YARNS I 1 Qf* Skein I This Germantown yarn ie fivi what yon want for knotting llj comforts. Requires 1 skein for ms a comfort. Recanse It is put Qi np In skein* we are going to E* discontinue handling It, so while fjf a few hundred skeins last yon u may have it fer 19c skein. Us- i/S tmlly sells around 300 and 35c & ON SALE DEPARTMENT - 815 c Value % it and Dark! AUCO I 0C 1 yard Is cheap for this w Comes In 10 to 20 yard B but you may buy as A s you wish. A large ■ :nt of light and dark V For tomorrow about ■ds only. Many women eg here early. LE DEPARTMENT 5. B BJ Hundred Rolls % iite Rose” I TTON J 25c I nulne WHITE ROSE. 'Vt every woman knows! B making light weight K 9n account of the big W that will be sold to- B at this special price, A sry orders can be ac- B No limit. Buy what *9? iE DEPARTMENT 9. ■

WATCH FOR the OWL “A Word to the Wise Is Sufficient” In ercry elty where we operate one of these underselling stores this owl Is eagerly watched for by economical shoppers. It teUs you plainly how to make better living cost less. Our every aim is to save yon ail the money we can through our tremendous buying power, being affiliated with a buying syndicate supplying the merchandise for over 300 stores direct from the makers. Immense stocks of holiday merchandise now arriving dally. Watch our ads. Save Extra Money Here FRIDAY Many extra specials arranged. Come and Inspect the many bargain tables. Join tho money saving crowd here tomorrow. REPEATED BY REQUEST FRIDAY So many calls this week we derided to release 500 of this wonfler special Friday and 2,000 more on 10 WCH—DOOtII SIDE BRAND NEW—First Quality PHONOGRAPH Records 25c No need to tell you plow good they are. We’ve already sold thousands. Everybody! Is talking about It. We made another sen- 1 sational purchase wayfunder value. Good records for42sc, think of Jt! We Intended selling 2,500 Saturday, but by selling Just 500 on Friday it will leave only 2,000 for the Saturday rush. Those who want to avoid this Saturday crush get here early tomorrow. WILSON MILK 10c Can The tall cans. A limited supply for Fridy. No phone order*. None delivered. No more than 5 to one customer. 65c Mercerised a a Liule Hose -44 C Ladles, these are fine stockings in black and cordovan. Very elastic. Have deep rib top, mock seam back. A special purchase of usual 65c grade on sale at 44c a pair In department 20. Ladies’ Brushedaq Wool Scarfs More of those popular shawl scarfs of soft brushed wooL Extra large, belted, 2 pockets. Come In big variety of fancy color combinations. Up to $5 values on sale for $2.08 In department 18. > Ladies’ $1 Value Wool Hosiery / “C Heavy weight wool hose with ribbed top. Come in black, oxford, French gray and heather. A big demand for these and here they are at a special price—7oc pair. ' ll 1 “ 25c Standard i £ Scout Percale IDC Another big lot of this good grade percale for tomorrow. Yard wide. Light ground with neat patterns. Comes 10 to 20 yard lengths. Buy as much as you want. $1 Chamoisette Gloves. Special .... J/C Ladles, these are famous Kayse r gloves, mostly large sizes. Colors gray, mode, black and brown, 2-clasp style. A limited quantity on sale in department 3. 75c Part Wool fa Dress Plaids D/C Here Is a beautiful material for children’s wl titer school dresses In bright showy plaids, 36 Inches wide. Note the special price, 60c yard. See it On display In department 4.

I Friday Special m $1.50 Seamless I SHEETS for | ' SI.OO { Size 81x90 inches and seam- m less. Made of extra heavy js? bleached muslin free from H 6tarch. With deep hem. Only W 200 on sale, while they last Fri- |g?' day only at the very low price ||k of sl. Limit 3to one customer. ■ No phone orders; none deliv- fjf ered. Be early if you want, w ON SALE DEPART MEN T 8. fL I 25c Quality % COMFORT I CKALLIS I 19c™ I Yard wide. A large assortment of pretty Persian patterns. If you are going to cake a V comfort soon we advise that & you come in tomorrow and see this material at this special u price. You can save 6c a yard, n ON SALE DEFARTMiatT 7. §K I Part Wool j | SERGES 1 I 59c Yari I sis 36 inches wide. Comes In navy, brown, black and green. £? Avery nice weight for one piece H dresses. There’s quite a saving Bf In this at 59c a yard and there'll m w, be lively cutting at the dress sis fr goods counter tomorrow. j| ft* ON SALE DEPARTMENT L I FACE 1 I CLOTHS I M A clean up lot of about 400 A Turkish wash cloths witii vari- B B ous colors, large plaids. All will be out on a special bargain B Sd table and at should go out ¥ in a hurry. Don’t delay If yon B want some of these. jm ON SALE DKTABTMENT . { CELERY I I TRAYS 1 | 49c 1 gST Long oval shaped scalloped k edge celery trays of semi- B |B porcelain ware, tinted and with & pretty floral decorations. You W may want one for your own gg M table, but If not, they will be w K appreciated by someone as an B K Xmas gift. Don't fail to see K V ON BALE DEPARTMENT 18. H

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