Probably matters are no worse in Australia than in other parts of the world where large number of soldiers have returned from the war, and created an atmosphere of recklessness, and a contempt for civilian authority. It does not follow that the criminals are all returned soldiers, as shown the other day in a country district in Victoria. Two boys, one 17 and the other 16 years of age, had been committed to a reformatory, but were set at liberty on probation. They took to the bush and set up as outlaws. Their first activity was to rob a store. The younger boy was the real criminal. He was an excellent shot with a small bore rifle, which be carried, and his mate, after a night or two in the bush, was glad to give himself up. The sixteen-year old leader, however, had browsed on the books telling tales of the old bushrangers, and he was determined to emulate "his heroes.
One young returned soldier rode out to catch him, but he promptly shot his pursuer in two places, with very nearly fatal results. Then a regular posse started after him. He crouched behind a log and kept up a fire on the crowd, but his rifle happily jammed. volley from the posse was fired, and the outlaw's career brought to an end. Both in Melbourne and other cities the cases of murder and suicide in which men and their own or other folks' wives are the victims are very frequent, while robberies with violence are a common occurrence. The other evening three men boarded a tram-car, shoved a man's head through a glass window, snatched a bag of money he was carrying, jumped! off the car and into a wait-jing motor car, and were away be fore a hand could be raised to stop
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.