It might seem that Australian: comments deal too largely with matters of a political complexion. As-a matter of fact Australia is wrapped tp in three chief items, namely Politics, Sport and Crime, and the latter is often mistaken for Sport. The temperance issue is one which its advocates have made distinctly political. They declare that the Labour party is supported by Brother Bung, just as the same thing was said of the Established Church party in England, and probably with about as much truth. In Australia the Roman Catholic party is declared to be on the side of Bung, while the "Wowsers," who are equivalent to the old non-conformist conscience, are prepared to sell themselves, to any party which witl declare against the whole liquor trade. Leaving the question of voting power and advantages on one side Australia is quite unwilling to hand its pleasure during leisure over to any section. _The efforts to secure prohibition by direct appeal to the people have been proved hopelessly futile. An attempt to succeed in the suppression of liquor by the "Pussyfoot'? method fails because, being*~ forewarned, the people are generally fore-armed. The voice of the Socialist who claims that all pubs. should be run by the State is probably the most futile thing on record. Only the other day his case was made worse by the discovery thas certain persons connected with State public houses, estabitished by a Labour Government, were found to be doctoring the liquor, and selling their "real stingo" elsewhere. Queensland has just been given a say upon the question, and this is the result with a few trifling figures to come in:—votes. Continuance as at present 200,045 Prohibition 125,243 State Control 14,936
The fact that the poll was taken on October 6, and the figures now given are incomplete at the is useful in gauging what would the possibilities have been of enforcing prohibition over so wide an area, even if the people in the big centres had decided favourably. New South Wales Nationalist and Country party politicians are now quarrelling on the same subject, but Labour sits fast, ignoring the issue, and retaining what is called the liquor vote.
INDUSTRIAL TROUBLES, It would seem that though our captains of industry and idleness having met together and solemnly decided that there shall be no more industrial troubles we are now on the verge of several big strikes. Unhappily the Austra-lion press is getting yellower and yellower, which means that it paints every circumstance in the colours of the. rainbow, and points conclusions therefrom in the most jaundiced colours even a Cassandra could conceive. This is not a view to which exception can be taken by the pressmen against one pressman. The other day some most highly placed persons at a gathering of the Rotary Club, which we know contains all the best of the intellect amongst Empire builders, protested against the steady introduction of "gutter-press" methods into Australian journalism. Taking, however, the newspaper reports, the" whole waterside is threatened with a strike, in order to destroy a certain body in Sydney which has very successfully defied the unions and done a considerable amount of work on over-sea ships. This extra-union, so to speak, has been in existence since 1917, and has so far survived attacks. But in
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.