Please wait. Contacting image service... loading

Article text

TS» $màm Cimc$
Perth, Western Australia
SUNDAY, JULY 22, 1923.
THE DIRTY EAST
Seme few people seemed to be pain-'
fully surprised on 'Wednesday when the
secretary to the War Patriotic Fund
told the Royal Commission that the
-funds in Victoria and N.S.W. had tap-
ped the Federal Treasury for any-
thing up to £100,000 as a subsidy, while
W.A got nothing but a broken pro-
mise and a vulgar snub. But that was
old news. "The Sunday Times" pub-
lished the fact in 1918, if we remember
rightly, on the authority of Secretary
Crawcour, and we commented upon
the dirty business with all the em-
phasis that we could command, it
came about - in this way. At the end
of 1917 the numbers of dependents on
soldiers, whether numbered among
the slain, the wounded, or those still
fighting, had increased very consider-
ably and at the same time the "con-
tributions to the many voluntary war
'funds had not expanded in pro-,
portion. The public had responded
wonderfully, and in W_A no less
a total than £1,148,156 for all the
funds had been collected Kow, the
War .Patriotic Fund was specially
designed to assist women and children
-mostly mothers and their'little ones
-and it was imperative that further
money should be obtained. A confer-
ence was held in Melbourne, where'
Senator Millen stated that a subsidy
would be granted if the rate of relief
was raised. W.A alone had inaugur-
ated a special medical fund, and rec-
koned that this entitled us to the sub-
sidy. The' Perth committee wired to
Millen, and met with a refusal.
. . . . .
On that W.A. continued doing the
'best possible, and actually managed to
pull through the trying times without
inflicting or permitting any hardships
upon the recipients of - assistance. But
not so the flamboyant flag-flappers ot
Melbourne, and Sydney. They raised
their scale and surreptitiously got their
hands into the Commonwealth cash
box and secured considerable sums« J
at the same time slackening ore in
their efforts to collect voluntary sub-
scriptions. To put it bluntly, -when
they found that they could get money
from Hughes, Pearce, and Co. they
curtailed their benefactions and loafed
on "W-A_ and the other smaller States.
There never was any publicity about
the despicable business, but we are
fairly safe in saying that ^Victoria j
sneaked over £40,000 herself and that ¡
N.S.W; managed to grab another!
£40,000, while Queensland was con- !
tent with a modest £20,000. Here we ¡
have a total of £100,000 obtained from
the 'Federal Government, and thus
these rich States were actually taking
some of our money paid by us in the
form of taxes and tariff plunder; It
is difficult to believe -that those who
talk so piously of the "Federal sen-
timent" could descend to such a mean
and contemptible trick, but it only
reveals their selfishness and hypoc-
risy. They were quite willing to help
their war dependents at our expense,
and to keep their own cash in their
pockets, and evidently to do this with
the war fund buttons blazoned tn their
coats!
* . . * *
Some idea, of the angelic reticence
they observed may 'be gathered from
Mr. Crawcour's statement-"When I
telegraphed to the office of the Mel-
bourne fund asking what money had
been received from the Commonwealth
the reply I got was: 'You had better
apply to the Federal Treasurer*." Ab!
beautiful "Federal-'spirit!" Is it not
eloquently' expressed in that typical
Eastern reply? How Alfred Deakin,
Toby Barton,' and all the other ideal-
ists who foisted Federation upon un-
fortunate Cinderella would baye ap-
preciated . that friendly and fraternal
reply! Maybe their astral egos have
given "it their spiritual "blessing "and
advised[..tie author to carry-on the
traditions of" Federal, love andVsingle
mindedness as expounded in the pre
Federai orations of -the discántate
statesmen.. Probably the author oí
that masterly reply bas since become
ono' of Hughes' sinecures who draw
anything up to £2500 a year. Hughes
always had a magnanimous mania for
rewarding genius pi. |he expense of the
taxpayers- BW^vSlâyed^ we paid! Mr.
"W^ardson, \Vj inember of tiiè Conu
mission, _ suggested - that : the .'mattel
should i-be further inquired into ihroagt
our Federal members:.- 'Arcadian sim-
plicity! Wjiat would our Federal mem-
bers get? Another illuminating reply
couched in nebulous syntax and de-
corated -with evasion.
. . % . . .
No, lt is not worth while. wastinj
any -time or energy in scorching mora
salamanders. The whole incident ii
in keeping with the way the" West h
treated by the péciilant East Thea
have the votes over there, and so hav<
got the "pull," and they work the garni
for all it is worth-apd by the Lori
Harry it is worth a good deal. It is s
conspirad' of the strongest* to plundé
the weakest in the name of the giorioui
"Federal spirit" The cloven hoof o
parochial greed and the unscrupulou
manipulation of interstate rights ara
justice is seen stamped on all Federa
relationships'-in the infamous Tariff
in the sugar ramp and the great goli
steal; in the centralisation of every
thing from defence to administrativ
extravagance in the .cities of Mel
bourne and Sydney: and in the con
temptuous indifference to the intrinsi
claims of the weaker and remote sec
tlons of the Commonwealth. "You'r
not on the map!" is not a mere'jocula
Jibe: it is a real and scandalous at
titude. That is amply proven by th
aforesaid misappropriation of £¿00,00
from the Federal coffers to the wa
funds of thc bi- States and the bi
States only. There is. but one rented!
and that', is tb re-make the map c
Australia, with the West once mor
free, once more fulfilling ber"destin
and developing her sreat resource
without the Eastern bug sucking hi
blood-once more outside the Feders
bondage!
$