The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1894-01-27
FROM THE ANrIpopEs.
Australia suffering Prom tho stagnation
Of older lands.
lsuoclal C0rfc1p0udencr.l


Especial Correspondence
SYDNEY. Dec i8-New South Wales Is
perhaps the most prosperous Of an the Eng
lish speaking colonies south 81 the equator,
yet In proportion Co its population ,200,-
colt has more idle men than England
and quite ns much poverty Disguised with
conditions here. several hundred men, many
Of them with their families. left for Sonth
America n few months ago. and thousands
are only deferred from following their ex-
ample from want Of means.
The wealth of these colonies lies In sheep,
cattle, wheat and gold and silver. There
has been no disease 20 thin out the herds
and nocks, the wheat and other crops have
been larger than ever before, and tho out
put Of gold aud silver has been up 20 the
average Of the most prosperous years.
Heretofore Australnsia has been regarded
as a workinPman's paradise, yet today there
are tens Of thousands ~ idle men Ia this
and the other colonies, and the govern
ments have had 10 vote grants 10 keep the
people from starving.
When landed here from New Zealand "A
short time since, the first thing ! saw after
getting free Of the customs officers WAS "A
long line Of men drawn up on the street.
They looked like intelligent mechanics, but
there was an eager and "a hungry expression
in their faces as they held up "a dingy blue
flag, on which was the legend, Help the
Unemployed"
asked the meaning Of this demonstra-
ton and was told that this was "a small de-
tachment Of the unemployed army then
idle and starving ia the "Queen City Of the
Antipodes," as sydney Is called. While |
was seeking information q number OF these
men passed along the sidewalks, hat in
hand, soliciting help This they do in all
parts Of the city and suburban towns, and
the money gathered In this way Is divided
up among the men who have wives aud
children dependent on them.
The business stagnation from which the
whole commercial world is now suffering
began in Australia just two years ago The
capitalists say the strikes of labor organi-
cations caused the trouble. Tho working
men swear that It was caused by land
sharks aud overspeculation, and they point
TO the SCORES of broken banks and burst
land booms in proof Of their statement.
Building associations, which in the Unit
ed States have been conducted on mutual
and economic lines, here were made joint
stock affairs, with banking annexes and
enormous capital-on paper Poor men, in
the hope Of becoming their own landlords,
were induced TO put their savings into these
associations. and the consequence was, when
the inevitable crash came, they found them
selves without money and without employ
ment
Sydney, like all other Australian cities,
is noted for the number and beauty Of its
public parks. Hyde park, one Of the oldest
OF these, has at its entrance a gigantic
bronze statue Of her majesty Victoria in
"a ia har nd
a typical globe in her hand. Every day at
noon thousands of idle men gather about
this statue-most of the poor wretches have
their bedrooms in the park-while one OF
their number mounts the steps and de
claims against kings and capitalists in a
way that would not be permitted in the
United States.
What the end Is TO be the wiscst cannot
foresee. The capitalist may have been a
tyrant, but the workingman in his despera-
ton promises to out -Herod Ilorod. Social
ism Of the most advanced kind is openly
preached. On Sundays the parks are
crowded with listeners to addresses that
would not be permitted ia New York.
As a result of this state Of affairs crimes
against property are rife. The streets, filed
with dangerous men by day, swarm with
worse women by night. The iails are
crowded. The poorhouses overflow with
old people and children Yet there are
mines to be worked and empires Of good
land still untouched by the pillow within
easy reach Of all this suffering. But the
mines and the unused lands are in the
hands Of syndicates, and so labor starves
surrounded by the richest bounties of ma
ture, to which it is forbidden access by the
laws of the land. w. l.. SCOTT.