The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1914-07-09
HATH BIRTHDAY OF AUSTRALIAN
 COMMONWEALTH HOME OF PROGRESS

N USTRALIA, the home of political and eco LA homie progress and the happy hunt ing ground of sociologists, will celebrate to-day the 14th anniversary of the creation of the Com moTwealth. It was on July g, 1900, that the Imperial. PaFliament passed the Australian fed eration act and thus created a new nation un- der the British flag.
 Happy is that country which has no his tory, says tn e proverb, and Australia approach es that condition of bliss. The island continent has been<described as land with a great fu- tllre and almost no past.n Since the Common wealth of Australia was constituted, however the lawmakers of the country have been busily. tengaged in manufacturing a Nhistory. Like lmost new countries, Australia has the enthusi- asn and the courage of youth, and it has made many experiments in government. On the whole Australians are very well satisfied with the results of their political experiments, and eager to try others
 In the Australiant Common onwealth the great political divisions are between radicals and rad icals. The two dominant parties differ only in the direction of their radicalisIn. Australia is | a poor place for conservatives and stand pat ters and middle-of-th -the-roaders
 Activities that are within the scope of gov ernment in Australia include the building own 7ership and operation of railway lines street railways, and other transportation systems the ownership and control of telephone and tel Fegraph systems, operated as in England as a lpart of the postoffice department; the build
 
 government savings and state banks; water supply and irrigation; promoting agriculture lby granting reduced rates on agricultural i'm lplements and seeds, and the determination of rabbits and other pests; the advancing of gov lernment loans to farmers and dairymen; the assistance and promotions of all useful indus ltries; pensions for the aged, and an allowance lof $25 to the mother of every white child born; lconciIation and arbitration in industrial dis Eputes, and government employment bureaus. E Tn the governments of the various states. as in the federal governments, the influence of the laboring men is dominant, and many of the measures adopted have been decidedly so- Icialistic.
 There are no wild women in Australia. flor the excellent reason that they have nothine to be wild about. Early in it's history the Aus ltralan Commonwealth granted full suffrage to the fair sex, and that, too, without agitation or compulsion- The great majority of Australian men ready to testify to the excellent results derived from womans participation in Austra- Han politics Graft is practically unknown ir the island continent, and many observers have : been inclined to give the credit to the ladies l for this condition of affairs.
 Australia described by the Dutchmer < who first explored it as "a foul and barrer tcountry" This is no longer true, of course bll vast tracts in the interior are still uninhabitec } deserts It was not so very long ago. however : that the western portions of the United State. land Canada were dismissed as worthless ant it is likely that the development of the Austra llian continent will, in the course of tine be aa lconnplete as that of North America.