Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1916-05-17
From the Montreal Star.

In no part of the British empire-in no
part of the world, perhaps-has the mod
ern preparedness question been taken up
by the people in d more practical, thor
ough manne than In the Australian COM
monwealth. National defense anywhere is,
of course. a many sided question:; but as
far as the military aspect is concerned. IL
does seem that the Australian citizen de-
Tense force has solved the problem. At
any rate, it is as a democratic system OF
military preparedness that Australians
citizen army should at the present tlfne
be most interesting.
h work of the Australian troops at
the Dardanelles has. as all the world now
knows. stamped them as first class fight
Ing material. One has only to read Ash
mead Bartlett's description of the first
landing to realize that Australians citizen
soldiers have acquitted themselves as we'll
as many troops of any nation now fight
ing.
How has Australia been able to do 1t?
The answer Is an intensely interesting
story.
Australia Feared Japan.
The preparedness of Australia for war
was chiefly the result Of fear of Japan.
When the Japanese defeated the Russians
and proved that Japan was a first class
fighting power, the Australian people be-
gan to feel nervous despite the fact that
Japan was, as it still is, the ally of Great
Britain. The Australians number just
about 5000 600 people altogether, but they
hold a country of 2,974. 5S1 square miles
that is, a territory slightly larger han
the United States, which has a population
of 20 times as large. The Australians in
tend to hold their great country for
the exclusive benefit Of the white man.
The white Australian policy declares
that no black, brown, yellow or any other
colored people shall be allowed to enter
or settle in Australia. The Japanese re-
gard the policy as an affront to their ma
tional pride Australians. therefore, fully
expect that Japan will at the first oppor-
tunity demand the right to enter the COM
monwealth as freely as the white races.
Here, then, Australia believes is a poten-
tial cause of war.
Oppose Big Standing Army.
The Australian people being opposed,
root and branch, to a large standing army,
had to devise a scheme that would give
them an efficient citizen force. The ques-
ton for their legislators was: How can
we obtain efficient training without dislo-
eating the normal activities Of the nation?
The federation maintains the military
system. the separate states having no de-
tense forces.
BY the defense acts of 1902 and 1904, all
men between Is and 60 years old were
made liable for service against invasion
In the defense forces in time Of war. The
logical conclusion came in the defense act
OF 1853. which enacted for the first time
in English speaking community the
principle of universal liability to be
trained in time Of peace: in other words,
the principle of 'preparedness.'
The Swiss were the first people to con-
ceive the idea OF a civilian army, and to
them the Australians turned for guidance,
but while they adopted the principle that
In a democracy every citizen should be
trained to defend that democracy, and
that the training should at no time with
draw n part OF the population from its
civilian pursuits, important notifications
were introduced.
Start With tho Boys.
Every boy between IL and IA years old
must undergo a course of training In the
junior cadets. The training consists of
physical exercises, a little elementary
marching drill, miniature rifle shooting.
swimming, and first aid The time occu-
pied is almost 80 hours a year. and the
training is chiefly carried out by school
teachers.
There now follows four years training
IN the senior cadets. Here the training is
more the real thing. The boys now wear
uniforms and are organized into COM