New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-03-27
4 History-Making Conference
By Harry c. Douglas
Formerly Editor of The Sydney Times.

New Zealand has assumed a similar atti-
tude, and Canada, too, frowns upon Asiatics.
Ottawa talked straight" to London not
long ago, when the mother country, to avoid
embarrassment in India, wished the Domin-
ion to receive the Komagata Msru's consign-
ment of coolies. And India, like Japan, has
made sacrifices for the Entente; also her
people are fellow British subjects of those
who slam national doors in their faces. Al
ready England has had to prohibit further
importations of indentured Indian labor into
Fiji.
1t will be the task of the conference to
harmonic these widely divergent interests.
Sacrifices of cherished opinions will be de-
manded from the imperial units in the inter
ests of the world; in some cases the sacrl-
fees asked may be too great. Australia, at
least, will never admit japanese.
The Volunteer Evil
Then there Is the question of man power
contributions. In spite of the support of
the Premier, W. NJ. Hughes, Australia al
ready has rejected CONSUMPTION. New Tea
land has adopted form of compulsion; Can
ada has been flirting with the problem. All
the overseas dominions need men more than
anything else. All of them especially Can
ada, have been spending thousands annual
ly to get men. And now they have lost
them-in wars red ruin. Thanks TO their
adherence TO the antedluvian voluntary en-
lstment system, they have lost their bravest,
their strongest, their most efficient, their
most high -minded-their best. The weak
lings-mental and physical-the shirkers, the
cynical ones who take all a citizens advan-
tages without accepting any of the respon-
sibilities, the men whose lives are lived:
these are left
1t is significant to note that so far Austria
liza is not represented at the conference.
Premier Hughes is in T. lch the same posi-
ton there as AsQuith was in Britain be-
fore his fall Union labor has been grow
ing ever more FESTIVE under the demands of
war. Union labor has been too apt there, as
in America recently, to think too much Of
the dinner pail and wages and not enough
of national need Australia is merely vas
sal state of trades unionisns, which chooses
to believe that Hughes, when in London last
year, betrayed it. Union labor believes that
Hughes would treat it much as Cato treated
the charger that bore him through the Span
ish campaigns-kll it when he has no fur
Their use of il.
Isolation Sentiment
There always has been a strong republi-
can sentiment in Australia. That sentiment
has not grown weaker since labor mounted
the executive saddle. Moreover, many Aus
tralians who are not republicans are against
committing their nation to participation in
an imperial council, with the corollary that
local sacrifices will have to be made for the
imperial welfare at large. These men take
much the same stand as American opponents
of the outworn splendid isolation" theory,
not realizing that cable lines, ocean going
submarines and liner lanes are much truer
measurements Of distance to-day than paral-
lels of latitude and longitude.
There will have to be an exhibition of the
give -and-take spirit at the conference. The
empire cannot present a united front TO its
foes unless all family rows are forgotten.
Sectionalsm is all but as dangerous as sed-
ton when the foe is at the gate. Trade with
in the empire-imperial preference-can be
adjusted, knotty as tho problems are, more
easily than some Of the matters / have des-
ignated.
After all, the things of the spirit have
counted most with humanity: the yearning OF
the soul for Immortality, patriotism, love.
Although civilization has seen these compre-
hended into organized religions, delegated
governmental authority, the marriage institu-
ton, they still are the most potent driving
forces OF mankind. II selfshness, mere cold
reason. local ambition, be set aside at the
conference, anything is possible.
Meanwhile, as OF old, the Valkyr maidens
are riding down the path OF the storm. The
imperial clans are gathering.