The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1917-03-05
AUSTRALIA WILL
ATTRACT SOLDIERS
British "Tommies" Are Expected to
Flock There at the Close of the War
Because of Great Opportunities.
Auburn. Me.

London, March Australia will be
the great mecca for the British soldier
after the war, in the opinion of Andrew
| Fisher, high commissioner for Australia
in London. Australia to-day offers the
greatest return for energy of any coun-
| try in the world" he declared to-day.
"A great deal has been made in England
of our plans for settling soldiers on the
land, and this publicity in itself is going
to result in an unprecedented rush for
the island continent as soon as peace
comes.
"The only question in the minds of
Australian statesmen is whether we
shall be able to cope with the rush.
There is no question that we need the
men, and we are making every prepare
ton to be ready for them. Australia
is an exporter of food and an importer
of men. Great Britain for a century has
been an importer of food and an eX-
porter of the more adventurous OF her
sons. Australia wants population, but
she wants an independent population
and she wants it upon the soil. SO she
will have TO provide organized means for
settling the immigrants where they will
do the most good.
Under the present constitution of the
Australian commonwealth, the land of
the continent is solely the property of
the various states. In any scheme of
land settlement it was therefore neces-
sary to consult the governments of the
states. A series of conferences to this
end are now in progress, explained Mr..
Fisher.
"The keynote of the scheme which we
have adopted is that the British soldier
and Australian soldier shall share and
share alike. They have shared the toll
of the war together. In the trenches they
have made a friendship that will last |
beyond the seas, when it will merge into |
a mutual citizenship in the new land of |
the south.
The money needed by the settler will |
be advanced through existing state |
agencies at moderate interest rates. The |
land itself win be provided practically |
free of charge. In Queensland, for ex
ample, the land will be leased under a
lease. There will be no initial
payment for this lease, and there will
be no rent to be paid during the first
three years. In western Australia, each
settler will be given, without charge, 100
acres. The government will clear some
Of the land for him and provide the nee
assary financial assistance through the
agricultural bank.
In the old days starting on the land
was difficult, slow, and expensive. Now
he small man can start with a good
prospect of being comfortably settled
after a few years work. Large pastoral
holdings are to be converted into agricul.
,ural areas where wheat is grown, Other
and will be used for mixed farming or
iairying."
The development of Australia from
low on, continued Mr.. Fisher, will be
.reatly accelerated by railway building. :
About 2l,000 miles are now open for
raffic, practically all state-owned, Much
bigger things in railway building, how /
yer, are being planned for the next few
ears.
THE commonwealth parliament" said
dr. Fisher, sis providing for the con-
truction of great trunk railways, span
ing from east to west, and from north
o south. The Transcontinental from
asst to west is now on the point of com
letion. 1t runs from Port Augusta in !,
outh Australia to Kalgoorlie in West
TN Australia.
1t has been a monumental undertake
no. 1t is a frst-class line of four feet
ight one half-inch gauge, capable of
INurious travelling at high speed. II
as been built entirely by the common i,
ealth government by day labor, with
ut the aid of contractors. Australian
ngineers made the plans, and Austral-
in steel works supplied most of the
ills To build the line was alone a r
rest undertaking, for in all its 1000 /.
lies of length there was practically no "
II was built in two sec 4
simultaneously from either end, v
nd to-day the construction camps are d
,tting hourly into touch It will be =,
-amatic meeting there in the silent >
art ,of the continent.
THAT meeting will bring Western L
within ~ hours of the East G
n states. IL will open up thousands n,