Grand Forks herald., 1917-03-07
AUSTRIA TO
BE MECCA FOR
TOMMY ATKINS
British Soldiers to Rush for
Island Continent After
the War. -,


soldier after the war. in the opinion
of Andrew Fisher. High Commissioner
for Australia in London. 'Australia
today offers the greatest return for.
energy Of any country in the world"
he declared today. "A great deal has
been made in England Of our plans for
settling soldiers on the land. and this
publicity in itself IL going to result in
an unprecedented rush for tho island
continent as soon AZ peace comes.
THE only question in the minds Of
Australian statesmen is whether ws
shall be able to cope with the rush.
There is no question that we need the
men. and we are making every prep
aration to be ready for them. Aus.
tralia is an exporter Of food. ana an
importer Of men. Great Britain for q
century has been an importer Of food.
and an exporter of the more adventur.
GUS Of her sons. Australia wants
population. but she wants an inde-
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 necessary to consult the
conferences to this end are now In
progress, explained Mr.. Fisher. "'e
''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
friendship that will last beyond the
seas. when It will merge into mu-
tual 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. Tho land. itself will be provid-
ed practically free Of charge. In
Queensland. for example. the land
will be leased under q perpetual lease.
There will be no initial payment for
to B. paid durins ths r.t three Ss no yesrs ssns
In western Australia. each settler will
be given. without charge. 100 acres.
The government will clear some Of tho
land for him and provide the neces-
sary financial assistance through the
Agricultural Bank.
I'm the old days starting on the
land was dificult, slow. and expen-
sive. Now the small man can start
with a good prospect OF being COM
work. Large pastoral holdings are to
be converted into agricultural areas
whore wheat is grown. Other land
will be used for mixed farming or
dairying."
The development Of Australia from
now on, continued Mr.. Fisher, will be
greatly accelerated by railway build
1~- NJ
for traffic. practically all state-owned.
Much bigger things in railway build
ing, however. are being planned for
the next few years.
THE Commonwealth parliament"
said Mr.. Fisher, ''is prvoiding for tho
construction of great trunk railways,
spanning the continent from East to
West, and from North to South. The
Transcontinental from east to west 10
runs from Port Augusta in South Aus
tralia to Kalgoerlie in Western Aus
tralia.
1t has been q monumental under.
taking. It IL first class line Of four
feet eight one-half inch gauge, capa-
BILE OF luxurious travelling at high
speed. 1t has been built entirely by
the Commonwealth government by
day labor, without the aid Of contrac-
plans. ami Australian steel works sup
piled most Of the rails. To build the
line was alone a great undertaking.
for in all it's 1000 miles Of length
there was practically no civilization.
1t was built in two sectione-simul-
taneously from either end, and today
the constructions camps are getting
hourly into touch. It will be . dram
attic meeting there in the silent heart
Of the continent
THAT meeting will bring Western
Australia within IS hours OF the east
ern states. 1t will open up thousands
of miles Of new country, which will
support large population"