Evening star., 1918-06-16
BY CHARLES M. PEPPER.
UsTRALIA wants a Mon,

~ with the United States as a
= q party in interest Sir Will
liam Hughes, the premier, started a
New York audience not long ago by
this declaration.
The Australian premier is noted for
his farsightedness as well as his ag.
gressiveness. In England two years
ago he made a series Of addresses
urging the economic boycott of Ger
many after the war How far his
speeches influenced the British gov
ernment toward the Paris economic
pact, which was later formulated at
the conference of the allies, may be
matter Of guesswork, but there is no
question that he reused British public
opinion.
The Paris conference did not go as
Tar as he advocated. Some Of his
views were declared to be too ex-
treme. It may be that this ultimately
will be the judgment of the British
people, both at home and in the coll
onfes, just as 1t may be the judgment
of the allies. including the United
States, that economic pacts are not
desirable as a means of keeping peace
In the future This conclusion, how.
ever, is not apt to be reached until
Germany Is defeated by force Of arms.
be NO need OF economic boycotts. but
In the meantime, while the great
conflict RACES, he can take satisfac.
ton in noting that sentiment in the
allied countries is tending more
strongly toward his views.
4 f
The suggestion Of a Monroe doctrine
in the south Pacific as made by the
Australian premier was based pri-
marily on the idea that such a doc
trine would be necessary in order to
save Australasia from attempted Hun
domination. 1t is not exactly similar
to the original Monroe doctrine Of the
United States. but the principle is the
same. On the part of the Australian
many, having been driven out Of her
possessions in the Pacific. should not
be allowed to regain a foothold there,
because she would utilize 1t for con-
quest.
It is worth while, in view of this
proposed Australasian Monroe doctrine,
to take passing note of what Ger
many once held in that section Of the
Pacific. Without looking at the map,
few persons realize the extent Of the
German possessions in the Pacific.
The islands she occupied are not as
many as those held by England and
France. but there are too many of
them for either country to feel COM
Portable at the possibility of her re-
gaining them. since they would be
domination through force. There are
also numerous islands in the Pacific
which have not been colonized by
any power. and Germany would un-
doubtedly take possession OF as many
of these as she needed II she were left
free to work her own will.
The island which most concerns
Australia as a possible hostile base
is New Guinea, or Papua. Until the
breaking out Of hostilities that was
mans and the British. although the
aboriginal Inhabitants in large Sec
tions Of 1t paid no attention to these
overlords and continued to indulge in
cannibalism and other practices dis
couraging to peaceful settlement by
The German area in New Guinea,
as roughly marked of, was about
81 600 square miles, while the British
area, which adjoined 1t on the south,
was 5000 square miles In extent:
Emden and other German sea raiders
were securing the oceans, the Aus
tralians lost no time in taking pos
session OF the German section OF New
Guinea. They did it by means Of
their own military forces, since there
was no time to wait for the home
government to act. They have since
retained possession Of this area and
have policed 1t.
New Guinea lies directly to the
north of Queensland. No Australian
statesman will ever consent, there
fore. to putting a section of 1t back
in the control Of the Hun. Further
north are the Caroline Islands, and
then the Ladrones. These groups lie
directly east of the Philippines, but
right on the edge of the Ladrones is
the American outpost Of Guam. The
Germans also have been ousted from
these groups.
The most important German pos
session in the Pacific, however. was
its Samoan island. How the Samoan
group came to be divided between
England, the United States and Ger
many is a part Of diplomatic history
running back thirty years. It is a
matter of common, though somewhat
va1,a recollection how ugly Ger
many was in this matter and how
the United States and England had
TO unite in order to curb her. Even
back in those days the German con-
sui there gave evidence of his ma
tfonality and of the policy Of the
country he represented. by his efforts
the Americans and the English. That
ipc