Evening star., 1942-04-05
AustruIions Working
for AII-Out Victory
By Frederic J. HdSkin.

means the nrst time IN her history, AUS
tralia finds her national integrity
threatened. For the first time in her
history, the only country in the world
whose soil has never furnished battle
field, is faced with a situation on which
may depend the defeat or future success
of the last outpost of democracy in the
Southwestern Pacific.
Eventful as the situation could be, it Is
not subject to be viewed entirely from
AuStralia's standpoint. When multitudes
of people are being held in temporary
slavery the fate of Australia's 100000
inhabitants may not seem of great i'm
portance, but what faces Australia por-
tends beyond that distant continent,
for democracy in all parts of the world
is facing the acid test and the ordeal
which confronts it is intimately bound
up with the fate OF Australia.
Ever since the German armies rolled
into Poland, Australians have been ap-
prehensive that the future way of life
in the Pacific would depend on the out
come of the war in Europe. That is why
within less than two hours after Great
Britain declared war on Germany, Aus
tralia, too took the same step. That is
why, for the past two years, Australian
troops have been fighting in Libya,
Greece, Crete and Syria. In addition,
Australia's ships have swept the waters
of the Mediterranean and her fighting
pilots with Australian planes have bat
tied in the skies over Britain and other
parts of Europe. And this goes on with
increased tempo.
At this stage of the struggle, while
Australians fully realize that their fate
may hang upon the fate of Europe, the
fate of Europe could also depend on the
outcome Of the struggle in Australia.
Certainly 1t is a war with many angles
and no one great battlefront 1t Is
world war indeed, and the winning
ground may yet be an unexpected region.
But regardless Of that, Europes final sue
cess unquestionably depends on the sue
cess in the Pacific, and certainly the
Australian continent is the cornerstone
in the United Nations campaign in that
great expanse.
| But while Australia has been. and is,
furnishing man power. ships and planes
| as a great and telling contribution to-
| ward winning the war, she started
| building factories for war needs at the
! same time she sent her first fighters into
the conflict. For example, when the
war began there we're only four fac
tories in all Australia making machine
tools. but today 1870 factories are making
machines and tools for the war effort,
and the record shows that equipment
valued at more than $50 oOOO0 900 has been
supplied the fighting forces at home and
elsewhere. Many Australian factories
even are completely equipped with locally
made machines.
Australias ingenuity in the field Of
production for the needs of the war has
expressed itself on more fronts than the
manufacturing of tools and machines.
Several inventions of Australian origin
have already been added to the weapons
| of democracy. One Of these is a new
| type of submachine gun, more effective
| and economical than any yet in use, and
another is new armor plate, made by
secret process, and which has been made
| available to the British and American
Governments. A third valuable addi-
ton to the category of machines and
weapons of war is a type Of barbed wire
which will hold up the heaviest tank in
service.
The daily cost Of the war effort in the
United States runs into staggering
sum, so large and increasing so rapidly
that it is not always safe to state it be-
cause of the possibility of being incorrect
by wide margin. But it is far in excess
Of So, 100000 a day large as that sum is,
and which is the daily cost of Australia 5
effort to help win the war. However,
that sum is approximately one-fourth of
Australia's annual national income and
exceedingly large in comparison to the
national income and population of the
United States. Stating it another way,
Australia spends in less than one week
a years national income for war purposes
alone. Australias federal income tax
alone has increased almost fivefold since
the year before the war started.
Months before the Japanese attack on
United States interests, more than 750,-
900 men in Australia were under arms
or in munitions or other war industries,
many of them volunteers. Since Decem-
Der 7, 1s41, there has been a tremendous
increase in the number of volunteers for
all branches of Australia s fighting forces
and the incidence of the draft has been
widened to cover married men up to the
age OF 35 and unmarried men to IS.
During the first World War, Australia
raised force of 100000 volunteers. In
the first two years of the present war
she enlisted force of more than $50 900
and could have added 100000 more had
she been able to accept all those offering
their services for the air force. While
the population has increased since 1915,
the World War rate of enlistment with
present population would have produced
only 100000 volunteers. So on actual
performance, before the incident of Ha-
waii, Australia was at least 10000 VOL
unteers in advance of her effort in the
previous war.