The nonpartisan leader. [volume], July 08, 1918, Image 9

About The nonpartisan leader. [volume] (Fargo, N.D.) 1915-1921

Image provided by: State Historical Society of North Dakota

                
BY GEORGE MACDONNELL
USTRALIA is situated in the
southwestern corner of the
Pacific ocean. The city of.
Sydney, on its east coast, is
about 7,000 miles from San
Francisco. The area of Austra
lia is slightly larger than that
of the United States, while its
population is only' 5,000,000.
Being on the other side, of the- equator, Australia
has its seasons reversed—Christmas coming in the
middle of summer. A constellation of five stars
in the shape of across blazes in the southern skies
and for this reason Australia is often termed the
land of the Southern Cross. The climate is dry
and warm in the summer the temperature rises
to 110 degrees and over (in some inland towns, to
135 degrees in the shade), while in the winter the
temperature rarely falls much below the freezing
point—in fact most Australians have never seen
snow.
The middle of Australia is a waterless desert
and even the fertile parts are so dry that a wheat
yield of 10 to 12 bushels per acre is considered
a good crop. Australia is populated on a fringe
around the coast, about 90 per cent of the people
living within 100 miles of-the sea. Australia is
especially suited for wool production and is the
largest wool-exporting country in the world.
A CONSTITUTION
LIKE AMERICA'S
Australia was first settled by convicts sent out
from England in 1788, and until 1824 it was ruled
as a convict settlement by a governor appointed
by the British crown. In 1855 an elective parlia
ment was granted to the colony of New South
Wales by the British authorities. Shortly after
this, parliaments were established in the colonies
of Victoria, Tasmania, South Australia and
Queensland. In 1890 a parliament was established
in the colony of Western Australia. It w&s not
until 1901 that the six Australian colonies were
federated and a federal parliament established.
The federal constitution of Australia is somewhat
similar to that of the United States. The federa
tion is known officially as the Commonwealth of
Australia and the original six colonies are now
called states. Except in regard to the declaration
of war Australia now has complete self-govern
ment. The first parliament of New South Wales
enacted manhood suffrage and established What
is known as the Australian ballot in 1858. The
first Torrens land transfer and titles act was
passed by the South Australian parliament in 1857.
Torrens was a customs official in-South Australia.
In the '50s the first government railroad was
built in Australia. SIXTY YEARS AGO AUSTRA
LIA INSTITUTED THE AUSTRALIAN BALLOT,
THE TORRENS SYSTEM, AND GOVERNMENT
OWNERSHIP OF RAILROADS—reforms which
have only lately been1 partially adopted in the
United States.
THE LABOR PARTY
TO THE RESCUE
Between 1860 and 1890. th£re was a dearth of
further progressive legislation, and towards the
end of this period it began to look as though pol
itics was getting into a dirty mess. The compo
sition, of the parliaments of the different colonics,
was such that the great njajority of the people
were not represented. The parliaments consisted:
of lawyers, big landowners, "squatters" (owners of
immense sheep runs), manufacturers and other
representatives of big' business. In 1890 there
The southern half of Australia has cli
mate, products and market conditions
Very similar to California. The re
semblance goes farther. The two
countries are peopled by the same
race, and they havie the same habits,
the same social and political ideals,
and very similar economic conditions.
Read: here what the Labor party in
Australia has accomplished and see
how near it is to what the National
p| Nonpartisan league is planning
Labor Party, Resembling the Nonpartisan League, Has Achieved State
Operation of Railroads, Street Cars, Telegraphs and Coal Mines
One of the few beauty spots in Australia is* the
Blue mountain country, two hours by rail from
Sydney. Here is shown Vera falls,
Valley of "the Waters.
was hot one farmer or workingman in the par
liament of Queensland.
But in the year 1890 a great change came over
politics in Australia. In that year there was an
attempt on the part of big business to stamp out
trade unionism. This attempt culminated in the...."
great maritime strike. This was a strike of sea
men, wharf laborers and transport workers. The
strike spread all over Australia and trade was
brought' almost to a standstill. This strike was
followed by the sheep-shearers' strike in 1891.
Labor was badly beaten in both strikes and it
looked as though the big business interests would
be able to kill unionism.
^However, the labor unions decided to turn to
politics and to run independent Labor candidates
at the, parliamentary elections. A Labor party,
was formed and, in the New South Wales elections
of 1891, there were 36 Laborites elected in a house
of 141 members. Shortly after this Labor parties',
made, their appearance in each of the parliaments
of the six colonies. In the' first federal elections
which took place-.in 1900 there were 16 Laborites^''
NINfc
elected to the house of representatives, which con
sisted of 75 members.
The Labor party grew so powerful that in 1909
the two old parties—the Liberals and Conserva
tives—were forced to combine into what is known
as the Liberal Union party. This combination was
effected before the federal election of 1910. The
result was that at this election the Laborites ob
tained a majority in both houses. The Australian
prime minister, who in a general way corresponds
to the president of the United States, is for prac
tical purposes elected, and subject to recall, by
the federal house of representatives. The result
of the 1910 federal elections was therefore that,
in addition to a Labor house and a Labor senate,
there was also a Labor prime minister. The power
of Labor continued to grow until 1915 when there
were Labor governments in power in five out of
six state parliaments and in the federal parlia
ment as well.
HAVE CUT DOWN
THE MIDDLEMEN
The Australian Labor party is a party of work
ingmen, small farmers, and small storekeepers.
Its purpose is to include all those who work for
a living as against those who employ others to do
all the work while they themselves draw all the
profits. TJie Labor party is constantly fighting
the big interests and the useless middlemen. The
Labor party seeks to abolish superfluous middle
men by a program of public ownership, much of
which already has been put into operation. The
government—federal, state or municipal, as the
case may be—owns and operates railroads, street
cars, ferryboats, telegraphs and telephones, water
and electric light works, banks, coal mines, steam
ships, fishing trawlers, bakeries, brickworks, saw
mills and hotels. The government fixes prices,
hours of labor, wages and house rents makes
clothes and agricultural implements runs cold
storage plants and markets, stockyards and
slaughter houses sells fish, meat and dairy prod
ucts supplies seed wheat provides old age pen
sions lends .money at cheap rates to farmers and
workers^ Of course not all of these things are
exclusively controlled and owned by the govern
ments, as for instance, there are still private banks
in competition with the government banks.
From this list of accomplishments it will be
seen that the Labor party has PUT INTO AC
TUAL PRACTICE MANY OF THE PLANKS OF
THE PLATFORM OF THE NONPARTISAN
LEAGUE. When a farmer is told that certain of
the planks in the League platform are "visionary,"
all he need do is to reply that much of the League's
program is already in operation in Australia. THE
MORE PUBLIC OWNERSHIP THE AUSTRA
LIAN, PEOPLE HAVE THE MORE THEY SEEM
TO WANT. At the present time the Labor govern
ment in the state of Queensland is introducing
legislation to give the people state life insurance,
the pepple already having state fire and accident
insurance.
ALL SIGN
THE PLATFORM
The Australian Labor party is financed and
controlled by the men who vote the party ticket
at the parliamentary elections. The basis of the
party organization is the local or district political
labor league. All trade unions in an election dis
trict wishing tp join become affiliated with the,,
labor league. Supporters of the Labor party," who
are not members of a union, may become direct
members of the labor league on payment of the
Among the great nations only Great
Britain and the United States are still
under the system of private ownership
of railroads, though the war has
driven both of them to assume control
of operation. Ih Australia, as well as
in all other countries, the question of
government ownership has been set
tled ih the affirmative. The time has
come in America to take over this
monopoly, reduce rates and put the
railroads out of politics.