AUSTRALIAN WAR GRATUITY

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 154, 25 March 1920, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN WAR GRATUITY

AN INTERESTING PKOPOSIL.

A novel, if somewhat belated, iroposal as to the manner in which tho Gratuity, to the soldiers should be pa:d was made in the Federal House of Representatives by Mr. Prowse. member for Swan. West Australia.

After expressing his regret at the form of paymant decided upon' by the Government, Mr. Prowse said it would have been infinitely better for the returned ;nen and for Australia if they had been formed into a company with a capital of or ,£30,000,000,. tho amount involved in the gratuity, and each of them made a shareholder to the extent of the amount to which he was <nt;tled. This company could have devoted itself to the manufacture in Australia of raw products, puch as wool. A company with a capital-ji .£30,000,000 could have easily manufactured'half of the wool yield*of tho Commonwealth. Had such a schemo been adopted the returned men would have had a gratuity in perpetuity. As it was, lie would undertake to sav that inside of six months the gratuity, if paid in its present form, would be" like a handful of sand thrown into the street. Bradford, which had been described as the richest city in England, had' been made rich by the manufacture of Australia's raw materials, and it was high time that Australians manufactured them themselves. If it were 100 late to carry out the 6chemo ho had outlined in toto", it might' not be too late to convey the suggestion to all returned men who were willing to put their money into a concern for that purpose. They might still be able to form a company with a.capital of anything from. J;10,000,000 to •£15,000,000. One-third of the wool of Australia could be manufactured for a start at a. cost of a little over ,£10,000,000, with a mill in every Stale of Die Commonwealth. To manufacture even onethird of the wool would mean employment for 400,000 additional men in Australia.