WAR COMPLACENCY

Evening Star, Issue 24324, 13 October 1942, Page 2

WAR COMPLACENCY

AUSTRALIANS CRITICISED TOO MUCH SPENT ON SPORT (N.Z.P.A. Special Aust. Correspondent) SYDNEY, October 12. Criticism of the public “ attitude of unreality ” towards the war has been expressed in Australia. “ It was a disgrace after Mr Curtin’s austerity appeal to see 74,000 people at the Randwick races on Saturday,” said Mr Arthur Mailey, the international cricketer. “ The money spent at Randwick would have bought 50 planes. “ Organised sport in war time should be confined to schoolboys,” declared Mr Mailey. “ The nation should forget every game which takes man power and money from the war effort.” Sport, however, should be encouraged among the troops, and every available ground should bo turned over to tho fighting services. “ A bombing raid or two on the Australian capitals might be a lesson in disguise,” said Mr H. J. Timperley, adviser to the Chinese National Government’s Board of Information. Comparing Australia’s attitude to the war with the stubborn heroism _of the Chinese, Mr Timperley, who himself is an Australian, said that when ho heard liis well-fed countrymen complaining of a shortage of luxuries he thought of tho millions in China who aro living on tlie verge of starvation. Debates on whether victory suits should have waistcoats made him remember that millions in China had scarcely a rag to their backs. “ Our responsibility as Australians ’ ho added, “is to try to live up to the Chinese example of bravery and endurance, which have never been excelled in human history.” ” PUNTING AND DRINKING " PLAIN SPEAKING BY PRIME MINISTER (Rec. 1.5 p.m.) SYDNEY, Oct. 13. Australia’s Prime Minister, Mr Curtin, has strongly criticised those who are not co-operating in the Fede’ral Government’s austerity campaign. He said there were some people who seemed unable to find recreation except in “ fooling about punting and getting drunk; and trying to make a Roman circus out of the national tragedy.” “ How ironical it is that in a country where every ounce of coal is needed for the war effort we must provide extra transport for race meetings,” said Mr Curtin. “ How ironical it is that we must provide refreshment rooms at meetings so a man can have a spot as well as pick a winner. That is not total war. That is not organising the country to fight. Referring to food shortages, the Prime Minister said: “ We are going to send meat to the United Kingdom, so Australia will have meatless days soon. We will send more dairy produce to the United Kingdom, so we must produce more. Our dehydration plants are already at work preparing dried vegetables for shipment.” Mr Curtin said, as Leader of the Labour Party in Australia, and in common with Labour men throughout the world, he had to share the responsibility for not having prepared for war. “We believed that the days of settling international arguments by force were gone,” he said. “We believed in butter before guns. But all this will be vanity if we do not win the war.”