WIDE OPEN TO INVASION

Hokitika Guardian, 22 November 1929, Page 3

WIDE OPEN TO INVASION

(Sydney Bulletin.)

Labor’s official organ justifies the wiping out of citizen service by the Scullidores as follows: “Mr Scullin’s aversion to military training is due to bis belief that il fate calls ti e cards for another bloody war it will be fought mainly in the air, and that land armaments, as they are known to-day, will play a relatively small part of the . hostilities.” The ; belief is not shared by those Pacific powers which have the strongest objection to our alien-exclusion legislation. Japan has a peace establishment of 214,340 officers and men ; Soviet Russia has 1,000,000 men liable for service each year, and last year trained 800,000 of them; and China, according to the “ Statesman’s Year ■Rook, 1929,” “ has over 3,000,000 men under arms.” The Scullin Government is not so demented as to believe, in face of such evidence, that land warfare has come to an end. It is reverting to the device, which was condemned so heartily by Labor 17 years ago, of passing our defence liabilities on *to England. Apart from the facts that the present British Government disapproves of a White Australia and that the British Navy no longer commands the Seas there is' the ■ Locarno Pact, which pledges Britain to come to the aid of either Germany or France, if one is attacked by the other. This means that in event of another European war, the'Commonwealth would have to shiTt for itself. No Air Force could save it, as Messrs Scullin and Theodore would realise if they bad attended th n last war. France, which' probably knows more about land fighting than . any other nation, and has the biggest Air Force of any power except Soviet Russia, supports an army with a peace establishment of 413,578.