The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1914. THE AUSTRALIAN NAVY.

Stratford Evening Post, Volume XXXX, Issue 53, 19 October 1914, Page 4

The Stratford Evening Post WITH WHICH IS INCORPORATED THE EGMONT SETTLER. MONDAY, OCTOBER 19, 1914. THE AUSTRALIAN NAVY.

Some day the fine story of the Australian navy’s part in the war drama will be written, the Melbourne representative of the Sydney Sun writes, but not now. Already too much has been said, according to officials, who claim that information published in New Zealand might conceivably help the German Pacific fleet to evade us. The wrecking of a German wireless station, for instance, must be kept secret. Germany has studded the Pacific with wireless stations, but the disappearance of even one should not be announced,, for it saves the German captain from the temptation of trying to communicate with it. The more stations and ships he tries to communicate with, the more does he advertise his whereabouts. So the censorship has become stricter than ever, and together with the few dangerous facts Ipuch harmless and interesting news is sacrificed. Somehow news gets out of Australia. Despite widespread official precautions, and a great many arrests, information leaks out from these shores. The result is that we shall have to wait till all is over before we hear of the exploits of our seamen—their fine behaviour in the greatest adventure and most exhilarating task that Australians have enjoyed. There is only one fate for the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, Nurnberg, Leipsig, and the smaller craft of the enemy’s Pacific squadron—if the Australian navy gets its way. We are stronger than they in every particular—stronger in gunfire, stronger in armour, and stronger, we all believe, in personnel. No doubt the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are powerful ships—no doubt the speed of the Germans, even in these days of remarkable naval speeds, is extraordinary. But in power and speed we beat them, and unless they have vanished from the ocean—sought temporary security in some little-used sea—we shall get them in our own time, and at little or no expense. Meanwhile our naval men in the Pacific, delighting in the war tasks assigned them, are showing seamanship and fighting qualities that make for all time a great tradition for the Australian navy.