SYDNEY THUGS

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 410, 19 July 1928, Page 12

SYDNEY THUGS

POLICE FORCE INCREASED SUPPLIES FOR KINGSFORD SMITH SYDNEY. July 13. Highwaymen of old could not have caused greater stir than the hold-up men and other law-breakers who have plied their lawless trades about Sydney. They have stirred the Government to action, in the direction *of strengthening the police force, and the result is that many worthy young men who might otherwise be unemployed ; will have chances to make good as j guardians o,f the peace. Some time ! ago the astounding fact was discovered j by the Acting-Premier that over 200 j polio© stations in New South Wales were not connected by telephone. Immediate orders were given to have the necessary connections made, but in the meantime what endless possibilities would offer to the bank robber and others who, emulating the old-time bushrangers, got outside the law. While someone ran or rode or drove to tell the distant “cop,” they would be well away. The Ship That Passed

A few nights ago, the signalmen at South Head, scanning the inner harbour, missed the familiar winking of a white light on the shoal called the Sow and Pigs. It had disappeared, and for the remainder of the night ships entering were warned by Morse signals from the lofty station, that the light was not there. When morning broke it was seen that the top of the tower on the floating buoy had gone, and with it the lantern. A passing steamer had cut it too fine and run over the. light-buoy. A temporary lamp will bo shown till another permanent one is ready, and the captain of a certain ship has received a “please explain.” These signalmen at Sydney’s ocean gateway have sharp eyes. They miss nothing, and from their high, wind-thrashed tower they have a view for 40 miles to seaward, and up and down the coast. Kingsford Smith Gets Ready

An earnest of Squadron-Leader Kingsford Smith’s intention to fly to New Zealand was the shipment by the Makura yesterday of a large supply of benzine and lubricating oils by the Atlantic Union Oil Company, which is attending to this side of the undertaking. This will be used to bring the Southern Cross back to Sydney, or take her to Suva, should it be decided to go back over the Pacific, though it is more likely that the plane ’will come back to Sydney. At present th© big “bus” is receiving a thorough overhaul, not only of the engines, but of the wings and structure. Men are scraping and sandpapering to get the necessary smoothness for a fast flight. The friction on a plane may be compared with that of a steamer’s propeller, a hundred times magnified, and unless a minimum of resistance occurs on the surface, slow speed is the result. Another interesting fact is that the propellers are actually worn thinner by the friction of the air, and in course of time have to be replaced. Representation at Hawaii

Yesterday the cruiser Brisbane sailed for Honolulu to represent the Commonwealth at the ceremonies connected with the celebration of the 150th anniversary of the landing of Captain Cook at liawari. The Honolulu people have placed a stone at tide-level suitably inscribed to mark the place where Captain Cook was killed by the natives, it is said, because they thought he was a god at first, but when they discovered that he was human they killed him. It is fitting that Australia should be prominent in such celebrations, as this continent owed its settlement to the voyage of Captain Cook, though Tasman had preceded him in actually discovering it. The strange thing was that Captain Cook never knew that lie had found the “great south land” for which he and others sought; he believed it was only another large island. The memory of the great navigator is kept very green in Australia, and the presence of one of this country’s warships at Hawaii will show that her interest in the sailor Is not merely a local one. Tom Walsh Fights Bolshevism

One of the surprises of labour affairs here has been the turning of Tom Walsh against the machinations of extreme Labour. He gave a lecture this week in which he warned Australians of the secret operations of the Bolsheviks in the main ports of their countrq. Endorsemen of Walsh’s statements is evident in the wonderful seamen’s club which has been established in Sydney, while the return this week of the two delegates who went from Australia to the conference of the Second International at Moscow, bears but the idea that Labour here is in close contact with Moscow. Their description of Russia as a happy land, where prosperity reigns, will be believed by the bulk of the workers, for there is a growing number of adherents to Leninism in free Australia. Mr. Walsh’s sincerity cannot be doubted, and his knowledge of the ways of the Soviet leaders should be valuable to those who are fighting Bolshevism. WILL LAWSON.