| <trailer><p> <Labor Call> <12 March 1914>
| </p></trailer>
| <headline><p> <Defending Civilisation.> 
| <WAR SCARES.> </p></headline>
| <p> The world walks in agony and sleeps in fear. 
| Each particular part of it works and slaves and 
| is slowly bled to death to pay an army and navy 
| to defend it against somebody else. The people of 
| every nation are told that across the border 
| there is another nation eager to pounce upon it, 
| and in every nation there is a group of men 
| protesting that they detest war, but urging war, 
| like preparation against the would-be invader. 
| There is no known country that admits a desire to 
| invade. They have no desire, not one of them, 
| beyond self-protection. The Germans are tormented 
| by periodic war scares about a possible English 
| invasion, and the English are tormented by like 
| fears about the Germans, and the same 
| international trust of war material manufacturers 
| supply both with guns and bayonets, ships of war 
| and ammunition, and make a profit out of both. 
| There are no ties of blood or nationality or 
| patriotism about these profit-mongers. Their 
| business is to make up scares <mdash>-</mdash> to 
| urge both nationalities to defend their precious 
| civilisation against the other's civilisation. As 
| it is between English and Germans, so it is the 
| wide world over. In every country the language of 
| the warrior statesman is, "We must defend 
| civilisation." So said Andrew Fisher at Ringwood, 
| on March 6th, 1914.</p>
| <p> AUSTRALIA IN IT. </p>
| <p> Australia, therefore, is not an exception to 
| the general rule. Under the old State system, the 
| stuffed wolf at the door was Russia. Under the 
| pretext of driving her away we kept an army of 
| generals, colonels and captains <mdash>-</mdash> 
| and a few soldiers. The only foe they ever 
| marched out against in any State was unruly 
| shearers, seamen and miners. This was "defending 
| civilisation," and for these armed instruments of 
| Australian capitalism the various States paid 
| between 800,000 pounds and 1,000,000 pounds per 
| year. </p>
| <p> When Federation loomed large, the "Defend 
| Australia" cry was tin-whistled and flag-wagged 
| from every platform. It was an appeal to the 
| patriotic instinct discoverable in every race. 
| There was no talk of how, or with what or at what 
| cost. Merely rolling periods and perorations. </p>
| <p> LIBERAL PATRIOTISM. </p>
| <p> Federation came; so did the Defence Act of 
| 1903. Nothing was done with it. It was a subject 
| to talk about, not to spend money on. The 
| stock-in-trade of the Liberals was to talk of loyalty, 
| Imperial unity, and the anti-patriotism of the 
| Labor party. The Liberals were always going to do 
| something <mdash>-</mdash> tomorrow; but the cost 
| always scared them. In Melbourne (December 13th, 
| 1907) Mr Deakin made use of these words: <q> 
| </q></p>
| <p> In reality, and behind their platform 
| platitudes, the Liberals wanted nothing more than 
| sufficient soldiery to repress internal disorder, 
| and a mosquito fleet of eight gunboats to satisfy 
| the patriotic spirit they had evoked. </p>
| <p> More than this they would not go <mdash>-</mdash>
| the cost scared them. Mr Deakin told the 
| Imperial Conference that the cost stood in the 
| way of an "adequate" system of defence. Mr Ewing, 
| then Minister of Defence, said (January 13th, 
| 1908) that Australia, with its small population, 
| could not carry a navy as well as an army. <q> 
| </q> he said, <q> 
| </q> And he went on to point out 
| that, <q> 
| </q></p> 
| <p> LABOR CAME IN. </p>
| <p> That was the situation when the Labor party 
| came to power. It commenced dockyards and 
| arsenals and naval bases. It put a navy on the 
| sea and an army on the land. The navy is about 
| one-twentieth that of Japan. The army is 80,000 
| strong, mostly boys. The guns are yet to come; 
| the ammunition is in store. The cost so far is 15 
| millions, and the millions increase year by year. 
| The Japs have not arrived, but millions of public 
| money is going down the sink. </p>
| <p> EXIT LABOR. </p>
| <p> The Labor party is out. The Liberals are in. 
| Their old fear of the Japs has disappeared. There 
| are no more appeals to "Rise, Australia." They 
| are fearful of the cash. Naval and military works 
| are at a standstill, or going so slow that the 
| navy will be to pieces before the essential bases 
| are constructed. The Liberal party has become the 
| anti-militarists in reality. The Labor party is 
| all that is left of Militarism, Imperialism, 
| Patriotism, Fight for the Flagism and all the 
| rest. We are the party of "real defence", the 
| party of Blood and Fire and Slaughter. All the 
| social and economic policies of the Labor 
| Movement are subordinated to Jingo, and now the 
| House of Jingo comes tumbling down. </p>
| <p> IT WAS FORECASTED. </p>
| <p> Over three years ago (September 15, 1910) in 
| an article for the <title rend="PRE lsquo POST rsquo">
| "Labor Call" </title> upon 
| <title rend="PRE lsquo POST rsquo"> 
| "Defence and Finance," </title> 
| I wrote these words: </p>
| <p><q> 
| </q></p>
| <p> A REALITY OR A FARCE. </p>
| <p> The capacity for self defence is essential, 
| whether in individuals or nations, but 
| preparation means the precedent course of 
| economic development and wealth production, so 
| that a country shall possess the wealth, the 
| arms, the men, adequate to the size of the 
| territory defended. That is the essential point, 
| and upon that rests the question whether 
| "defence" be a reality or a farce. Ships without 
| a base, soldiers without arms or means of 
| transport, the Northern Territory a so-called 
| open door, no soldiers, no forts, no garrison, no 
| population. If the war scare is not a sham, then 
| all the so-called preparations for the "defence 
| of civilization" stand in that category. Better 
| had we spent the millions in drainage, 
| irrigation, roads, railways and a common railway 
| gauge. That would be doing something for 
| civilisation. </p>
| <p> LEADERS' DISAGREE. </p>
| <p> The press are now demanding a reduction of 
| military expenditure, and Joseph Cook announces 
| everywhere that the pruning knife is at work, but 
| Defence Minister Millen goes to the military 
| gorge on March 9, and decries Joseph very loudly. 
| Millen declares that he <q> 
| </q> So you 
| take your choice between the two leaders of the 
| one party with the two policies. General Ian 
| Hamilton gave the admiring gorgers a picture of 
| sickly sheep and black crows. The 
| <title rend="PRE lsquo POST rsquo"> "Age" </title> 
| reported there was "first, slight applause; then, 
| loud applause." There was a doubt in the minds of 
| the audience as to whether the General's remarks 
| were a joke or a memorial service. The General 
| made it clear. The Australians were the sheep, 
| but we take the liberty to point out that they 
| are not yet sick, but they will be before the 
| black crows of militarism have done their picking 
| at their vitals. Militarism is indeed a black 
| crow, uttering a never-ending CAW-CAW 
| <mdash>-</mdash> GIVE US MORE, EVER MORE </p>
| <p> F. ANSTEY. </p>