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Show WHY AUSTRALIA'S INTEREST? Australia was, wo believe, the first of foreign countries to extend to the United States a friendly and pressing invitation to have our voyaging fleet of battleships visit that country. It was something of a surprise to receive that cordial invitation, since tho Australians Aus-tralians are pretty well used to seeing considerable fleets and powerful ships which visit its ports from timo to time from tho mother country. An explanation, explana-tion, however, appears in a clipping received from the S,idnoy Bulletin, which assumes that by our spnding that fleet to the Pacific we intend to garrison garri-son that ocean. We would that ilflwero so in fact, and that tho bnttlcships now on the west coast would stay thero and in various ports of the Pacific permanently, perma-nently, nnd would bo reinforced from time to timo as they became unsoa-worthy. unsoa-worthy. On the assumption that the licet would stay there, our Australian contemporary, in surmising a real reason for the voyage of the battloships, comments com-ments as follows: Its real purpose, thcro Is little reason to doubt. Is to garrison the Pacific on behalf of the white races. Before tho Anglo-Japaneso Anglo-Japaneso alliance, Great Britain was the dominant naval power in thla ocan. Since then the hegemony of the greatest of the world's water tracks has been surrendered surren-dered to Japan. The United Slates finds the consequent danger nnd the consequent Insolenco of Japan unendurable, and tho result 1b this garrison of warships. There Is not a shadow of doubt that, If Japan wei-o strong enough, the American fleet would never ho allowed to sec California. But It Is fairly clear that tho Asiatic Powor does not consider Itself yet strong enough, at any rate Unnnclnlly. for war with the United States, and that the garrisoning gar-risoning of the Pacific by a white man's fleet will bo met with sullen acquiescence. Tho presence of tho American fleet In tho Paclllc will be of some comfort to Australia. Aus-tralia. It will represent. In a fashion, :i guarantee of safety against the threatened peril of extinction by tho Asiatic. But humiliating and uncertain as was the dependence de-pendence on Great Britain for safety, still more humiliating and uncertain would he any dependonce on the United States, on whlrh country wc have no claim whatsoever. whatso-ever. Tho presence of the Yankee warships war-ships Iu the Pacltlc would provide no reason rea-son why Australia should be any less ardent ar-dent In pressing forward with the work of naval defense. There Is only one reliable relia-ble sort of watchdog, and that's your own watchdog. Your neighbor's may be far away protecting Its own proprietor's interests in-terests when tho burglars call on you: or It may provo to bo the canny sort of watchdog that doesn't believe in meddling with matters that don't directly concern con-cern It. That comment was mado prior to the arrival of tho ships on our west coast, but it shows tho doop interest of tho Australians in having some com potent barrier against Japan in the great sea which is of such tremendous interest to them. In their hatred of tho yellow and brown races, the Australians are at ono with tho pcoplo of tho west coast of tho United States aud of Canada. Can-ada. Thoy despise the littlo brown men, tho little yollow men, and tho littlo lit-tlo pagan of whatever shade ho is, who makes himself such a nuisance wherever wher-ever he settles himself and brings his crimes, his diseases, and his viciousncss with him. Tho comment above quoted discloses iu a remarknbly cloar light tho anxiety of tho AuHtralians for some competent power of suppression as ngainst thoso races, and it accounts for tho enthusiastic invitation extendod, to havo tho fleet visit Australian ports. Tho programme outlined by our Sidnoy contemporary is undoubtedly one in the interest of all tho whito races, and that thoso races may havo to provide for later on. In tho meantime, all that can bo said is that it is a lasting regret that the fleet Jb under orders to pursue its voyago around tho world, and must roturn to tho eastern shore of tho United Unit-ed Slates. f |