Will Be Resisted

P.A.A. Wish to Enter Australia

THE Melbourne “Herald”, which is understood to be in the confidence of the Commonwealth Government, stated on June 3 that Pan American Airways is expected to apply to the Com monwealth Government shortly for per mission to bring into Australia, by way of the Company’s new base at Noumea, the giant clippers from San Francisco across the Central Pacific.

The newspaper says that the proposal will be strenuously resisted, on the ground that these main lines of airmail communication throughout the Empire should belong to British Imperial inter ests. It is indicated that the same kind of opposition is being enforced to the new arrangement under which the Dutch airliners, flying from Holland to the Netherlands Indies, are allowed to come into Australia and terminate the service at Sydney.

The idea of keeping all these airways communications for British airplanes ap pears beautiful and patriotic, until one discovers that practically the whole of the British airlines of any importance are now owned by British shipping in terests —and most of us have heard of the British shipping combine. The free thinking Australian is inclined to argue that the airlines of other nations should be allowed to enter Australia, so that they may provide the British concerns with healthy competition and keep their natural rapacity in check.