Charles E W Bean, Diaries, AWM38 3DRL 606/115/1 - June 1918 - Part 2

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What Dodds has bn trying to get Millen to
arrange - but Millen says tt there must be
no soldier on / repatriation authority -
this must be purely civilian - no military
interference at all - (an utterly impossible
view but quite in accordance w / character
of Millen who has no idea above his own
political interest, & never did have).
Millen wd give no information o / scheme
to Dodds in spite of repeated requests.
 

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"Well, but you have seen / regulations
drawn up respecting / repatriation scheme,"
sd Cook.
"Never" sd Dodds.  "Didnt know there
were any."
"I mean / regulations wh were issued
2 months ago," sd Cook - "2 months
before we left.  Do you mean to say he didnt send you those."
"Never knew there were any", sd Dodds.
 

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Cook cd scarcely believe it.
Dodds sd tt Cook ws very annoyed w
Hughes over something.  But Latham & Dean
(their 'offsiders') tell us tt Joe is supporting
Hughes very loyally.
Murdoch & I went off in a car lent
by A.I.F. Hqrs to take the Colonial Editor
of the Times - a man named Long, once in the
S. African Parliament - to see Hughes.  Hughes
had been very tired.  He was sleeping when
 

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we arrived.  An interview with all the
great morning papers had been arranged
for 12.30 tt morning.  At 1.30 Smart rang
up Murdoch in great distress.  He sd is
managing Hughes' publicity.  He sd tt
all / pressmen were there still, waiting,
but that Billy ws still asleep.  Mrs Hughes
& Dean his Secretary wd not wake him.
They were giving the pressmen lunch and
trying to keep them from being offended but
 

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Smart ws at his wits end.  Dean sd
tt Hughes, when he went in, had waved
him aside twice & he cdn't see his
way to wake him.  However, / little
man eventually woke up (he had gone to
bed at 5 the night before) - & I think
he gave them their interview in his
bedroom.  I think he was getting up
when we arrived at about 3.15.
 

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Mrs Hughes, who entertained us in /
drawing room of the very nice little house wh /
British Govt they have taken for Hughes (at 29 Elsworthy
Rd, Regents Park) struck me as being a
very capable, & attractive woman.  She
had a frank intelligent face & a very
straight ^intelligent manner.  She spoke in a matter
of fact quiet quiet decided self possessed fashion
 

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& seemed to me to be an exceedingly capable
Australian woman facing a new situation
with all her wits about her.  I heard at
lunch tt Mrs Chirnside, one o / ^big society
dames of Victoria, had tackled her in a
manner which was intended (as I think Mrs
C. confessed) to be just a little patronising;
& had found in this calm little woman one
not at all disturbed by her social eminence &
 

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probably more than her mental equal.
I believe the good Mrs C. (who is over here
on Red X work) admitted as much afterwards
to some friends who were discussing / new
arrival.
Billy came down in about half an
hour. abt 3.30 - & first gave an hours
interview to Long; a talk to put him in
a position to know what he ^was writing about; not
 

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an interview for publication.
Long asked him first about his
Munroe Doctrine for / Pacific - Billy
made a speech in America about this -
his propaganda in America ws exactly
what Australia shd initiate & maintain
just now.  I sometimes feel very jealous
tt just now - just in this little  month or
two when / war on /  Western British front is
 

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more Australias than anyone elses -
when our people for one short hour have
stood between France & Germany & had, at
times, / whole fate o / Allied Nations depending
on them - I sometimes feel very
jealous tt they do not get credit for this
in / English communique.  The British
communique says day after day
"Our troops S.W. of Merris brought back