The daily journal. (Salem, Or.) 1899-1903, 1903-08-21
AHEAD
OF THE
WORLD
New Zealand Leads
all Creation in
New Ideas
Government Ownership the
Line Along Which She
is PrOfitably Ex-
perimenting


New Zealand can boast OF other
things as remarkable as It's labor laws
that compel shopkeepers to close on
every legal holiday and either Wed.
nesday or Saturday afternoon, and Ak
the lowest wages that can be paid TO
any one at $1.25 per week. For ex.
ample, everybody is polite, extremely,
almost painfully polite.
The train steams into the station at
Wellington, the islands capital.
Wellington, please" the conductor
gently announces 10 his passengers
After thanking the conductor for
getting them safely to their destina.
ton, tho travellers disembark.
This way to dinner, please" the
station attendants politely sing.
The train makes ready to start
Seats, please; but don't hurry" Is
the trainmen's Rdmonitlon.
And the conductor waits Ave min
utes after the gates are closed for
everybody TO get comfortably seated
before whistling the driver to start
The time lost in being ceremonious
is made up by the Now zeaTanders by
the word trimming. No one says.
I'm mako a memorandum Of t." It's
always. "I1l memo"
This cutting Of words ia carried to
such an extent that stranger really
needs the service OF an interpreter the
first week or two he is on the island.
The right man for the traveller In
trouble over the language or anything
else to seok out is the postmaster.
New Zoaland's postmasters are reg
lstrars of births and deaths. They
collect all taxes. municipal and gov.
ernmental, and all customs and inter
nal revenues.
They insure their fellow citizens In
the governments life Insurance com.
This bank has 212,436 depositers, and
Postofilco Savings Bank OF New Zea
land. also government institution.
This bank han 212.496 dcpositirs, and.
the money deposited by them aggre-
gates S32,0OO.OO0. over one-fourth OF
the islands population keeps It's
money In this institution.
But II is performer OF wedding
ceremonies that tho New Zealand
postmaster Is famous. There is neither
fuss nor furry In the ceremony that
the postmaster performs: neither does
It cost a penny.
New Zealand's leading utility man
is easily the postmaster his closest
competitor is tho railroad station
agen. As the government owns the
railroads, Il demands OF it's agents
that thcy ettend TO all the wants Of the
people that the postmaster can't con.
veniently look after.
Hence, when farmer decides to
sell poultry. he carts few hundred
fowls over - the station agent. The
agent kills them, freezes them, packs
them in refrigerator cars. and sees
them started on their way 10 Auckland
Wellington, Australia or London. The
government acts as the farmers com.
mission man, free, all the way through.
The government tries In every way
10 encourage the farmer II will lend
him money at low interest. and sell
him rich land for few dollars an acre.
II even forbids the railroads TO whistle
at the country road crossings. so that
John Dobbins' easy-going mare won't
get frightened and try to run away.
One government undertaking is the
sanitarfen and hospital at Rotorua.
the islands chief health resort. II is
for the benefit OF all INDECENT persons
throughout Now Zealand.
If man has broken down under the |
S rain of too much work. or has con
tracted a bad case OF gout or rheuma
tism, and has not money to pay for
the government gives him |
three months OF free treatment in the |
sanitarIum. with free access TO all the |
mineral baths. II, at the end OF three |
months the patient is still in bad
shape. he gets another three months
The sanitarium has the islands fore
most physicians at It's head. a corps Of
graduated nurses and splendid clinical
and surgical facilities.
Another queer thing about New zea-
land is their honesty. Nobody tries TO
steal from you.
Hotel room doors are never locked;
many have no locks. Hats. coats and
galises are left around indiscriminate
y. and the owners always finds their
property where they put II.
A man with daughters In New lea
and is a political power. a big man In !
ha dfafrfcf IN which ha rcaidea All