Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1911-03-07
NEW ZEALAND.
The Wonderful Advancement Made BY
the People Of that Country.

the Y. NJ. G. A. And all who attended
voted it the best number on the
course, for it impaired new knowledge
to all. Few people in the audience
perhaps were familiar with conditions
in that little heard of land, 10000
miles distant from US.
The Raweis, though born and
reared on the island, speak excellent
English, far better than half of our
native Americans. Mr. Raweis stated
at the opening that at the age of
twelve years he was taken by an
English lady and educated, and
English is now their language.
The greater part of the entertain
ment was taken up in describing the
island and its people as they were be-
fore civilization was embraced, lam
tern slides being used in illustration.
Views of rivers, mountains, lakes,
geysers, buildings with their rich
carvings, tatooed natives, idol gods,
luxuriant ferns, ETC., were thrown on
|
each fully explained.
! Unlike most countries New Zealand
has no wild animals, no reptiles and
no insects. In primitive days the
people clothed themselves from gar
ments made of bird feathers and of
cloth woven from the fibre of barkS
of trees. The making of these was
laborious and patience-trying task
| They had neither needle, spinning
wheel, loom or metal device of any
kind, and it required months of
tedious toll to complete a garment
The Raweis were dressed in native
costume, and also exhibited cloths
of native make. These fabrics are
tough, though very pliable, and shine
like silk.
The New Zealanders in primitive
days were war-like people, and were
continually fighting. Their only
weapons were clubs and rocks shaped
into a bludgeon. No white man
dared land on their shores. They
worshipped idols and were super
stitious and lazy. They were very
adept in the art of tatooing, and made
themselves look hideous by tatooing
their faces, even to putting designs
on their eyelids A curious custom
was to tattoo the chin of every married
woman, so as to distinguish her from
one unmarried.
Some of the wonders of nature,
very beautiful and rivaling the scenic |
beauty of the Yellowstone park, were
shown and described by Mrs. Raweis.
Geysers throwing boiling water can
be found on the banks of cold water
lakes, and Mr.. Raweis stated that
fisherman can catch fish in the lake, |
and without detaching them from
the hook, or stepping out of his tracks,
can throw them into a geyser and pull |
them out in a few minutes later |
cooked. Mrs. Raweis snapped her
thumb and finger in disapproyal when |
he told that.
While describing the people in their
savagery Mr.. md Mrs. Rawers and |
daughter san several native songs,
and then sang their translation in
English. Some fun was poked at our
American schools, and the daughter
gave two recitations, one of them a
humorous essay on a duck, recited by
an American school boy.
Mr.. Raweis concluded the program
by describing New Zealand as it is
today, and it is really wonderful
What progress its people have made,
when it is considered that only sixty
years ago they were savages. Students
of economic affairs have for some
years been pointing to New Zealand
as having the model government of
the world. Every public utility is
owned by the government, which is
the people. Children are transported
free. A poor man can secure land at
81 per acre, and is given twenty years
time to pay for it. The government
will loan money to erect buildings,
and give him thirty years to pay it
back, at six per cent. interest. AS
| the wealth of all countries is created
| by labor, the New Zealanders believe
| that the laborer should be protected
in his old age, and grants pensions to
man when he becomes sixty years
old, if he needs it. The money to do
all this is derived from the profits
made out of public utilities. Instead
of letting few individuals reap the
profits, as is done here, the people
operate their own railroad, telegraph
telephone and express lines, water
power business and hospitals. Con-
sequently there are no Rockefellers
or any paupers on the island. Wealth
is nearly evenly distributed. Every
woman is given the right of franchise,
for the New Zealander believes that
| if woman is amenable to the laws
she should have say in framing the
laws AS poverty is the breeder of
crime, there is very few criminal
offenses committed in that country,
for the people as majority are pros
porous.
Large, well built cities, having all
modern conyeniences, are scattered
all over the island. The people have
al excellent school system, with num-
erous colleges, churches, etc. Every
where there is evidence of a high
lcivilization and a care-free. happy
and prosperous people. This has all
grown from seed planted by mission
aries, who took their lives in their
hands by going among the sayages