Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1921-06-23
BY W. ID. BOYCE.


m He New Zealanders are pioneer
race. They took a Wild country
Il from a wild cannibal race and have
made it the garden spot Of the Pacific
Ocean. When the life and fire insurance
companies formed combines their govern
ment started companies for the benefit
of the people When the banks and
trust companies began to assert the
power of wealth the government started
killing monopolies. When the owners OF
coal and mines-and there is lots OF
good coal in New Zealand-combined ana
charged an unreasonable rate for coal
the government opened up mines in COM
petition. which kept the price OF coal
reasonable. When it looked like land
was being held in too large tracts by
foreign landlords, the government placed
double taxes on absentee landlords ana
also passed laws enabling the govern
ment to buy back land and sell 1t IN
small farms to new settlers on long time
From the year one the government has
owned the telegraphs and telephones and
railroads and that settles that question
early a question which we are now
facing in the United States. New
Zealand has settled the question or
HYDRO electrical development-the making
of electricity by water poverty re
serving to itself the exclusive right TO
deveIope same. and then sell the current
at cost to the people. Some daT New
Zealand will be independent OF coal lot
light, heat and power.
When she found a drift toward social
ism among the workers of the country,
tho Government got busy and advanced
these people money to build homes OF
their own SO that they became independ-
ent and we're interested in the welfare
Of the whole country. When she 1ounu
in the natural course Of events that there
were lei widows and orphans whose nus
bands aid fathers had not been able 10
provide for their future she establshei
pensions Of So week for each WIDOW ana
81 20 for each child under IA. When men
and women grow old they receive a pen
sion unless they have an income above a
certified amount l met the editor of
one Of the country dailies in town
where l was surprised to find n daily
paper at all and I asked him how the
proprietor could afford to get out
daily paper In a town of that size. us
answer was that IT didn't cost very n T.a
as he edited the paper for a small amo'
because he had his old age pension 20
fall back on.
I02 600 SOLDIERS
ANSWERED CALL.
When the great World War came on the
mother country called on her colonies to
send their sons 10 she front New Zealand
sent 1O2. O00 soldiers across the sea out /
of a poDulation which then was 100000,
or at least one man ont of every three
between the ages of IS and 80 II the
United States had done equally as well
we would have furnished 100000 men.
The number Of New Zealanders who were
killed or died from sickness across the
sea was 1900 New Zealand furnished
the largest percentage of soldiers for her
population and had the largest casually
roll in proportion of any country in the
world except France. Since the soldiers
returned home this country has spent an
average of $1,000 apiece to aid and assist
them. Had we done equally as well it
would have cost us three billion dollars
(S.GOoOOOOOO). Instead of that we were
niggardly enough to pay, as a national
Government, only $50 a man when they
were discharged which in many cases
couldn't buy them civilian clothing. The
Government of the United States hardly |
can expect loyalty and patriotism from
these men and their relatives.
When organized labor and capital be
gan to lock horns and a third party,
the great public. began to suffer, the
government of New Zealand duly passed
laws and created a court of arbitration
and, later. a Cancellation commission. On
this subject We viii have more to say.
1t is evident that New Zealand Is head /
ed right. The government and the peo-
pie are working closely together, yet
there are two prominent examples which
so far they have been unable TO cure,
and which they generally admit are bad
for the country. One is booze and the |
other is the Pacific and Oriental steam
ship monopoly. This corporation, an
English company. owns the Union Steam
ship Company stock and nearly all the
other steamship companies doing the
shipping business OF New Zealand. !
Twenty five per cent of the net profic
of all New Zealand is sucked into the
treasury Of this corporation through ex-
cessive freight and passenger rates and, /
in addition, the service on ships Is bad 4
in fact, so bad that even the stewards
were on strike all the time we were In /
New Zealand because their living quar- !
ters and conditions-nOt their wages and
hours-were Unbearable. Since this cor 1
poration got control prices have been |