MUST PRODUCE BRAINS

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIV, Issue 80, 16 March 1934, Page 7

MUST PRODUCE BRAINS

Mr. Shaw’s Advice to N.Z. SERIO-COMIC INTERVIEW By Telegraph—Press Association AUCKLAND, March 15 Taking the world as his field and speaking partly seriously and partly humorously, Mr Bernard Shaw, on his arrival from England to spend a month in the Dominion, voiced his views on many subjects. He trenchantly condemned the parliamentary machine as being a barrier to progress, and offered some candid advice to New Zealand.

“New Zealand is an interesting place i in many ways,” said Mr Shaw. “1 want to know what the future of New Zealand is going to be. Apparently you have not experienced completely the smash we have had. Nowadays everything is changing and New Zealand, in many respects, is the last place that is likely to change. Probably all the people of New Zealand should be exterminated to make place for more advanced people. “You are advanced people; you are ahead of the world apparently in your vital statistics and you are multiplying quickly in spite of your birth control.” Mr Shaw said that New Zealand would have new problems to face. The idea on which New Zealand had been operating for some time was that it had become a dairy for the rest of the universe. That was not sufficient. In the first place, the rest of the universe could now milk its own cows. He said that he was actually one-of the makers of New Zealand, because in the eighties he and some of his associates in England took socialism off the barricades and made it an entirely respectable thing. His friend, the late Hon. W. Pember Reeves, took it up, but no one in England took the slightest notice of the group. However, the project was pushed on and suddenly it was found that New Zealand had taken it up and was actually going through with it. Its promoters had believe:' that democracy would carry the scheme through, but democracy did not push anything through—but off. “In Europe to-day the people are utterly sick of Parliaments,” said Mr Shaw, who declared that Herr Hitler would ha > received an even greater majority had he suspended Parliament for seven yeans instead of seven months. The Parliamentary machine prevented anything being done. Referring to Russia, Mr Shaw said that Russia’s workers were “slaves” for only eight hours a day, whereas the Englishman was a slave for 12 and 14. In conclusion, Mr Shaw said; "What you have to do in these islands is to eat your own butter and see that everybody in New Zealand has plenty of butter to his bread. When you have reached this point stop producing butter and produce something else —start producing brains. Do as Russia does and don’t let them go away from New Zealand.” Mr Bernard Shaw and his wife will spend three or four days in Auckland. They will then motor to the principal tourist resorts in both Islands, sailing for England by the Rangitane next month.