PASSING NOTES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26215, 27 July 1946, Page 5

PASSING NOTES

“ But when he once attained the upmost round He then ( unto the ladder turned his Julius Caesar, Mr Walter Nash has returned from abroad to present his Budget to Parliament and to present himself as a candidate for one of the Hutt Valley seats at the coming election. When asked which seat he would contest, Mr Nash airily replied: I haven’t given a thought to it. I hope I will continue to represent Hutt, but I can do that by taking either of them. So it as easy as that for Mr Nash—“l can take either of them.” Is there not a touch of complacency about this phrase; it sounds like a King graciously deciding which of two crowns he will accept. Surely a real democrat would say:

Of course it is for the electors to select a candidate, and I will consider It a great honour if either constituency invites me to contest the seat.

But not at all. With calm assurance he says he can take either of them, and adds rather discourteously, “ I haven't given a thought to it.” Some one said, “ Isn’t it nice of Mr Nash to visit New Zealand occasionally to see us.” It may come as a shock to Mr Nash if the electors say, “ We haven’t given a thought to you as a candidate. After all, there is as good fish in the sea as ever came out of it, and as you find the whole thing such a bore you had better take an acid drop and a political holiday for three years.”

“ Now comes the mystery.” —Last words of H. W. BeecheP.

This week a cable tells us of a research doctor who “ died ” for seven minutes in the process of discovering how much he could take of an Indian poison called “ curare.” So “ clinically dead ” was he that his heart stopped beating and it took two doc-, tors seven minutes to get his lungs going and his heart beating again. However, the patient seemed pleased with the result of his dangerous experiment, for he said, “ We know now what the maximum dose should be.” This seems a tame conclusion for the non-expert. We would like to know whether he had any other experiences. Had he a brief glimpse of that bourne from which no traveller returns? Did he travel beyond our ideas of time and space and visit the spheres that lie beyond our mortal gaze? Apparently not, for though he was ostensibly dead, according to modern experts a man is not really dead merely because his heart has stopped beating. For example, Mr E. R. Micklem says: In the eyes of a doctor a person who has been restored to life can never have died and however assured prior to tile re-animation a doctor may have been that death had taken place, after that re-animation he would indubitably claim that he had been mistaken in his previous diagnosis.

So apparently we must be content to know “ what the maximum dose of poison should be.”

“ When all men have what belongs to them it cannot amount to much." —Proverb.

“I wonder,” says a writer in the Labour paper Standard, “if the workers ever stop to think and realise that it is they who make the wealth for the idle rich.” But if this means that the workers alone by their unaided efforts make the wealth why do they not keep it for themselves? Why give it to the idle rich or even share it with them? The fact is that most workers recognise that this phrase about making wealth for the idle rich is a mere parrot cry. They think for themselver sufficiently to know that the inventor, the capitalist, and the skilled manager are indispensable partners with them in production and are entitled to some share of the joint product. If the workers’ share is too small how comes it that after ten years of supreme control a Labour Government has not obtained their proper share for them? Even in State coal mines and other State enterprises do they get more than under private enterprise or strike less often?

Speaking at Huntly lately Mr Fraser spoke of the “new distribution of the country’s wealth ” his party had brought about. The aim of Labour to see that no one has an income he does not work for (except the - aged and sick) may have arguments in its favour. But some one must save for future capital development, and at present taxation is so high that it checks development and progress. If we have any idle rich perhaps the Government is to blame for granting monopoly import licences and encouraging gambling. Anyway we will all soon be practically idle, if not rich, for, according to experts, four hours’ work a day will soon provide enough for all if we can stop wars.

"A man may be confuted and yet not convinced.”—Proverb.

The same writer in the Standard tells us a quaint story of how he converted a worker to the cause of Labour. Let us call the writer Jack and his friend Bob. They first met during the great depression when Bob was on the dole and Jack kindly gave him tea, socks and underpants. When they met again recently their talk, as recorded in the Standard, ran thus: Jack; It will be a pity if the Labour Government are not returned again this election.

Bob: Why? Jack: There would be a danger of going back to those bad old times again. Bob: But that could not happen again. The Government in power then cpuld not help it. They did the best they could.

Jack: Do you mean to tell me you would vote for the Nationalists after all you suffered at their hands? Bob: It will never happen again If they get into povtfer. I am earning £7 a week. Jack: You would not be getting that if this Government were not in power. Bob: Yes, I would, the Government has

nothing to do with my wages, the boss

pays them. ‘‘l continued to talk and reason with him,” adds Jack, “ and I finally convinced him how wrong he was, and he was very thankful. We must be patient with workers who do not think for themselves.” Perhaps the trouble was that Bob did think for himself, and if there are many like him no wonder Mr Fraser is worried about the election

" When you, are abroad live in the manner of the place.” The Russians seem never to have heard the old maxim, “ When in Rome do as the Romans dq,” or if they have it makes no appeal to them. Hence they casually shock the wealthy Americans of Long Island by indulging in mixed bathing in the nude on an inlet of that exclusive resort. The local policeman says he cannot intervene as the beach is private. Obviously the secrecy and reserve that mark Russian diplomacy find no place in their bathing customs. Are they as indifferent to Mrs Grundy’s views on morals as they are to Mr Bevin’s views on politics? One has often read about this style of mixed bathing being practised in Russia, so perhaps they are not conscious of giving offence to Long Island residents. Does not the strange Russian colony of Doukhobors settled in Canada also dispense with all clothes? This must at least get over the problem of coupons and make it unnecessary to " keep up with the Joneses” in following changes of fashion, for there are none. The rest of the cable tells us of their unpleasant habit of littering the lovely lawns and priceless carpets of Mr J. P. Morgan’s mansion with empty beer and milk bottles, and this is harder to excuse than their bathing habits in view of the fact that the beach is private.