Heard and Said

Maoriland Worker, Volume 3, Issue 79, 13 September 1912, Page 1

Heard and Said

That poverty in England is appalling, and in London especially the depths of human want and wretchedness cannot be plumbed. That there are over 100,000 paupers in the 'hub of the universe." That homeless persons in London on one night recently exceeded 1200 in number. That with childicn starving vi h.r house, aud "soaking soul and sense ii city slime," Great Britain spends three millions a year in sending buns and Bibles to the foreign heathen. That still we boast of Britain's Greatness, wildly wave thesCiuou Jack, and frenziedly shout "Rule Britannia." That a philanthropic +se\v York doctor has truly said, "Thero is one type of patriot that waves a flag. But a far higher type is, to my mind, the man who blushes every time he sees a neglected child." That our military "maffiekers" should imprint that on the tablets of their memories. That the case of '"Simple Life" Chidley has arcmsed great interest in Sydney. That Chidley has been committed to an asylum as suffering from "systematised delusional insanity." That lie is a harmless individual who has been walking the streets clothed in scanty but sufficient raiment and selling a book setting forth his theories of life. That Chidley has unusual views, the courage to express them, and tlio honesty to live up to -them. That these facts, it appears, are considered to be conclusive evidence of insanity by the asylum authorities. That there are- many madder people than Chidley outside the walls of asylums. That we are all more or less mad, and any one of ua is liable at any moment to be toppled completely off his balance. That there are a thousand and one things operating to send us off our clot —among them overwork, overstudy, brain obsession, physical suffering, financial misfortune, mental ot nervous strain. _hm tjjp. time c*oin_s that ihare ■yif . MflMco nuifi" to bemmav* ■__.-_ 01- "■.'C'a.oii,- a-.i'-i-.iJst: •■■*■- rts- utmost tension till then by the stress of life, and we find ourselves in Porirua or some similar establishment. That lunacy is undoubtedly increasing, and Dr. Forbes Winslow, the famous English authority, predicts that in -GO 1 yearsj there will be more lunatics .than sane people in the world. That <even now that is probably the case, for 'tis a mad world, workers. That an American woman is suing tor divorce on. novel grounds. That she claims, that while she was promised *'a home which would make X-he Garden of Eden look like a mud-p-y she was provided with a place km ftMOjJgh to cook. it. Tliat ysot to Justice Edward., "Our dr proceedings are getting pretty* lax; >" i?# all ? w them to get as* M a * Chicago:-. where- the train wai> l*?£. J™nutes while divorces are grantee.. That he k declares "we are not as bad* a** that, but a.re going that way." That in the past 100 years, under various leaderships, about 20,000,000 lives have been sacrificed on the battleheld. That approximately 20,000,000 more h-ive* been sacrificed by'the effects of war. That this makes the extremely grand (?) total of 40,000,000 human lives sacrificed to the god of greed by militarism, miscalled "patriotism." That when the workers of all the, nations emulate the example of th<* workers of Sweden and Norway and refuse to kill one another, there will be no wars and the brotiherhood of man will be something more than tho dream of humanitarians. That Labor makes a step towards the brotherhood of man by recognising the sisterhood of woman. That the Melbourne "Argus," in a subleader the other* day; had the following: "These women's combinations are the mainstay- of the'- Liberal party." Thai*' the vexed question of- "When is a nnn drunk?" has been agitating Dunedin. That a medical man in the loea*! Police Court gave it a3 his opinion that "A man is. intoxicated when he- has lost in greater or- lesser degree the power of speech, judgment or locomotion."

That Vancouver, 8.C., was recently visited by Mr. Joseph Martin, member of the British House of Commons. That ho said there was a big jingo crowd in England, backed up by financial interests, who wanted a war with Germany. That, in his opinion, the bulk of the people in Great Britain would not tolerate that. / That they had not forgotten the Boer / "War, "which was now justified by I nobody." That a cable message states that only 13 doctors remain willing to advise the British Government under the Insurance Act. That this reads as if sawbones has gone on strike, and that this hoodoo 13 of him are blacklegs. That' the falling birthrate in the "Vaterland" is now becoming a matter of concern to the German Government. That the Minister of the Interior has circularised various authorities, urging them to make a thorough investigation into the causes therefor, That the Socialists attribute the decline to labor and industrial conditions, the high cost of living, and heavy- taxes.