The Lehi banner. [volume] (Lehi, Utah) 1891-1917, 1897-06-22
HIND00 HORRORS.
Terrible Suffering Occasioned by
the Drought.
A Ceyionese I'm Chicago Tells OF the
Miscrles c the Poor Buddhists-
Contagion and starvation
Are Rife.

Are Rife.
"The present drought in India is one
of the most severe ever known" said
MIR. Vincent L. Tissera recently.
Il am from Ceylon aud know what
the horrors OF famine resulting from
drought are. Ten or i2 years ar1 the
Ceylonese were the Victims OF a com
paratively mild water famine, but the
suffering witnessed then wrcrr my
heart and can see as plain as thou"h
were in the country the agony Of the
starving llindoos The British papers
have not given the truth in It's pitifu
completeness, and even though they did
all in their power to alleviate Clio pres
ent distress thousands must die of
starvation. Bussin's proGercd aid was
refused by the English for political rca-
sons. John Bull wants nothing done
that will augment the Kindly feelings
of the Hihdoos for the Russians. There
are 2O0,OoO,O00 people and nearly all Of
them are vegctcrians. They believe it
a sin TO kin an animal aud The result is
easily seen. No vegetation on which
they can subsist can escape the drought,
and pathetically sincere in their belief
of the teachings OF Buddha, the poor
ignorant people viii starve rather than
prove unfaithful 10 this time-honored
tenet of their religion and eat the flesh
, of animals. =.
America has spent millions Of dol
lars in sending and maintaining mis-
sionaries in India and |, as Christian,
am thankful for it. but now is the t,Ilc
when the Americans, and Tie churches
especially, can show that the love atl
charity they have preached so many
years to my countrymen are not merely
subjects of discourse but real eondi
tions. Aid from America would do more
for the conversion of these people than
all the preaching that has been done in
all the years since missions were first
established in India. 1t is a charity
the ignorant could understand and
know and God knows how woefulIy they
are in need of it now.
"A ear load Of husl6s would he re-
ceiyed with the JOY of a people who
have been living on roots that tn"
drought has spared. Millions OF people
have no other food and knowing the
likely results of such diet thcy still
must eat. Leprosy is the outcome in
many eases, but what VIII nCc a stuf ,-
ing man do? Think Of your own arctic
explorers who resorted 20 canEihalism.
But lcprosy, though the most dreaded
disease and q common one in India, 10
not the most prevalent or fatal Of the
hot m
pure water. A plague called in the
native tongue 'burbonic' fever. some
thing like yellow fever, carries OF
thousands. / hear daily that IL las be
gun its ravages to add to the horror Of
starvation and poverty. Que day 500
died of it, but it has not begun to do its
worst yet"
Mr.. Tissera is Ceylonese. At the
time Of the worlds fair he came to
America in charge of the agricultural
products of Ceylon. Obtaining three
months leave from the railway by which
he was employed at home that he might
visit further the country with which he
was fast becoming impressed he tray
eled all over the union. That decided
him and he resolved to make America
his home. lie is the first of his nations
ality TO go into business in this city
Beside his native tongue, he speaks
Portuguese. Tamil, the tongue of south
ern India, Spanish, English and Is now
mastering the German language. lie
is not a recent convert TO Christianity,
as the religion has been handed down IN
the family from the time OF the first
missionaries, 100 years ago. when the
forefather of the present lissera was
converted Chicago News. F.