The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1900-07-06
THE RELIEF WORK IN INDIA.

The Review of Reviews in speaking
the famine in India says that since
'the first great famine of which there
are records devastated the land In
ITO. when 10, 600, 600 persisted in Ben
gal alone India has scarcely passed a
decade free from a scarcity of grain In
district or another. The British gov
eminent expects drouth about twice
in every nine years, a famine once In
every eleven or twelve years and
great famine like the present about
twice in a century, Of the present
famine, and the fact that some rather
insinuate that the British govern
ment seeks to evade the responsibility
it ought to assume the Review OF Re-
view says: SIT cannot be said that
the British government has sought to
evade the responsibility OF feeding
these starving millions. On the con-
trary, it has most complete system
of videttes to anticipate troubles in
any district, of government works to
give destitute people chance to earn
their living, of government funds to
feed those who cannot possibly work.
1t has a famine code, which reduces to
science the various operations OF 10
eating, establishing and fighting the
famine. From Lord Curzon and Lady
Curon down, the entire governmental
body is giving of its own resources, is
stirring the whole civilized world to
aid is devoting magnificent energy
to the task of giving the wisest and
most far reaching relief. Yet, the
best that can be done is pitifully in
adequate for such task. There are
areas of thousands of square miles alb
solutely destitute; and what can few
thousand Englishmen do with the vast
populations in the Native States? The
subordinate officials are generally dis
honest, and if the work of relief is to
be effective, the last step of its ad-
ministration must be conducted by
white men. The starving people are
restrained by caste prejudice and reli-
gious rules, as we'll as by the inertia of
squalor, from making any effort to pro-
cure relief until the last moment. Then,
with hundreds of miles to drag their
way to reach relief, their strength
does not suffice; the missionaries tell
CHASTITY stories of parties of destitute
people arriving at the relief works
only an hour.-or two too late. The g.,
600, 900 people now laboring on the
government works include men,
women and children. They break stones
for highways, dig wells, transport
earth on irrigation works. build huts
and help ON the famine railroads.
For this work the men receive about
three cents day the women and
children less The tasks are made as
light as possible, and are proportioned
according to the capacity for the
work of the individual The aim is to
give just enough money to enable the
destitute to buy food and it has been
found that where it is physically
possible for sufferer to work it is
kindness to make him Or her earn the
pittance The millions now employed
on the relief works bring their fami-
lies with them and camp in squalid
villages near the roads and dams on
which they are laboring. The over
crowding of these villages and the
utter misery of the occupants, are
causing fearful inroads of disease and
hopeless moral degradation. To the
starving ones that are unable to work,
TO cd is doled out -