The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-07-22
midas TWIN SCOURGES.
or TIE FAMINE SUFFER-.
mo NOT EVACUATED.
v,.,.kss Made In Omciai Attempts to Give
Relief Appalling stories Of Deaths BY
ChoI.ra-Pierrs Lott on 'India's Burdsn"-
s,u.,c in London-Some American fAvoritss.

ss,.,c in LondOn-Somc American fAvorttes.
roxnoy. July i4.-From India are constantly
..,ln, letters which show all too plainly tina
,ona Of the narrowing accounts OF famine
s,,arings has been exaggerated. Terrible
. m. official figures, II seems likely that
,hoy fall short Of the truth. Writing from
sla,ls on June IA. a correspondent points out
A., although for some weeks the famine re-
,,rns have been Of a more or less stationary
.aayactsr. II, would be wrong to assume that
,har, had been any mitigation Of the severity OF
the famine.
II tho majority Of districts the numbers
-, .-sK ramine relief continue 70 grow. The
rrand total does not increase correspondingly
.,rnly because in other provinces so many
,hous,nds either die or fee from the cholera
.,ricksn famine camps. fearing starvation less
than disease.
rbey have fed headlons In thousands to
.beir homes. to the jungles. anywEor~ ~ather
,ba, remain where cholera was shifting down
hundrads a day. For several weeks past the
,boIera mas destroyed the inhabitants OF the
dstrict Of Guzerat alone at the rate OF 1000
naonls A week. The mortality from starvation
AID tho diseases caused by weeks and months
a, sani-starvation continue to increase.
Writing from Dohad on June 4, F. c. Aldrich.
Who is engaged in missionary work. says "
had never thought that such a state OF things
aver existed in India. On every hand were
ora dsad and diving. Passing through
the city about one mile We came to its eastern
boundary. In the bottom Of the dry river
ned and on its banks were scores OF those who
had perished with hunger. In many parts
a, the city dead bodies were also to be found.
Ann they have what they call a municipality
pu, ia ,,arphnra do not cara Thu
haartlessness of those who ars within a stones
throw of the sufferers and could help II they
you'd Is very manifest. Many we found dy-
ing Of thirst within half a minutes walk Of the
door OF some rich M~ahommedan or high caste
Hindu, who. until almost forced to it, would
nor urn A hand to alleviate the sufferinss OF
m. diving. A we walked about those quiet
streets we saw deserted homes, sad faces and
dead bodies, many had lain so long in the streets
and hvvavs that We had 20 breathe through
a yell-yadded handkerchief. We longed 10
he able 10 picture tho sufferinss OF these people
10 those who have laid by wealth. not for one
ralny dav. but for thousands Of them. One
sight would be sufficient to open the long
closed purse. and thousands would pour out
blessings on the sivers.
Mr. Aldrich's letter, which was published
IN Bombay. attracted Official attention. and
an inquiry resulted in II being found out that
he was correct, save in stating that the dead
bodies which Law about for days were the corpses
O, those who had died Of starvation. In the
minority Of cases they were the corpses OF
cholera patients,
One correspondent says that the awful NOR
tality from actual starvation. quite apart from
cholera. in the Bombay province. Ia due 70
the rigid and unyielding system OF famine
relief obstinately adhered to by the Bombay
Government. In the Dohad poorhouse alone,
out Of 334 fresh admissions In a fortnight, all
bur thirty died, practically Of starvation or
from its after effects. The people are Bills,
men who have never In their lives done a hard
days work. They have for ages been content
10 exist. TO a large extent, on jungle produce,
and what small crops they do produce
they raise with the minimum Of labor. To
expect such people. already greatly weakened
by weeks Of semi-starvation, suddenly to set
10 and carry out the Governments rigid task
Of so many cubic feet of excavation or the like
Il ridiculous, The people simply cannot do
It. and. in the attempt To do IL, they die. Yet
II would appear that no notifications In the
famine code have been made to suit their pecu-
liar case. IL has also been pointed out that the
Bombay system Of giving weekly wages to
Bills on famine relief works Is about as bad
as possible. At the end Of the week the Bill
with seven annas in his pocket promptly spent
II all in a couple Of days. and starved for the
remainder Of the time. IL he did not run away
from the relief works altogether. Daily wages
Is the only possible method capable Of pro-
ducing good results with such people, but daily
wages. the Bombay Government appears to
think. are impossible. Yet in other provinces
they are the nile rather than the exception.
The same obstnany which has thus to a con-
siderable extent nullihed the attempts OF the
Bombay Government TO relieve the starving
has. It is stated. been responsible for much
Of the mortality due To cholera. The expert
ence Of many years and OF many mine has
shown, beyond the shadow Of a doubt, that
II you keep people herded together in camps
containing thousands during the hot weather
months, cholera epidemics are practically
bound 70 break out. There are several official
publications OF quite recent date which en-
phasize this point. Yet, in the face OF all this
previous experience. the Bombay admins
traton has managed to go utterly wrong The
policy Of large relief works. camps with ten
or twelve thousand people in them. has been
adhered 10 long after the hot weather had set
In. No arrangements whatever appear to
have been made-as was the case in other
provinces-for small works close 10 the peo-
Pies homes. The result Was what any one
might have confidently predicted. The water
supply. In ninety-nine cases out Of a hundred
the cause OF cholera outbreaks. got low and
foul, and a cholera epidemic OF an exceedingly
virulent type soon established itself. The
Infection spread with terrible rapidity. the
panic-stricken people fed from the works.
carrying the infection with them. and soon
the whole face Of the country was covered with
dead and dying.
The most picturesque account OF the hor-
rors OF -lndia's Burden" Is sent by the we'll
known French writer. Pierre Lott. to the Paris
Figaro, He writes:
At the end of May we came to the pink city
JeyporA across a dying country, Three hun
dred miles Of drought and dust were traversed.
rainy seasons have passed without bringing
q cloud. The meadows are without a sign OF
heritage, tho trees without a leaf. Whole ter
rttorles look like the desert, The paddy-felds
and pasrIrage are as dried up "a other places,
ana yet the animation Of former days goes on
ABOUT the city. The avenues OF dead trees Lead
ing IN The crenelated ramparts and arched gates
are crowed with wains drawn by files Of camels.
white ROBBED men on horseback. women In long
req or yellow veils-in short, with all the life
ana color of plentiful years. But what means
'hl' ominols heap Of rags at the foot OF the ram
pHrtS' Human forms show through 1t. Why
VI MI those people lie that way. huddled on the