The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-08-18
Scenes
in
BreadleSS
India

THAT FAMINE still stalks abroad in India,
despite the falling Of rain, is vouchcd for
Il by all travellers returning from the strick'
en- land. Help is still needed, and inme-
diate help at that Relief committees all over
the country are increasing rather than dccreas>
ing their efforts to collect money for the stary-
ing millions. The principal agency for the re-
ceiying and distributing OF money for the suf-
fercrs, the Christian Herald OF New York, is
in receipt of some 5000 day and is forward
ing the cash as fast as it is received. At the
Bible house. the office OF the paper large
force is employed to open and sort the huge
mail that comes addressed to the India Famine
Relief Work. Every remittance is promptly ac-
knowledgcd in print. Dr. T. Dewitt Talmage,
the editor, is in Europe addressing great audi
ences in behalf OF the relief fund. In this
country from all sources probably one million
dollars has already been collected and forwarded
TO the committees who distribute the money in
India. Much more money is needed to save the
hrcadlcss ones from death and TO take care Of
the half million helpless orphans left by parents
who have already perishcd Dr. Louis Klopsch
proprietor of The Christian Herald, who recently
returned from India, gives a chapter from his
personal experiences, as follows:
BY DIR. LOUIS KIOPsCH.
'You surely will 90 to Agra and see the Tai
Mahal before you sail" said my companion.
when / informed him that we were that day
TO begin the last trip before our return home.
Everybody that comes TO India visits at least
that" added he, by way Of encouragement when
| shook my head negatively We had come TO
see the famine fields and our time was getting
short and every moment Of it was mortgaged in
advance up to the hour of our departure. Relief
operations were of immediate and urgent i'm.
p0rtancc while sightseeing could he deferred So
we started off that night for Baroda, a city of
10000 inhabitants, the capital of native
state Of that name, arriving at a. m.
The Gackwar was off a visit to England.
there to be presented to the Prince Of Wales and
the queen, hence there no invitation await,
| ing us TO visit the new and imposing prinCely
| palace, but nevertheless on our way from
| the station, we passed through it AMI admired
its magnificent architecture and sumptuous mod
| ern furnishings. Strange to relate, there was
| not a soul to inquire into the why and whcrc
| fore Of our presence. All was as quiet as tho
| interior of a magnificent mausoleum. The gar,
! den surrounding the palace was in a fair state
| OF cultivation, but no bird carolcd its morn
| ing lay, and neither the luz Of the bee, nol
| the chirp OF the cricket relieved the dreadful
nonotony of the oppressive silence,
| We spent a few moments inspecting the never
| falling well-dug at an expense of lakhs o
| Rupees, or about S}00,G0O We then wcnded oul
way through the narrow dirty streets OF In,
| capital TO the place where once the poor
| house was located, but on our arrival there w
| were informed that, owing TO the abnormal in
| crease in the number Of its inmatts it had beer
removed to more capacious quarters 4 mile off
| Thither we directed our steps and in due tint
we reached the sntlthesis of the Gaekwar's pal
ace. As rich as were his quarters, so destitute
| was the poorhouse. In my notebook ! wrote
| lire that reads; "This is the worst | have yc
seen," and as / recall it now, | marvel that
| ever had the courage to pass into and throuCl
the filthy wards, and more filthy yard tha
| constituted this shocking blot on civilization.
| I had become accustomed TO sights nauscatinl
and revolving, but the Baroda poor house stand
out as the most terrible condemnation Of abec
| misery that ever met my gaze. The suns ray
penetrated my pith hat and dazed brain an.
eyes, while an efluvia Of concentrated decomro
sition rendered breathing both difficult and dan
gerous. Almost stihed and stupcfed we wend
ed our way through the dead and the dying, will
smallpox, dysentery, fever and cholera to tl
right and to the left, leaving terror behind II
only to find horror awaiting US.
At the entrance to the poor house stood a wo
| man blind. | had often seen women who hs,
lost their sight as the result of the horrible
famine but i had never seen VINO looket
| as did this woman. Reduced to living skee
ton the balls of her eyes were actually deoayin;
in the sockets of her grastly skull and flies in
Vulnerable were acting the part OF scayenger
| undisturbed
She stood bareheaded in a sun which woult
have proved fatal 10 me in less time than /
tales TO write this incident, Her clawliE
hands inaotiyely hung down her sides until sh
heard our footsteps. Then they were raised AZ