Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1900-05-29
A WARNING FRoM FAMINE.

In various cities of this country par
tlcularly the larger ones, systematic ef-
forts are now being made 10 provide FOR
the victims Of famine and postilcnce IN
India. This Is but right The United
States Is passing through a period OF
prosperity The people have money 20
send abroad in large sums. We have
taken q place among the few creditor
nations OF the world There Is money
to spend on pleasure trips across the
ocean and around the world. and on the
one-thousand- and-one amusements at
home Of more modest character 1t
would be q sin. under the circum.
stances rot 20 remember the poor crea-
lures that ore perlshlng for the want Of
something with whlchlto appeasc their
hunger. even though the victims are
In a country far from ours
It Is not needed. even u Il were pos
slble to do so, to portray the misery un-
der which ten million Of human beings
are suffering IN India, It Is enough TO
know that the condition exists, and that
&c is worse than Imagination can depict.
It is credit 10 the American people
that they are ever ready 10 reach out
a well filed hand 70 suffering fellow
men, Il is more. Their charity Is u
blessing given which returns, in time.
with interest.
II Is tOlerably well understood that
the periodically recurring calamiues in
India are, partly. due to bad manage
ment Not long ago, a Hindoo. Bipin
Chandra Pal. al meeting in Boston,
explained that failure Of the crops is
not entirely responsible for the famine.
The calamities are TO be traced to
chronic poverty. When crops fail and
prices rise there Is nothing TO fall back
on and the many millions who live from
hand to mouth having neither crops OF
their own nor money to buy with, are
driven to terrible straits
Another factor to consider is the
change that has taken place In the
methods Of manufacture. Formerly,
the products Of the hand-looms fur
nlshed employment. The Indian fab
RIGS were much appreciated In Western
markets. This is an changed. The
artisans have been forced TO till the
soil, and the Increase in this direction
has been 50 great that In several dis
tricts there are now 500 TO each square
miles Of territory. And while the work.
ers on the farms have thus increased,
the taxes on the land have increased,
too. Mr.. Pal told Of one case in
which the ouluvator Of land
earned S125 on his produce. and had to
pay SS5 Of It In taxes, After paying
the other necessary expenses he had
but little more than s2l left with which
TO support a family Of FIVE for a year.
In another case the net returns were
SIS, on which to maintain a family for
twelve months.
The lecturer had no word Of censure
for the government, but he maintained
that II costs India s15, 100000 each year.
He also mentioned incidentally that
while millions are starving at home.
the Indians have to pay dearly for the
imperial army He might have added
that the indian government pays $780,
900 20 the imperial war fund
A peculiar feature Is this. that there
Is grain enough in India 20 feed the
hungry and that money Is asked TO
buy this food for their benefit Last
years product amounted TO 23l .7s4OOO
bushels, and the probability is that the
greater part Of this still remains In the
country Charity is called for In the
midst OF abundance Such consider
atoms, however, must be set aside for
the time being. When sweet charity
has done her work, and famine no
longer stalks abroad In the land. It is
time TO consider what can be done to
prevent a recurrence OF the calamity
With the facilities now existing for
transportation. II should be possible 70
prevent famine from periodically de- !
vsstating a large portion Of the globe |
In the meantime. the conditions IN /
India should be a reminder 10 an the |
world Of the necessity OF providing FOR
the future. The population is steadily |
increasing. Arabic land is becoming |
more scarce every year The processes
OF manufacture are undergoing gradual 1
changes. Society is face TO face with /
the problem Of meeting these facts, go /
as 70 avoid a distress which in western /
countries would lead to revolution
more terrible than history has yet on |
record. In times Of peace and pros
perity provisions should be made for |
the future. The calamity Of India is a