Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1901-03-02
THE FAM INE IN INDIA
SUBJECT OF LECTURE BEFORE GEO.
GRAPHIC SOCIETY.
One Million Victims of the Scourge In
Single Hear-The HOr-
rible Details.

Mr.. ellison willets. author, traveller and
| correspondent lectured last night before
| the National Geographic Society In the Con-
| gregational Church. His subject the
great India famine, and the lecture IL
| Illustrated with graphic lantern slides. Mr..
| Willets went to report the famine and
| travelled 1000 miles through the famine
| area. Hi saudience crowded the church to
| the doors.
He said In part:
ION the shelves of the British Museum
| there is no account of a famine greater
| than the one which has sent 100000 VIC
| tins to the sepulcher this year in India.
| Lord Curzon himself admits that he Is
| struggling with a famine greater in intensi-
! ty than the famine of 1897; greater than
| any previous visitation in any country
| Last March the viceroy and Lady Curzon
| Miss Letter of Chicago that was) started
on tour of inspection of the breadless
| area. The second day In the field Lady Cur
| ION shuddered. shed tears and retreated.
Fastening back to Calcutta. The young
! American sovereign had seen more human
misery in a single day than she had eX-
| pected to see in a lifetime.
| More people have starved to death In
| India during the last seven months than
| were killed all the battletelds Of this
| century. July -, 1899, there was a shower
| in western India. 1t rained for one hour.
| There had been no rain for a year previ-
Gus. No rain fell for a year thereafter:
One hours rain In twenty-four months!
| No wonder western India is today Sahara.
| The Hindu lives from hand to mouth. from
| crop to crop: he never saves; So when the
monsoon did not break, he had neither food
nor money. He had to go to the relief
camps established by the government. and
| there work all day for few cents or
starve.
| Famine Exceeds That of 1897.
How far the present famine transcends
that of 1897 may be demonstrated by the
| facts first. that the average annual rain
fall of the Indian peninsula is forty-one
| inches; second, that In 1896 the deficiency
was five inches. and, third, that in 1899 the
| deficiency was eleven inches. Rain Is now
| falling, however, and the people are leav-
ing the relief works and poor houses and re-
| turning to their former Homes. Measures
| for assisting cultivators to resume their
occupation and for helping the larger
| cupants to employ laborers are being
adopted on a greater scale than has ever
| before been contemplated.
| Already nearly 100000 has been allot-
ted for assistance in the purchase of cattle
and seed and for subsistence while agricul-
tural operations are proceeding. These adj
| vances are made free of interest: no recov
cry will be made for twelve months after
| they are given out, and in the cases in
| which recovery cannot be made without
hardship remissions will be granted
| In theory there are no famine sufferers
| In Bombay. The government has estab-
lished camp at Thana, twenty miles from
| the city, where the starving are supposed
| to be corraled, and where persons suffering
| from diseases caused by starvation are sup
posed to be sequestrated. In reality, how
ever. there are fully $4,000 famine victims
| wandering among the population of 1,0OO.oO
| in the streets. At least, such was the fact
when l arrived at the gate city OF India
| some weeks ago.
mo one in Bombay paid the slightest at
| tention to the starving ones. The Hindu
| Is not his brothers keeper. He will not
harm an ant, but he will watch his fellows
| die of starvation with equanimity. Or, per-
| haps, he sees many In need OF food that
| he is impressed with the futility Of trying
| to help at all. and. like a philosopher, he
! gives it up.
Startling Figures.
cat famine headquarters. where the books
| are kept by educated Hindu clerks L
found the colossal figures. The stricken
area covers All 900 square miles. or moro
than one-fourth of all of England's greatest
| possessions, an area equal to that of all the
1 states on our own Atlantic coast. The pop
| ulation Of this district is 1O00O00O0 one
third of the whole population of India. near
| ly equal to all the inhabitants of the United
States and England. OF these one hundred
| millions ten millions have been, and are,
| absolutely destitute.
| "Out of these ten millions nearly seven
| millions are being cared for by the govern
| ment; as if one were to say that every man
| who voted for Mckinley in 1896 were now
| wholly dependent upon the republican ad-
| ministration for food and very life. In saw
| ing her Aryan subjects from death by star
walton, England is spending about $1,000
| a day. total to date of s12OOO,OO0 has
been expended. The famine daily death roll
numbers more than four thousand, or more
deaths each day than the total of deaths
| from all causes on our side in the Spanish
American war. And $4,000 deaths weekly
Is more than the total British loss to date
| in the Boer war. The grand total OF 1,OU.-
600 starved to death to date is three times
the number of Union losses from all causes
| in the civil war
THE great hope of India, OF course. Is IN
| security from famine. which means security
| from drought. The most effective protec-
tive measure is irrigation The vast nuik
| Of the people are agriculturists. win
| plenty Of water the fertility OF midas SOIL
| would become a proverb. Wherever there
| are driven wells today there Is no famine.
The government aims. besides. to connect
ALL the great reservoirs built by the FAMINE
| workers with proper waterways.
Another Remedy.
1.-THE next most effective protective measure
| is the extension of the railway system. so
that food can be carried quickly to any dis
| tressed area There are only 5000 miles OF
| railway In a land fully half the size OF the
United States Carloads Of fodder pur-
| chased by charitable organizations lay FOR
| weeks awaiting transport. while the cattle
for which the fodder was Intended died In
| multitudes. Thousands Of people IN villages
remote from railways have died. not pc
cause there was no food, but because, owing
| to the death Of cattle, there was no means
| Of transporting the food 49,
Another proposed remedy for famine Is
| emigration from India to the Straits Settle
| ments and the Malay states, and still an
| other plan is to encourage industries other
than agriculture among the people. IL
| famine is to be fought successfully In future
| india must be rendered much less depend
| emit upon its resources as an agricultural
| country. and by this means acquire reserves
| of wealth to fall back upon in years OF de-
| ficlent rainfall"
Deaths In the Philippines.
General MacArthur's latest casualty re-
port is as follows:
Dysentery-February 81, Company I. 21st
Infantry, BERTHE c. Thompson; Company A.