Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-07-27

They who were decorating the ele-
plant headed Ganesha put bands ana
| figures and arabesques of red ana sold
| and green upon his arms, hiS trunk
and his stomach, and his crown they
| painted a pure gold.
There is the model" said the pro-
prietor, indicating a Ganesha that the
girls were copying. Nothing can be
done without a model when you work
on these big Brahmin or Buddhist gods.
| Every color, every band, every little
decoration has a meaning. If you go
wrong anywhere your god is worth
| less
He passed on to the department of
the cheaper gods, the little wooden idols
that the poor use.
1--WE have fine machine to cut these
gods out with" he said. 1T is some
thing like a paragraph. Watch it,"
| A man sat at the machine, which was
ten feet in length. Ten band saws, set
parallel, a foot apart. had before each
| of them square block Of wood. The
| handles that guided the first saw the
operator held. Now he pressed back a
| lever and all the saws began to revolye
swiftly with buzzing sound
| The operator ran his saw swiftly over
and through and around his block of
| wood. He made a round thing for a
head and an oval thing for a body; he
| made two crude arms: he made pair
| OF crude legs. And all he did to his
own block of wood the other saws, just
as though he had been guiding them
with his hands, did with theirs. When
| his block was finished the nine others
| were finished. -.
You see with this machine" the OPP
orator said, I'VE can make ten idols at
a time"
| In his Office the proprietor had a
number of shelves filed with gods.
| They were of wood, of marble, of brass,
| of bronze: and here and there was one
that glistened as though made of pure
| gold. Some We're beautiful. The Bud
! dhas particularly were beautiful. with
| their serene and gay smile. Some were
| hideous, blood red with cinctures made
of skulls and severed hands. Some were
ridiculous Figures little and fat that
squatted like toads. Some were out
| landish with the heads of birds, the
| bodies of beasts, and the tails of rep
| tiles.
|
the proprietor with smile. Then,
seated at his desk comfortably, he went
on:
| sell a good many idols to Corea
They buy Buddhas there. I make the
little cheap Buddhas out of wood. At
the Corean temples after prayers, each
worshiper gives to the secretariat at
the gate piece of money, and re-
ceives in return little god. 1t is these
little gods that l make.
Il make gods for India. Do you see
that horrible goddess on the lower
shelf, the goddess with the black body,
| the hands red on the inside, the neck
lace of human heads and the girdie Of
skulls and severed, blood stained
hands? That is the Indian goddess
Kali.
THE god with the three eyes and the
necklace of skulls and serpents is Shiv,
another Indian god.
| '"That fantastic figure is the Japanese
god Jiso, whom the Japanese women
love so well that they cover him with
robes embroidered in gold and silver
and lay before him daily fresh flowers
and fruit.
"It is necessary for me to make all
these gods correctly. Hence must
have perfect models to work from. Two
or three agents thru whom do bust
ness in different parts of the world,
supply me with my models, My bust
ness is not very big, but my profits are
satisfactory"
The religious element of Philadel-
| phia feels itself outraged that idols
should be manufactured in a Christian
city. Bishop Cyrus D. Foss says:
ut is to be regretted that Uncle
Sam is placing missionaries among the
heather with one hand. and with the
other hand is placing idols among
them. Conduct so inconsistent must
fill the more thoughtful heather with
amazement Yes, I regret that idols
should be made by Christians. Quite
as deeply though, do I regret that
Christians should supply the heathens
1 with whisky and opium
No Pity Shown.