Chicago eagle. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1889-19??, 1903-07-04
KING EDWARDS BALD HEAD,
New Co.'s In India and Trouble IL II
Causing the Natives.

Nouo1n9 the Nut1veos
King Edwards bald head is serious
ly threatening the stability Of British
rule In India. 1t seems that Oh the
new rupee. just issued by the Indian
mint, the profile bust of the King up.
pears bald and uncrowned. Therefore
native feeling Is stirred to Its pro-
foundest depths, and the etfigy Of roy.
atty has been brought into ridicule and
contempt. Also 1t is taken by the mill
ions of the Indian Empire as a direct
insult to them that the Kaiser.i.hind
should be put Oh Indian coins In a con-
ditlon which appears to them improper
AMI even immOdest.
In India every respectable person
would no more think Of uncoverlng his
head In public than he would of--well.
there Is nothing that he might do
which would be more immOdest. A
poor Indian may have wardrobe
made up only a brcechclOut and tur-
han and still be good form, but let him
remove his head covering In public
ana he commits u serious breach Of
decency. Only In the seclusion Of his
own home, when no strangers are by,
does custom permit him to be uncov-
cred.
| On the rupees Of the reign Of VictO-
ria the Queen appeared crowned, and
all was well; but the Indian mint. with
singular disregard Of native feeling
on the subject. has placed on the new
rupees the head Of her son, not only
uncrOwned. but bald. 1t IL as II some
Indian rajah had built a statue Of the
King In Hyde Park and represented
the monarch In u suit Of pyjauas.
England governs many millions of
people In India, and has about 100000
white people there to do 1t. That she
IL able to accomplish this remarkable
feat In the governmental way IL Ow-
Ing tO'the fact that she has been stu.
diOusly careful. since the Indian mu.
tiny. to study the racial prejudices and
customs of the inhabitants. 1t Is by
a close attention to little things that
she perpetuates her rule.
| 1t was little thing that precipi
tnted the great Sepoy rebellion. The
SepOys We're Mohammedans, and
therefore. forbidden to taste OF the
flesh of the swine, but the cartridges
served ont to these soldiers We're greas
ed with the grease Of the unclean ami
nal. In those days the soldier had
to tear the cartridge with his teeth
before he ammed 1t into his gun, and
thus was obliged to violate the law OF
'him who sleeps In Medina" by pOllut
Ing his lips with the fat Of the hog.
The rebellion which followed TIN
insistence upon the use Of the greaset
. cartridges was terrible lesson to Eng
land. ana taught her 40 well the dan
ger Of running counter to native preju
dice that until the new rupee cam
out 'the other day 1t was thought tn
lesson was not forgotten. That tn
imperial crown IL on the rupee doe
: not alter the case In the minds OF In
: dia's millions. 1t Is stamped on til
. reverse Of the coin, and that does no
= count. The crown should be OH Kin
Edwards head to save him from In
. decency.
4 Again, millions of Hindus shay
r their heads, and the badness of tn
|. King will be taken In the, bazars--i
n fact, Is taken--as an evidence that til
@ King Is a shaved head who goes abOu
4 without his turban. This cOmpllcate
y matters ana makes him appear NOR
indecent. 1t Is not, of course prOba
!, BILE that the new coin will cause POP
a ular outbreak, but In that strange Ian
:, OF India no one knows what such III
. tie thing may lead to.
.I In land where fakirs throw rOp
into the circumambient air and the
: lclimb up the rope and disappear: wher
= the mahatmas roam about unbridle(
where even Nine. Blavatsky was abb
= to materlalize teacup ut an afternOO
. picnic. ana where one of the bloodles
= wars In history was caused by the III
= of creased cartridges, who can tie
!, what will happen? From Calcutta I
Peshawar, and from Madras to Bon
bay all India Is disturbed by the hal
and uncrowned King on the rupee. Th