Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-05-31
SOLOMON OBTAINED
HIS RICHES, TREASURES
STILL LIE UNDISCOVERED

49, Seoie Su III llle WITHOUT cent IlSe
10 place OF the greatest honor and re-
sponslbility. That is impossible in
Ceylon on account of two things-the
INABILITY to secure an education unless
one is rich, and the caste prejudice.
Were the first done away with the
second might disappear, but until Cey-
Ion has a public school system abso-
lutely free she will. never produce ma
ny great men,"
why does not England, most
highly civilized nation, grant this"
was asked.
Because she has commercial adj J
vantages over the natives which are
retained much more easily under pres
ent conditions Then, too, England
knows that Ceylon cannot and would
not if she could, throw off the British
government system. If we were to at
tempt this and succeed we would find
| ourselves in a worse predicament for
we would not long be left alone. Rus
STA, France, Germany, would all be
ready to conquer and claim us, for we
are too rich in natural resources to
hold our own.
Where Solomon Got His Riches.
This seems hard, but it is neverthe-
know that Ceylon is generally sup
posed to be the Ophir and Tarsus
where Solomon and King Hiram Sc
cured their riches. Bible students
agree upon this fact and the old name
tof ,the island, Lanka Dwipe, means
| the respondent island" We have |
| the Respondent island" We have ma
ny precious stones and ores, including
diamond, rubies gold and silver. Our
cocoanut groves are the richest in the |
world and their products are the great |
source of revenue Our tea planta
tons furnish the best teas in the
world and the only tea which is han
died entirely by machinery and hence
is absolutely clean. Even in Japan
and China tea is treated and prepared |
for the market altogether with the
hands. And SO, because of our envia-
BILE wealth we are poor in education.
Caste and Its Effects.
caste makes it impossible for
man to rise from the rut in which he
starts in life. Why. in the college |
where | studied medicine in New |
York there were students who gradual |
ed with me who earned their living
and their tuition by acting as janitors |
in the buildings. They have their de-
grees and are practicing medicine, re-
spected by all. In my country. when a
man starts as ianitor he is always
Janitor. The only advancement he
can make is to become good .janitor |
He never oyercomes the caste preju- !
dices
But with education free to everyone
ignorance would decrease and with it
would go much of the caste distinction,
because the people would be more
nearly alike and classes would natur-
ally be drawn closer and closer to-
gether and finally merge.
Buddhism Is Misunderstood.
"The Buddhist religion, however is
wrongly blamed for much of this caste
prejudice by westerners. 1t is not re-
sponsible and is, in many ways, very
similar to the Christian belief Do not
think that / am Buddhist, although
my people are. l am and am not
Buddhist, just as l am and am not a
Christian. | have made long study
OF religions and | can see much that
is good in all of them. l can also see
much that is similar in them all. 1
know there are truths in each and my
researches have convinced me that
they are all pointing to the same end;
in brief, all roads lead to Rome The
theory of evolution is in word the
basis of the Buddhist theory Buddha
was a man, just like you or me. The
teaching of the religion is that God is
infinite and therefore is not a sepa-
rate being but is within us, and is
within everything, animate and mani
mate. | can be as good Buddhist
without daily worshipping as with it.
The Ignorant classes, who must have
something tangible to worship, have
their idols and their sacred animals,
just as in some Christian religions the
faithful pray before shrines and Just
as we have statues of the dead to re-
mind lis of them as they were when in
life. The advanced student of religion
needs none of these tangible and ele-
mentary things to make him remain
believer. The Buddhist religion,
which is a creed of life and not of
death, makes one know that the great
est thing to be attained in this life is
the development of the soul, the only
place where one can really find heav-
en-. The domestic life of the Buddhist
is founded on mutual helpfulness, kind
ness and forbearance.
Few Divorces in Ceylon.
Children are taught to revere their
parents and elders and to respect
them. Marriage is honorable and very,
very seldom do we hear of unhappy
marriages. More seldom still do we
have a divorce in Ceyion, and it is
most difficult to secure one under the
laws of the land"
Doctor, what was the reason for
Ceylon's choosing England as the most
acceptable European nation of which
| to ask protectjnn?"
Because the little nation had had
| hard experiences with the Portuguese
the Germans. and Others Russia was
considered but was worse than the
others. and England was chosen as the
most humane government in all Eu-
rope. We have never had cause to
change our minds.
| Meaning of Oriental War.
Look. for example at the story of
Russia. Consider the war in which
Japan is engaged. That is struggle,
not between Japan and Russia alone,
but between Japan, America and Eng
land against Russia, with Japan shout
| darjno ,a1I5fho burdor Of l,o 6abt