Bonners Ferry herald. [volume] (Bonners Ferry, Idaho) 1904-current, 1905-12-09
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A HOPELESS LAND.



Caste Is a great social organization
which governs and directs the Hindu
OF India In every action OF his daily
life. There are four fundamental d.
visions OF caste--the priestly or B59h
min, the warrior, the trading, and
laboring; and these, againf are div
ed into sub-sections numbering thou
sands. Below the laboring caste there
is a substratum which is termed Pa
riah or outcast. The Pariah. says the
author Of Indian Life in Town and
Country" is not much more than a
sanitary machine which performs the
functions of a scavenger.
All these castles are hereditary. A
priests son is a priest, a soldiers a
soldier, a carpenters a carpenter, a
scavenger's a scavenger. There is no
question Of what shall we do with
cur boysT In Hinduism; that problem
has been solved in advance for two
thousand years For sire to start
his son In any other calling than his
own would be against his CASTE" and
there all argument ends. For caste
is both social and religious, and In
cludes the calling as well as the creed.
A Hindu cannot change his caste, al
though he may be expelled from 1t;
his social status is fixed forever at
the time OF his birth, and he can only
fall, never rise. This has tended to
make the Hindus an ambitlonless race
Caste will admit no infusion of new
blood, and when the same exclusive
spirit is imported into the ordinary
dealings Of life, you arrive at that stag
nant conservatism which is called
custom" In the East
Caste is restricted to the Hlndus
but custom is universal. There is the
Indian peasants plow. The overwhelm
ing majority Of the Inhabitants OF In
dia are dependent on the land, and
their crops would be much increased
by better methods of cultivation.
The plow In use is an implement
which merely scratches the surface Of
the earth-an heirloom from remotes
antiquity. A new pillow was introduc
ed by an enterprising firm Of manufac
turers, and lent free for trial broad
cast over province. 1t did the worl
more thoroughly, ana was offered at 8
price within the peasants means. Blu
1t did not catch on" simply becaus,
the plowman could not get at his bull
locks tails to twist them. The
perior tillage, the increase of crop
could not compensate for the relin
quishment Of this -honoied Gus
tom.
There was a contractor engaged II
a railway excavation, who recognized
that the soil could be far more expedl
tously removed in wheelbarrows tina:
carried away in baskets on the heads
OF coolies. So he invested in som,
wheelbarrows and showed how thel
were to be trundled, and fattered him
self upon having introduced a usefu
reform. The next time he visited hi
works he found his men putting a lit
tie dust into the wheelbarrows and car
rying them away on their heads.
The paraphernalia OF Indian dali,
life all belongs to the barbarous ages
Attempt to introduce any other ant
you are rebufred with the reply. Il
is not the custom. My father use,
this article, and therefore 1t is m,
duty to use 1t. Would you have M
set myself up for wiser man thai
my revered parent2"
Thus is stined all attempt at reform
There is not the excuse of ignorance
With the superior model before him
the native deliberately rejects 1t. H
is not to be beguiled by any demon
stration; he is too completely cruste
with conservatism and prejudice.