The San Francisco call., 1906-10-07
Abandons Cricketer's S Bat for
SCepter of Oriental Throne.
Personality of the New
Jain of an Indian
Principality.
ONDON, Sept. 2o.--England has
lost one OF its most famous crick-

ssr, which has just been ratified by the
British Government. The Indian Prince
prefers play 10 politics. the joys Of
c-icket TO the delights OF the sera Clio.
the freedom OF the sporting lie to the
burdens end responsibilities OF royalty.
6ut as Prince OF Nav ana gar he drew
rom thst state only beggarly stipend
- about $500 a year. As its one and
only Jam he will control revenue OF
nearly si90o,000. II is worth being q
Jam at that price, even though p lot OF
things thst lie cares nothing about are
thrown ia with it, And so il comes
about that Rum gin-sling," as his IL
liEerate admirers call him. has dropped
fh 5st 10 take UP the scepter.
As -Jaul. "RanJi, 10 give him the
less irreverent cognomen by which he
is known among his fellow cricketers.
VIII no. longer wear such common
place garment as a white silk shirt,
luxurious as that is compared with the
reiment OF other crfcketers. His ep-
psrel viii consist largely Of silk. it is
true, but such gorgeous variegsted
silk! SILK is one OF the glories OF Ma
g 77enRgars manufactures. Round bis
neck will hang priceless jewels Round
his willoWy form will be bound e re-
splendent Jeweled girdle. 4 magnif-
cent scarf viii adorn his shoulders out
On his head, in place OF g simple
cricket cap, will repose a superb tur-
ban with a great diamond in the mid
Ole, flashing back the suns rays, His
hand viii toy not with the handle Of a
cricket bat, but the hiit of the state
sword OF the Jams Of NawanagaF.
Oh, To BE A JAM!
Il is a great, glittering. gorgeous
thing to be Jam. And yet, so far as
fame goes. with all iJs inherited splen-
dOr. II psles into insignifcence CON-
pared with that which attaches TO the
title OF champion batsmsn OF England
2 title which the dusky Indian prince
has twice won. first IN 1886 and again
in 1900 Such feats have made his
name a household word among millions
Of Englishmea whose knowledge Of
jams is restricted 70 the edible and fire.
ouently adulterated variety England
81 cricket mad to a far greater extent
u sn America can be said 10 be baseball
crazy. and RanJfs deeds IN the cricket
field have caused his name TO be printed
IN large type IN the newspapers far
ottener than that OF any Prime Minis
Ter OF recent years.
His prowess with the bat has in
spired many poetical eIusions IN his
honor. Only a few yesrs ago proTai-
nence was given in the Teller to these
verses:
There was once q Runjeet Singh who
IN India was king
The Lion Of the Punjaub they called
And he scored against his foes TIL a
bigger star arose
And the British power came and
overhauled him.
Now, another Ren5eet Singh has be-
come a star and king
OF cricket, But the Thames is not
the Ganges,
50 we mispronounce his name as we
laud this lions fame
And talk Of Runteet's latest score as
Rsnjfs.
Tor as Renji be is known to the null
titu6es who own
No scientific spelling Gran for rum
But they've known the way to cheer
his brilliant play each year.
And the cheering you may bet, Is not
yet done.
It's treat to see him WELD the willow
blade sad field.
May the Years 70 come his triumphs
in oar bEtsEen's s foremost van. Like
another famous man,
Hes credit 20 his country and his
name.
l greater compliments have been
paid him He has had a brand OF Gig
srettes called after him. He is only
thirty-four but fame has nothing more
20 confer on 3 Hsa who has been
awarded that exalted proof Of pOPu-
larity. Perhsps that IS, the reason why
Rsnji is now content TO become 2 Jam
for the rest &C his deys
RJTE ES szO.oee PEOPLE.
2Sawanagar. the stare over which he
he viii reign, is a little Indian kingdom
under British protection situated in the
peninsula Of Kathiawsr. about two
- % %, be-
Its area Is $3.50 square miles and its
population 229,0 Gee. The eepitsl, a sea-
PORT OF Inc same name, has a popule-
tfon Of 5A.906. When ReR5i wants &C
play at soldering ne can aDuse him
self with q native army of 3eeo men
The state was founded in 1888 by
Jam Kava.. whose descendants held
the tnFone until 1914. Then his widow
adopted Rsnmalii who became Jam
and was 81 turn succeeded by his son
Nfbhsti Fibha5i vas z much married
man. rejoicing IN a round bakers doz-
en- OF legitimate wives. bat none q
them succeeded in bearing biFa az heiT
who survived infancy In 1856 he e ID
ed to MS seraglio three MofaBame n
sisters, the eldest OF whom. a year
later. bore him 2 son. Although this
son. Kaloobhaf. was. recognized by the
British Government as the heir-ap-
parent the natives maintained that
only the offspring OF one Of the legal
wives had any right to succeed TO the
throne. When Ksloobhai grew to man
hood he saved the situation by con
spring against his father and was
consequently deposed and expelled
from the country. once again the Jan
was heirless. IN despair he adopted
an infant, who. following the, fata
precedent of his predecessors. died in
two wears Babies apparently. have
q far better chance OF surviving 81
the vilest Of London slums than in tho
palace Of a Jam.
HOW HE CAME TO BE JAN.
Instead Of taking unto himself an.
other wife Vibhsji decided that il
would be less troublesome TO adop'
an heir again This time his choice
fell on his nephew. Rsnjitsinhji, theT
= sturdy yoHngster eight wears old
Recognizing that as q prospective Jan
the boy would stand a slender chenct
Of reaching maturity amid the plots
and intrigues Of the palace, Vibhai
sent him TO RaJkUmar College to re
ceive his rudimentsry education ane
training from English teachers. Her,
the lad acquired that taste for cricke'
which was destined 10 make him fai
more famous than any other member