Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1907-08-25
UZIOH SNCZEH :

District or State In which they were
born and six per cent of the exceptions
had come no farther than from the adj
jacent territories.
There are many parts Of India where
land Is so plentiful that 1t may be had
rent free-and good virgin soil at that
needing ouly % be cleared OF jungle.
If the Government could induce the
peasantry Of the congested districts to
move into the thinly populated areas 1t
would do more than anything else to pre-
vent famines. The comparative condi-
lions of the agricultural populations OF
the crowded and the open districts Is
shown In the statistics Of birth. In
tracts where the persons to the square
mile are fewer than 300 the rate Of in
crease in the decade is about fourteen
per cent and no more than seven per
cent where the population Is 400 or more
to the square mile. =
Another very important point Is that
the Hindu peoples are practically all
vegetarians When the grain crop falls
their sole source Of food supply Is gone.
AS Brahmans they hold the COW sacred
and starve to death with meat at hand.
1t Is not merely a question Of supplying
food to famine district. 1t must be
food of certain kind. and not merely
any sort of grain either. In one TT
Of the country the people are accustomed
to rice; In another to DIAL; In another to
bajra or jowar; and SO on. 1t Is OF no
use shipping paddy to place where the
people are habituated to sorgum. They
will not know what to do with 1t and 1t
would not agree with, them in any case.
The necessity of providing starving men
with precisely the kind of food to which
they have been accustomed of course
creates great difficulties sometimes and
at others renders effective relief we'll
nigh impossible. Then, again there are
babies-hosts of babies and half grown
children to deal with. That is often the
hardest part of the problem. If milk
and -four famine should occur In this
country, we might have abundance OF
other food but our little ones would die
by the hundreds Of .thousands. The Hindu
mother Is faithful unto death. She feeds
her sucking to the last and denies her
self to feed older children. The only
hope for the women often lies in part
ing her from her baby but the famine
workers always find this difficult thing
to accomplish.
Religion and caste are also factors OBJ
structive to relief measures. 1t could not
be expected that Mahammedan would
extend aid to a Brahman for whom he
entertains a contemptuous hatred; nor
could the Hindu sympathize with the
Moslem in distress. But this is only
small part of the matter. The Hindu
population is divided into several castles
the members of which will, have no inter
course with one another. The poorest
people, upon whom famine falls with the
heaviest hand, are casteless pariahs for
whom their fellows have no regard what
soever. They may not look for help
from their wealthy countrymen- Such OF
these as concern themselves at all about
a famine are interested only In the oppor-
tunities afforded by 1t for speculation In
food stuffs. In recent years the Govern
ment has dealt drastically with these
trafficers in human life. Their stores are
seized unceremoniously and regardless OF
common law and statutory rights and the
compensation allowed is not based upon
famine prices so that the ehterprising
maiiipulator often sufferers loss and a
well-deserved one. OF late years the
spectators have generally contented
themselves with working dorners in grain
with view to selling to the Government.
OF course these operations are restricted
to small areas-usually those threatened
with famine. A short crop presages a
famine. in case 1t 10 followed by another
shortage In the next season. A few