Los Angeles herald., 1908-03-13

"INDUSTAN or India was annexed
III gradually by the British in order
IL that various large commercial
interests might be protected. Bobby
Give did for India what Cecil Rhodes
did for South Africa. The excuse for
the annexation and retention of South
Africa by the British is in the fact that
it is one of the homes of the Enslish
speaking peoples and is entitled TO
British protection until it feels strong
enough to form the United States OF
South Africa. The population of South
Africa will outgrow the Rhodes influ-
ences and will become more and more
q democracy that is not subservient TO
the aims of eXploiters But the nope OF
Transforming Hindustan into an Eng
lish speaking country is chimerical IL
is wildly fantastic. 1t is not easy to
bring up white children in India. In
deed, until recently it was not believed
TO be possible, and the young British
Indians were sent to "the old country
at 12 years old. We say 'the old coun-
try" in difference to the fact that fol-
lowing the example of colonials ana
some Americans, the white Indians use
that term. We are well aware that
Hindustan is much older country
than Britain and that there is a mystic
ASPECT of Hindu civilization that is en-
tirely beyond the white mans range OF
thought. There is a foundation OF
truth for all the tales of Himalayan
recluses and wonderworkers. The Hin
dus know something that we do not
know, something that our brains as
vet cannot even THINK.
Now, there are many good persons
who believe that Britain has been
using India for over 100 years. The
historian of the future in making a
summing up of English speaking civil
lization and its results will find to his
amused surprise that, on the contrary,
IIindustan has been making a con-
venience of Britain. There are, per
haps. half a dozen countries in the
Indian peninsula, with many differing
languages dialects, customs and re-
lgions Before Give and the British
merchants and soldiers discovered that
this peninsular collection of Oriental
powers was rich and would defray the
expenses of looting expeditions and
yield a tremendous profit beside, the
powers of India lived in discord Wars,
both religious and political, were
waged increasingly, and these wars,
like all of that kind recorded in his
tory, Biblical or profane, were wars of
determination. Moreover, children were
"passed through the fire in the worship
of Moloch." Infants We're flung into
the Ganges by fanatcal mothers.
Widows were burned at the stake.
With the paradoXical armed benevo-
lence that has characterized all of his
strange history and that has sometimes
produced results that were as good as
other results produced have been evil.
the Briton sought with the sword to
enforce the commandment Thou shalt
do no murder" and by making a
slaughter house of Hindustan, he
stopped slaughter, intertribal strife,
"thuggaree, infanticide and the live
burning of widows.
John Bright, the great Quaker states
man. AIllHIlGd : NOllSAftlll illtllu III Lib
land, was the first Brltou to ask,
boldly: "Of what real use to the
United Kingdom or to the English
speaking world is this heaviest of the
white mans burdens, vast, colossal
Hindustan? We have effected reforms
that will be permanent. If our less
scrupulous ernissaaries have looted and
plundered, our greater thinkers and
moral agents have made amends by
teaching the Hindus to respect human
life and tribal rights. For whose sake
do we still maintain an army in India?
Is not our work finished? Why then
do we linger?"
1t looks today as if the British had
outworn their welcome and outlived
their usefulness in Hindustan.