Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-14
THE EMPIRE OFF INDIA
XH-BOMBAY, QUEEN OF CITIES
By Frederic j. Haskin

, Is every variety of dress known to man.
from the absolute nakedness of the ma
tive children to the triple-coWled
swathings of the Arabian bedouln.
There are Mohammedans with their
nantes knotted over the LETT shoulder
in opposition. There are fierce Afghans
with peaked caps of gold and red clotn
surrounded by white turban, martial
Raiputs with the ends of their forked
boards caught behind their ears IN
the folds of voluminous turbans, dap-
per Turks and Egyptians with frock
coats and black-tasseled red fezes, ana
native Mohammedans with tiny pill
box caps.
Not the least among the races which
attract the eye of the visitor is the
queer clan of Bombay Jews. These
are descendants of Jews who fed TO
India centuries ago at the time OF the
great dispersion, who lived here in
poverty and misery for ages. and who
found relief only when the British
came. There are but few thousand
of them, and they are divided into Two
lelasses by that sharpest OF dlVidlng
lines-color. One class Is fair ana us
people are exactly like the Jews of tho
Occldent. The people of the other
class, although claiming the purest
| blood, and although possessed of UNI
mistakable Jewish features, have skins
of much darker hue. The younger gen
GRAFTON have adopted European cos
tunes, but many of the older men wear
long robe and a huge turban' the
garb of their ancestors. These Jews
have been very successful in business
and in public affairs, one family hav-
ing earned a British baronetcy They
vie with the Parsees in the establish
ment of public benefactions.
Thriftiness is a striking characteris-
~ or hu If
Judge from the system Of newspaper
circulation. The price of the leading
morning papers, delivered by mail, Is
two rupees-sixty-six cents-a month.
But II a subscriber will take 1t from
carrier who delivers 1t at 7 o'clock
and will read and return 1t when the
carrier calls again at IL O'Clock, the
price is only one and a half rupees. II
he is willing to wait until O'Clock
In the afternoon for his morning news,
he may have the paper delivered at
| that hour and return 1t to the carrier
next morning, all for one rupee
month. Or, If he likes to keep his old
papers, he may wait until the next
morning after publication, and have
his paper for one rupee month and
be under no obligation to return 1t at
all. This complicated system Is not
undertaken by the newspapers direct
ly, but Is managed by a firm which
COnITdClS with LilC iiONSPhRSAS al
daily supplies of fresh papers. The
late delivery papers, of course. are the
ones collected from the early morning
subscribers. Thus one copy Of news
paper may be circulated in three differ
ent households and Il total revenue
therefrom will amount to three and a
half rupees, giving a neat margin over
the regular price of two rupees.
Adding to the plcturesqueness OF the
harbor scene is the fleet of the Bonn
bay Yacht club. That institution has
a house and grounds at the waters
edge, and from its wide terraces the
members witness the maneuvers OF It's
smart, trim craft. Membership In this
club is priced next to patent of En-
glish nobility In Anglo-Indian society.
All through the year Bombay is city
given over to sport. The races take
the lead in brilliance and popularity,
but every clerk carries tennis
racquet every schoolboy cricket bat,
and there is polo and hockey and foot
ball to fill up the vacant days
The greater part Of the municipal
magnifcence of Bombay Is due to the
American civil war. When the war in
the United States had cut off the sup
plv of cotton from the Lancashire
mills. England turned to India in hope
of relief. But the Parsee merchants
and bankers of Bombay were not so
blind that they overlooked the golden
opportunity. The Parsee community
pooled its capital and ran a corner on
the whole supply of Indian raw cotton.
They bought from the growers at ten
and fifteen and twenty cents pound;
they sold in Manchester at a dollar
pound. It was one of the most sue
cessful operations in finance recorded
In all history, and 1t made Bombay
city of millionalres.
The newly rich Parsees competed
with each other in erecting buildings
and monuments, and the great flood OF
capital released brought into being
mills, railroad systems and all sorts
OF public and industrial improvements:
The cotton glory was short-lived, or
course, but 1t gave the impetus to a
movement which would have been ad-
yancing, even today, had 1t not been
for the despised rat. Twelve years
ago the bubonic plague came to Bonn
bay. and since that time has ragged
continually. Heroic efforts have been
made to stop its ravages, with some
degree of success, but the fact re-
mains that Bombay has sustained a
net loss of 100000 population In
decade and the decrease is continuing.
If something is not done soon, KIP
lings Queen of the Cities will see her
glory depart.
Tomorrow-The Empire of India. XII
Religion Of the Parasees.