The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1909-07-15
THE EMPIRE OF
INDIA
Nl.-5ombay, Queen Of Cities.
BY FREDERIC J, HAsKIN.

Bombay. -Plague-stricken, pest
ridden Bombay gives no hint OF its dis
tress to the eve Of the visitor. Hailed
long ago as the Queen Of Eastern Cities,
it keeps up the pomp and circumstance
Of court, although its population de-
clines, Its industries do not Increase as
rapidly as in former years, and its
wealth is being spent in seemingly
endless fight against enemies more pow
erful and subtle than the armies Of hos
tile kings. But its Importance as q sea-
port continues 10 increase, its people
are not discouraged, and it is still city
Of beautiful buildings and gay society.
Kipling, who was born in Bombay.
between the palms and the sea" has
sung its praises and, in turn, has made
Bombay sing to the empire:
Royal and dower-royal, I, the queen,
Fronting thy richest sea with richer
lands
A thousand mills roar through me
where I CLEAN
All races from all lands"
Here, indeed, one may see the prod
ucts of a thousand mills and a million
fields going down to the sea, and here
one may see in the streets the repre-
Other cities may dispute Bombay's IT,
tie Of Queen" but dower-royal it al
ways viii be. For the island Of Bonn
bay, somewhat smaller than Manhat-
tan, is the first bit of land In the Indian
empire TO which England received a
clear title
1t was occupied in 1922 by the Portu-
guese, then the empire-builders Of the
Orient but it remained only an unim-
portant outpost of the dominion. In
1861, just after the fall of the common
wealth and restoration of the Stuarts in
England, it was made part Of the roy
al dover Of Catherine of Braganza, the
Portuguese princess who married
Charles II. It remained crown proper
ty for seven years and then was made
over to the East India company, by
which it was ruled until 1858, when
Queen Victoria assumed the govern
ment of all India.
Being the chief seaport of the west
ern coast Of the Indian peninsula, il be-
came the center Of the trade between
India and England. The shrewd and
thrifty Parsees came down from their
ancient city of refuge at Surat and went
into business, making themselves and
the city rich. BY their munificent bene-
factions the Parsees built colleges and
institutions by the score, the company
and the crown built magnificent gov
eminent offices, parks were laid out on
the bold scale which every Indian city
has copied, and Bombay became a City
Beautiful.
The most striking thing about Bonn
bay at first glimpse is the beauty Of its
buildings, avenues and parks. If one
comes by railway he alights at Victoria
station, which stood for thirty years as
the most beautiful and artistic railway
station in the world, although not the
largest. 1t yielded first place only when
the new union station was built in
Washington. The government buildings
are mostly in the Gothic style, the great
charitable and educational institutions
in a mixture of Gothic and Hindu. A
hypercritical architect might quarrel
with the design Of this or that struc-
ture, but no one can deny the success
Of the general effect.
After the first look around, the most
interesting feature of Bombay is the
people in the streets. If the persons
who are responsible for the costuming
Of American comic operas and musical
comedies would take time to journey to
Bombay, they would find inspiration for
scores of outfittings which would reflect
glory upon themselves and cause a
jaded theatres going public to offer
thanks.
Most curious of all. perhaps, are the
Parsees. There are only about 10000 Of
them in Bombay out of its total popu-
lstiOn Of three-quarters OF a million, but
they are the leaders in business and
native club life. The men wear ordi-
nary European clothing, except for the
hat. In its place is the ancient cap of
their clan-a brimless and vizorless
Derby hat with hard roll around the
lower edge. This ancient cap, still
worn by the majority, is made in the
shape of a horses hOOf. It was a pledge
given by their ancestors when they
found refuge among the Hindus from
the prosecuting Moslems who had driv-
en- them from PERSIA sign of sub
mission and a pledge that they would
abide by the laws of the country and
not take part in politics.
The Parsee women wear a graceful
robe of soft, clinging material, the effect
Of which is heightened by a long man
tilla thrown over the head and shout
ders. But the acme Of the ridiculous is
reached in the costume of the Parsee
school girl She wears a short Russian
blouse, white cotton pantalettes with
lace trimming, no skirt, and English
shoes and stockings. If ever there was
excuse for d girl praying to get through