El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-08-20
WORK AND WAGES AMONG H|NDUS

waiting to register a letter, when heard
t;uarreling among the clicks. The noise
was 50 great that l wenU to tie window
and looked in. ! saw there a big fine
looking babu or native official dressed in
a long white coat and gold turban, ours
ing lean din IL in cheap garb ol
white cotton. The blbI shook both his
fists in the little mans face, and de-
nounced his ancestors to the seventh
generation. The little fellow protested
and apologized, but the babu only cursed
him the louder. He ended by showing
him back to his place at the sorting
table. As [ asked what the matter was
the weighing clerk whispered: The man
is late and that clerk is partly the cause.
1t is not his fault, though He is poor
and has not had enough to eat. Hungry
men cannot work rapidly That clerk
gets only nine rupees ts3) a month.
and one cannot buy much rice for that.
II used to be better; but things are so
high now that the poor have not
enough
This increase of prices, which is
common complaint in the United States,
has extended all over the world. 1t has
affected all who have fixed wages or
eminent clerks who have TO dress well
lnr their station. As to the government
employees, ] will give You only the wages
or LOstmen. They vary III ::ie different
provinces, but they are seldom more
than 81 a month, while the postal run
ners get half that. In Bengal the post
men receive less than Is cents a dav;
in Bombay they get about Is cents.
while in the central provinces their
wages are less than r.
In all India something like 100000
rooplo o1 Nv
jobs of one kind or another. There are
a few at the top who)g fairly good
salaries, but the smaller places, held by
the natives, pay very little.
The Beehive of India.
The Chinese are usually considered of
all the world the most Industrious and
thrifty As far as work is concerned
the Hindus are a close second. and they
make this peninsula hum like beehive.
There are all told something like 3O0,-
100000 of them and nearly every one
has his own trade or profession. a mans
business IS fixed by the gods He must
stick to his caste and has but little
chance for outside employment The
banker Is the son of a banker. the shoe
maker the son of a shoemaker. and the
beggar the son of a beggar. Begging is
a fixed profession here. and it is fol-
lowed by more than 100000 7eople.
OF these two-t thirds are men and the rest
are women and children.
There are far more than 100000 shoe
makers in India and more than 900. 600
BARRIERS. The BARRIERS shave the heads,
faces and bodies OF their customers BOYS
have to be shaved as well as men The
native prices are . cents for shaving
head, face and neck. and 4 cents for a
clean shave over the body, while it costs
s cents to get a shave, hair cut and
shampoo. The barbers are also sham
pooeTs and they will knead your flesh
from your toes to your crown for 2 to
3 cents per time.
Factory Hands
In the past all the manufactures of
India were made in the houses. and
there are still millions of weavers and
workers in wool and metal who labor
at home, following the trades of their
ancestors. Within the past generation.
however, hundreds of mills and factories
have sprung into being, and these are
equipped with modern machinery. The
natives can handle machinery quite as
well as we can, and many of those for
merlv in the textile trades are now
working in the cotton mills, jute mills
and other such institutions. These peo-
pie are paid what are high wages for
this part of the world. In Bombay
the cotton mill men get ~ cents day
and the women IA cents and under. Chill
dren are paid or 10 cents. and those
who work half time frequently get
about cents per day In the Delhi
cotton mills the wages for the men are
about Z or 8 cents and in other places
they arc more. Often a whole family
will work in the mills, its earnings
sometimes amounting TO so or 20 cents
a day. Such are esteemed very well
off.
These factory hands usually live near
the mills in mud huts or in buildings
made for the purpose. At some OF the
Bombay factories their dwellings are
over shops. \ single family will usually
have but one room. for which it may
pay % cents a week. The room will be
small and its only air and light must
come through the door. In some other
localities the dwellings are better. but
as rule they are about as poor as can
be. Frank G.. CARPENTER