The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-08-21
ny FRANK q. CARPENTER.

Allahabad, 1910. a
The unrest OF India Is largely a mat
& ter Of wages. Suppose you had to
work for 1 cent or cents an hour7
suppose YOU could have only one
square meal every day. and night
( fa1ter night your family should go to
bed hungry? These are the condi-
tons OF millions OF Hindus. Suppose
they existed at lnome2 Would we not
have an unrest with vengeance2 i
REFER the question to brother Gompers
for answer. aA
Low wages In India.
y have before me list of the wages
the natives are paid. / take them from
the statistical abstract sent by the
viceroy to the British houses OF par
lament, and therefore reliable. ! At
Calcutta carpenters, blacksmiths and
masons are now receiving less than
So a month; and that would be a high
average for 1nechanics throughout Hin.
dustdn. In the Province of Dude they
are paid less than SO, and at Agra only
81 more.
AT Patna able-bodied farm hands
receive less than 81 per month. For
this they work twelve hours a day
and In some cases have to take grain
for their wages. Tho average income
for all Hindustan is only about
cents day. Not long ago there was a
famine in southern India, during which
the government relieved the people by
giving them labor on public improve
ments It paid 4 cents to the diggers
and 3 cents TO the women who carried
the earth from one place to another
IN baskets. They worked from day
light till dark The children were paid
2 cents day. They were used to
break up tie clods and smooth over
the ground.
The Rich and Poor at Calcutta.
The truth Is the Indian empire is
largely an empire Of paupers, and that
OF paupers surrounded by plenty. Tan
talus-like, they are up to the neck in
the waters Of poverty, with rich fruits
Of all kinds hanging over their heads.
When they grasp for the fruits they
vanish. and they strive and strive and
strive in vain. I was struck by this
at Calcutta. That capital is known as
the City OF Palaces, but 1t Is also q city
novels. It has It's thousands of splendid
carriages and automobiles. with coach
men and chauffeurs In the most gor-
Eeous liveries. It has rich Englishmen
and native rajahs and nabobs who are
loaded with Jewels; but with them Is
want SO keen that It cuts to the heart.
There are thousands upon the street
who 60 almost naked. The dress Of
the common people Is such that the
legs Of the women are often bare to
the knees and of tho men to the thighs
The bones ere clad only in sinews and
skin. There is not enough meat on the
legs to temp a hungry dog. They are
as straight as pipe stem. the swell
Ing OF the calves being absent. The
arms show nothing but bones. The
poor Bengan corresponds to Kiplings
description OF the woman who was q
"a rag, a bone and hank Of hair
save that there is now and then 9
sringy muscle thrown In.
These people work almost naked
I and their whole forms may BIO seen
have spent some time watching then
bathing in the Gauges. The wate
Clues the clothes to the skin, and yo'
see thousands Of skeletons bathing
and praying.
And then the homes OF the people
Outside the mansions of the rich
which face the MADAM and the fin
buildings of the government, and tn
palaces of few rajahs, the nativ
quarters of Calcutta are largely com
posed of homes no bigger than pack
Ing cases. The stores are mere hole