davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
y
The TempIe Brides.

/ attended a wedding the other night at
which about 500 Hindus were present. The
groom was about six years old. He was
bright little fellow in a red velvet coat,
tight velvet trousers and a cap of cloth OF
gold. The bride was not present, and
whether she was a baby or not 1 do not
know. The chief feature of the ceremony
was the dancing of some Nautch girls to
the music of two drums and an Indian
fiddle. The girls went through the most
surprising contortions. They twisted them
selves this way and that; they bent back
and forth though they were India rub
Der, the most of their dancing being with
out lifting their feet from the ground Some
of their motions were beyond description in
decent l am told that the Nautch girls
are professional dancers, and that their pro-
fession is about the only one open to the
young women of India. They are by no
means as good as they should be, but being
bad\is part of their business and the peo-
pie respect them.
Allied to them is a class of girls who are
had for religions sake. They are the tom
pie brides who are bred to dance at the
shrines, to pander to the priests and sing
obscene songs to the gods. They are OBJ
tanned while yet children by the temples
through purchase or as gifts from the par
ents, and are educated for the purpose.
Sometimes a man who has recovered from
illness buys a girl and presents her thus as
a gift to the gods, or If one has stroke OF
good luck he may make the priests such a
present. If the temple brides have daugh-
tiers they are brought up as dancing girls,
being taught to read and sing and in
structed in all the arts of seduction. These
girls are licensed by law, but of late years
their excuses have become such that even
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
why He viii Not Marry.

Because of the dlmpled charm of Miss
Billy Burke, Mr.. Frohman's sweetest star
there are iumoTs every now and then that
this that or the other fortunate man is
to lead her to the altar. Still Miss Billy
Burke goes on her way unaltared, and the
gentlemen of the second part, after a
brief period of fond pursuit, have faded
into the remote landscape. Last winter
gossip was especially sure that a certain
man, whose name may be given for the
purpose OF this narrative as Aloysius
Jones, seemed to be up in the running.
He waited upon Miss Burke with flowers;
he served hes with chocolates; he fairly
drooled whenever he beheld her dainty per-
sonality on stage or street But, he. too.
fell away.
I'VE thought you were going to marry
Miss Billy Burke" said a friend, the other
day.
Aloysius Jones looked sad. Il wanted
to-" said he. II still want to. But l
won't"
why? Won't she marry you?"
NO." said Aloysius Jones. II haven't
asked her, and have no reason TO assume
that she would say yes II | did ask her.
But I'm a moral coward. ! can't face the
prospect of going through life as Mr..
William urke."-Cincinnati Times-Star.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
midas Baby widows.

OF all the women on earth there is nona
whose misery is so great as that of the
widow of India The moment her hus.
band dies she becomes an outcast her
touch is pollution, and she is the slave
of the family. She must take off her
good clothing and dress in coarse cot
tons. Her head must be shaved and she
cannot battle as the rest of the family
do. She must not sleep on a bed, but
on the bare floor with nothing but a
piece of mating between her and the
bricks. She cannot eat with the family
and must have but one meal a day and
that of the coarest food She must fast
every two weeks with special fasts now
and then, the idea being that the more
she is tormented the greater will be the
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

peated in Mr., Bryan's own words
"Once out in Nebraska l went to protest
against my real estate assessment, and one
of the things of which l particularly com
planned was assessing a goat al SIS.
claimed that a goat was not real" prop
erty In the legal sense OF the word, and
should not be assessed One of the asses
sors a very pleasant faced old man. very
obllglngly said that l could go upstairs
with him and together we would look over
the rules and regulations and see what
could be done
I'VE looked over the rules and finally the
old man asked: Does your goat run loose
on the roads%
well sometime, said l, wondering
what the penalty was for that dreadful of
Tense,
Does he buttg again querled the Old
man
Yes l answered, he butts
We'll said the old man, looking at me,
this rule says tax all that certain property
running and abutting on the highway l
don't see that l can do anything for you.
Good day, sir New York Telegraph.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
An Elderly one Relocated.

The Rev. Maurice j. Dorney Of St Ca
briefs church, which Is the ecclesiastical
key of the Chicago stock yards, is prob
ably better and more favorably known
among prominent democrats than any
clergyman in the country.
OF course, he is often called on by his
parishioners to provide employment for
their friends, and the appeal is rarely In
vain
a few years ago, Just about the time that
the present pope, who was then Cardinal
Giuseppe Sarto was elevated to the Holy
See, John p. Agnew son OF former High
Sheriff Frank J. Agnew OF Chicago, was
building the Thirty-ninth street intercept
ing sewer and not being very far from
Father Dorney's bailiwick. a goodly num-
Der of Contractor Agnew's employees hailed
from st. Gabrlel's parish.
Mr. Agnew had just appointed new
foreman-an Italian-and as Father Dor
ney was passing the big ditch the follow
ing morning he looked ON the upturned
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
Resumed Where He Left Off.

Chicago travelling man. guest at
the Hollenden a day or two ago, was tell
ing Clerk Mccarthy a story Illustrative
of how accustomed to long separations
travelling man and his wife may become.
This mans work takes him from coast
to coast, and not infrequently he is gone
from home for five and six months at
stretch.
The last time he went away, according
to the mans story, he was Obliged to
leave home right in the midst of meal
in order to make the train he wanted to.
You ought to wait another day and
have your suit pressed" remarked his
wife. Il hate to have you so looking
SO III groomed,"
I'm have 1t done within day or two
or at the first chance" promised the hus-
band wish L could stay, though, for
piece of that apple pie you were making
Save me a piece, won't your" he added
with a grin.
We'll she went to the train with him
and babe him fond good-by. Just FIVE
months and ten days later he returned.
His wife was again at the train, duti-
fully.
"A see you kept your promise and had
your suit pressed" were her first words
as she threw her arms around his neck.
YES" he said but, by the way, did
you save me that piece OF apple pier
Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
Mustard Plaster Cure.

Mustard as a promoter of morals was
new role said the woman. Yesterday
heard my Bohemian neighbor say to her
n-year-old daughter:
" III you do that again I'll put a mustard
plaster ON you
The child didn't do it again. When L
asked why the mother told me that in her
country disobedient children are punished
by applying a mustard plaster. 1t is more
efficacious than whipping, scoldng or
moral suaslon. The plaster isn't left on
long enough TO blister badly, but even
without blister a mustard plaster is a
corrective measure that all little Bohe-
mians try to avoid. even at the expense of
good behavior. New York Press.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
Those GargoyIes.

college freshman was showing some
friends the sights of the campus last week.
He was very proud OF the new buildings
and attempted to describe the architecture.
See those things sticking out from the
roofs. don't your" asked the freshman,
pointing TO a number OF weird figures of
stone. We'll. last year fellow called
EN- gargoyles."
He laughed, but his friends waited
The funny thing about that was" said
the freshman, that the name has stuck
TO 'em ever since. Now everybody calls
- Sargoyles. York Sun
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
A Literary Dispute.

Richard lie Gallienne, the noted poet, said
at a dinner at the Hotel Westminster, in
New York!
Literary disputes are interesting II
properly conducted. Too many OF them,
however, are suggestive of the Shake
spearian dispute In Tin Can.
Prof. Bill Billus of the Tin Can Dancing
academy delivered lecture in the Lone
Hand saloon, and in the course OF his argu-
ment recited The Boy stood on the Burn
ing Deck gem he declared, from
Shakespeare's Othello.'
But an interrupter arose and STROBE for
ward.
- am a Boston gent said the inter
rupter, and l certify that no Shakespeare
never wrote that piece.
Friend. said Prof. Billus, gently
can convince you that he done So.
Convince away, said the Bostonian'
skeptieally.
SO Prof. Billus led off with his right
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

Indeed, the condition OF women in In
dia is such that no parent wants to
bring a daughter into the world. He
knows she will be slave as a wife and
an outcast as a widow. For this rea-
son infanticide was common a few years
ago, and for the same reason It Ia
still practiced here and there away
from the eyes of the police. / hear
1t whispered that girl babies are
strangled and that poison is sometimes
laid on their mothers breast so
that when they suck they eat no more.
The poisoning of them with opium Yves
common in the past, and 1t is mentioned
by old writer's About twenty or thirty
years ago the government passed an in
fantlcide act and at that time Investigate ed
conditions. 1t was found that in certain
localities hundreds of children were annu-
ally carried off by wolves and, strange to
say, the wolves took only Adrls. In the
year 1870 three hundred girl babies were
stolen by wolves from the city of AmrItsar.
Before that the wells of some parts of
India were polluted by the drowning OF
infants and typhoid was common thereby
One Of the worst things that can happen
to these baby brides is to be married to
old men. This is not uncommon, a family
often being glad to make a union with a
higher caste, even If the husband be gray.
In such cases widowhood is almost sure
to, come early, and in India to be widowed
is hell
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
Samples Story Telers

and to this end he left a great many
pieces of scarlet and green and yellow
calico lying about his hut
IAN elderly dame called one afternoon
for spiritual advice. The missionary noted
how enviously her eyes rested on the cal
leo and he took up a two-yard piece of
the yellow, saying:
I'll give you this if you'll wear it
The female draped the calico about her
like a skirt and departed in great glee.
But the next day, nude, as before she
returned with the fabric under her arm.
Handing it sadly to the missionary. she
said:
" Me no can wear 1t, missy. Me TOO
shy Washington Post.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
Henry James on Race suicide.


Henry James does not agree with Colonel
Roosevelt on the question of large families.
Small families, such as prevail in France,
indicate, to MIR. James mind, Intelligence
and progress, while large families indicate
the reverse,
Large families are so embarrassing,
too said Mr.. James, on his last American
visit. Il onceS knew a man named Thomp-
son who had Nurteen children. Thompson
agreed one spring holiday to take his chill
dren to the seashore for the weekend
They set off, reached the station, got
their tickets and We're about to board the
train when Thompson was roughly cOllared
by a policeman.
Here, wot a you bin a-doin' Off the
policeman growled fiercely.
Me? Nothing. Why" stammered
Thompson.
The policeman waved his truncheon
toward the Thompson family.
Then wot the bloody blazes, he Kissed
is this here crowd a-follerin' ye fur?' ~
Minneapolis Journal
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
Twenty-six Million slaves.

And how many human beings do you
think are now undergoing such torrents?
1 can give you the figures from the cen
sus of British India, as they were gath
cred last year. They put the number of
widows at 100000. d number equal to
almost one-half of our whole female popu-
latlon. India has one widow for her
every six women and girls and millions
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

The late Justice Brewer was noted for
his tolerant and broad minded views. A
Washington diplomat recalled the other
day story told by Justice Brewer In IL
lustration OF the need for tolerance.
we should respect the views of others"
so the story ran-"for morality itself is
only a matter of environment.
"A missionary in the South seas was dis
tressed because his dusky pensioners were
nude He decided to try dellcately to get
them to wear at least little clothing.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
He Had Done Enough.

Fellow citizens said the candidate, Il
have fought against the Indians. l have
often had no bed but the battlefield and
no canopy but the sky l have marched
over the frozen ground till every step has
been marked with blood"
His story told well till dried-up look
ing voter came to the front.
IN be darned II you hain't done enough
for your country, Go home and rest. I'll
vote for the other fellow. success
Magazine.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

the natives have begun to object. Three
years ago a number of Hindus asked the
Bombay government TO suppress the custom
in that state, and there was an attempt to
do 80. 1t failed because the masses of the
people looked upon the institution as having
been sancufied by religion, and because the
British make it a principle to do nothing
that affects the faith of their subjects.
Just now a similar action has been taken
by Mysore, one of the native states, and
it may be that it will succeed.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

Congratulations. Democratic victory on
the way. Next year speaker president,
1872 Hurrah for Champ Clark"
II am quoting my old friend Tom Reed
in answering them" said Clark. Back
in SO someone wrote Reed to ask If he
would run for the presidency that year.
Well, answered Reed, they might
go further and fare worse, and l think
they will cleveland Leader.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

of these widows have many years yet to
live As TO the baby widows, there are
1900 of five years and under, and more
than 100000 of between five and ten years.
There are 25.OO0 young girls who range
between ten and fifteen years of age, un-
dergoing the slavery of widowhood, a
worse slavery than has ever been imposed
upon any nation, white or black, in any
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
No Race suicide.

There is little race suicide in India. The
people want children They marry for
that purpose, and the more they have the
better they like it, A woman who has no
children is a curse to the family. and she
VINO does not bear a son is considered a
failure. The marriages are at such an age
that there are thousands OF mothers OF
twelve and thirteen, and there are some
little mothers OF eleven or ten. There are
twenty -five-year-oid grandmothers. and
have heard OF MISREPRESENTATION
at forty-eight years OF age. The country
Is thickly Inhabited. 1t grows greater
every year and there are forty million
more people here now than there were in
lSsO, the average increase being thirteen
per cent every year.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

faces of a number of his countrymen, who
reverently touched their hats to him.
well, boys" inquired Father Dorney,
"how do you like your new Dago Doss?"
''Foine, yes riv'rence," was the chorus
of replies How do you like yours?"-.
Norman 4. Macks National Monthly
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
Chnmn Clark,n Hopes.

Since >the repeated victories In the by
elections to fill congressional vacancies
Champ Clark has been the recipient OF a
flood OF congratulatory letters and tele-
grams. The other night. just after the
news OF the election Of James S. Havens
was received ChAnR GeG tie GOlLOELnH;
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

hou nave all heard of the child mar
riages of India. They take place every
day and number millions year. They
are chiefly among the Hindus, who form
two-thirds of the population of Hndustan
l nave before me the figures of the last
census taken by the British. They show
that India has now more than two million
wives under ten and two hundred and
fifty thousand of five years and under. If
has 100000 married women from ten 70
fifteen, and 9OO0,GOO more who are between
fifteen and twenty. There are altogether
6S,O0O,0Oo wives in the country, and one
fourth of them are under the average age
at which our girls marry.
+ There are also millions of child widows
whose fate is far worse than that Of
the married babies whose husbands are
living i shall write of them farther on
In this letter.
Marriages In India are always arranged
by the parents. They are a matter OF
bargain and sale, and the father of the
boy gets the money. At present the price
mas risen, and one OF the native news
papers is demanding that the parents OF
boys come down on the dowries they ask
Tor their sons. They say that the parents
OF the brides cannot stand the charges
and that the eNtortions are a disgrace TO
the country. Every Indian father is anx-
ious to marry off his daughters and, ac-
cording to the Hindu religion, he will be
punished IL he does not. A man whose
daughter becomes an old maid must ex-
pect to spend million years in he'll for
that crime. He will be disgraced while
he lives and sneered at by his fellows,
AS result of this belief girls are often
betrothed in their cradles. They are mar
ried as soon as they are able to walk. and
are old women at the ages our girls be-
come wives. Indeed, there are but few
females in India who are not wives or
( widows by the time they reach fourteen
years OF age.
one OF the native states recently passed
law prohibiting the marriage of girls,
under eight and forbiddng men of over
ftty to wed girls under fourteen. The
baby marriages are usually little more
than engagements or contracts which can
not be broken When the wedding cere-
mony is over the little bride is taken back
home and she stays there until she is
eight, ten or twelve years of age when
she must live with her husband.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

live years more than 10000 were so burned,
and it was not until long thereafter that the
custom was stopped. This burning was
called "suttee" and it is questionable
whether it was not preferable to continued
widowhood, which is now known as cold
suttee. The widow is condemned to lv-
ing death. She burns daily with want, dis
grace and shame; her predecessor was
happy in that she died but once.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

other part Of the world.
You have heard how in the past the
widows threw themselves on the funeral
pyres of their husbands and burned them
selves to death. In 1904 the British gov
eminent kept count, and its records showed
that 800 women had so inundated them
selves within thirty miles of Calcutta in the
space of six months In the next twenty
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12
Antique in New setting.

,FORE leaving New York Will
liam Jennings Bryan, who. as
rule, is somewhat somber, con-
fided to a democratic lawyer
who is well known on Broadway
legal anecdote. 1t is here re-
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

foot and followed UP the argument with
brass cuspidor, falling in the subsequent
clinch on top.
WHO writ the piece? he shouted as he
pummelled his opponent steadily.
Shakespeare the Bostonan answered
in smothered tones from beneath.
Are you sure? asked the professor.
80 Dead sure was tie reply. 1 seen him
do it, New York Tribune.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

camels with trappings of gold.
INfFS04Si ridden by bare-legged men in
Ns@S| red and gold turbans Behind
came an elephant, followed by twelve
ieglets above their fore knees and
silver bells around eirAReeks. The sad
dies were of cloth of silverNand the trap
pings of the brides were Of gold Be
hind these animals came the wedding
chair, and farther back band of music
and crowd of men singing and dancing.
The wedding chair was litter covered
with the red and gold canopy Upon the
mattress inside sat the bride and groom,
face to face leaning back upon pillows.
looked in through the curtains and saw
them. They were children The groom
was ten-year-old boy of gingerbread
color and the bride a little brown baby
OF two. The boy wore a gold cap and
suit embroidered in gold. He had heavy
gold rings on his ankles and wrists
Around the girls neck was "a gold chain.
and she had gold bracelets and anklets
AS l looked in the groom smiled and
waved his hand at me. but the baby bride
did not open her eyes. and / am told she
had been drugged to keep her quiet dur
ing the ceremony. Since / have been In
india have seen score of wedding, pro-
SESSIONS, and in every case the brides
have been children, although the grooms
may have been full-grown men. Some OF
the brides were six and eight years Of
age, and have seen two of five This
Is my first sight of a bride who is really a
baby.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

happiness OF her husband in heaven. She
must not allow her shadow TO fall upon
the food or drink Of the rest of the family,
and all told she is worse than a leper.
She will bring bad luck to any one who
meets her. and no man will continue a
journey IL he passes a widow on starting
Such is her condition at home and she
cannot get away. She is ostracised every
where. She cannot hire out a servant
for no one will take her. If she is good
looking she may be employed at the tenn
pies; but a rule her life is the most
horrid slavery. This is added to by the
belief of her husbands mother and sisters
that in prosecuting her they are helping
the dead They do not dare to pity her
for the superstition is that those who pity
a widow are likely soon to be widows
themselves At the same time she is de-
pendent upon the rest of the family,
Women cannot inherit property among the
Hindus, and all that is left by the hus-
band goes to the children.
What fate is this for the woman full
grown or the old woman who as a widow
has but a few years to live. 1t is more
terrible still for the babies and children
who become widows before they know
what marriage means. Their whole lives
are continuous torture, and nnsnning,
they are punished until death.
Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-12

Christian work Among the Women
Our missionaries are accomplishing much
for the women of India, as are also those
Of Great Britain. The work can be only
done by the women, as men are not allowed
TO so into the womens quarters or to
speak to them. There are about fifteen
hundred females among the missionary
population, and the most OF these do more
or less work. There are 1SS foreign woman
physicians and numerous hospitals and
schools There are two Christian colleges
end in Madras alone more than one hun
dred thousand girls are going to school.
The girls are bright and they seem to
learn quite as well our girls at home.
number of them entered the university
and some of the daughters Of the higher
classes have graduated not only at the coll
leges of India, but at those of England, and
are now acting as lawyers and doctors.
AS to the government schools, those for
girls are increasing, although they are still
far outnumbered by those for the men.
For instance India now has 10000 boys
schools with about 100000 pupils, and only
1900 girls schools, with 100000 In attend
ance The percentage Of illiteracy among
the women is far greater than among the
men. In all India there are less than 1000
600 women who can read, and this means
about one in every $50. On the other hand,
about one man in every ten can read, aud
a large percentage can both read aud
write. The officials tell me that only about
% per cent Of the boys of school age go To
school and less than per cent OF the girls
One of the crying needs of this country
is medical attendance, and especially doc
tors for women. Lady Dufferin started
movement of this kind and Lady Curzon
aided in carrying II on. The customs and
caste distinctions OF India are such that
only women doctors can treat the native
women, and the great need Is lady mis-
sionaries who have good medical educa-
tions. The first female doctor came IN
1870, and there are now many There are,
however half million villages and towns
which have no resident physicians, and
the women as a rule have practically no
efficient medical attendance.
FRANK q. CARPENTER.