Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1914-12-10
WITH THE INDIAN ARMY IN FRANCE
One of the pa, 8 Best Cartoon.
An Anglo-Indian In the London Times.

eat goat or mutton. provided the ami
NAL has been killed in q special and
Orthodox way. The disgust which the
strict Hindu feels at physical contact
with beef is SO intense that he will
sometimes vomit at tho sight Of II.
the prejudice Is SO inveterate that Mo-
hammcndans who are the descendants
OF Hindu converts cannot reconcile
themselves 10 the taste. Happily, pork.
the Mos!em abominatlon, does not com.
plicate the question of army rations
But the cruX Is not go much the
nature o! the meat to be provided as
The manner IN which 1t is Killed and
cooked. In the case OF sheep the Sikh
villagers gorge will rise when he sees
meat prepared by the Mohammendan
thrcat-cutting stroke. just as the Mo-
hammedan feels II an outrage that
meat should be hung UP for sale that
has been killed by the Jatka--the
stroke at the back OF the neck af-
fected by the Sikhs. In France now
certain amount OF timed mutton is
eaten willingly by the troops but tho
great bulk or commissar!at meat must
be sent alive to raiihead and slain
there in accordance with prescribed
rites. Heuce the herd OF sheep and
goats in the boulevard. l found an
old abattoir full of them-goa,a from
all the hills OF France. from Corsica
and Dauphine and the Cevenues. from
stony Languedoo and Rousillon on the
spanish border. and bearded giants
from the Pyrenees, which. standing on
end. might pluck the leaves from the
shisham like young camel a breed
which Is likely more than anything
else TO inspire the Indian with rev.
erence for the virtue of the soil.
Observing Religious Rites.
That the men may know whether
they are eating clean or unclean flesh,
units are detached to a point near
railhead, where each man, be he Mo-
hammedan, Sikh or Hindu. dispatches
his beast by his own peculiar sacri-
fetal stroke, marks II as clean and
sends 1T on to his comrades In the
trenches.
No beef Is killed at the. front. as
the mere proximity OF Mohammedan
slaughter house might carry pollution
to the Hlndus. For drink the army
rations OF the Indian troops Is run,
but the Mohammedan. being debarred
by the prophet from all fermented
liquor, is given an extra ration Of su-
gar and tea The huga being too cum.
brous an article for service equipment,
the Indian soldier receives two pack
cts Of cigarettes a week. Even the
transport animals have their ingrained
fads, kind OF caste fastidiousness
Indian mules and countrybreds. who
might be having the time Of their lives
hose sOSpiCiously our sweet EnRlt9n
hay, preferring their own chopped
straw, the dryest OF provender. II an
English cavalry regiment ever finds
itself fobbed off with Indian fodder.
men and horses show disgust in their
own way. Es
The Gurkha is proverbialiy an ac-
commodating person and gives his
British officer with whom he is on the
friendliest possible terms, as little diff
hculty as possible. But In Bombay
when regiment was embarking the
question arose as to whether they
would eat frozen meat. conclave OF
officers decided that 1t would be better
to put the case to the men. The SUI
badar was called, and, after little
wrinkling of the eyebrow, said: II
think. Sahib. the regiment will be will
ling to eat the iced sheep provided one
of them is always present to see the
animal frozen to DEATH"
Science the Germans Lack.
There are other complications, but
often aggravated or modified in the
case of men of the same denomination
by local or regimental influence and
tradition. The point Is that these men
need sympathetic handling; that they
are playing their proud part in our
war Is u proof that they have received
1t. 1t must be remembered that little
more than hundred years ago the
Sikhs were smearing Mohammedan
mosques with the blood of swine, and
the Mohammedans were fouling the
Sikh Gurudwara with slain cattle.
That these races who used to Kill
each other at sight should now be fight.
ing side by Side for the British Raj
against Germany Is n phenom enon that
should make the disciples of Treit.
schke look into their political philos.
ophy. What would Germany do with
an Eastern empire If she won 1t. when
her national vanity sanctifes Itself In
the faith that 1t is her mission to cor
rect or destroy all humanity that lie
not German thinking? Here Is another
text for the sermon Of Rernhardis
"biologicallyjust war and one which
the Prussian professors have mis sed.
Germany has certainly not got a
touch" AS a student of human nav
ture she Is imperfect The knowledge
Of the heart of man Is perhaps the ono
lore which she has not reduced to an
exact science. In Alsace she has
failed intact; in Belgium in loving kinds
ness. It is doubtful IL she can maIs the
Oriental love her. II. without losi = fIer
appalling singlemindedness, she Gould
send out few hundred young mar
every year of the type that lead our
Indian troops. she would be a moro
formidable rival for world power.