The Washington herald., 1916-10-29
Seen and Heard by George Miner.

New York, Oct. 2S.-Ths is the harvest time
for street speakers. The campaign orators are
thick. Every street where there is an inter
section where there is any considerable traffic finds
one of these spellbnders shouting his head off
over the back of an automobile Republicans,
Democrats and Socialists are equally energetic in
this matter.
Of course as the political excitement runs higher
and higher these street speakers-be they good or
bad-never fail to draw at least fair-sized audi
ence, for every one seems to be more or less in
terested in politics. Therein lies the opportunity
for other speakers to promugate their various doc
trines and wares. The crowd hears man speak
ing and they think of course it is politics. They
gather and listen attentvely for few minutes and
frequently find very much to their amazement that
the speaker is neither booming Wilson nor Hughes
or any other candidate but simply trying to sell
books or patent medicine
typical corner is that at Ninety-sxth street
near Broadway. Hardly night passes but what
fall these four corners are occupied with speakers
carrying on four different meetings.
Last night l noticed one corner was occupied
by young man trying to talk like Roosevelt and
talking tor Wilson, the next corner by an old
gentleman who discussing Mexican affairs
from pro-Wilson standpoint another corner by
an Italian who could hardly speak English and
who was advocating Socialism. The fourth cor
ner, however, was the most interesting of all Here
an olive skinned with yellow turban on his
head and an extraordinarily happy delivery was
holding the close attention of several hundred
people while he told the story of Indias wrongs
under English rule. He mystifcd the crowd. They
took it for granted that of course he would ult-
mately swing his speech into something resembling
American politics, and they waited patiently He
did nothing of the kind He kept on telling them
interesting stories of life and customs in far away
India. He even took off his turban and showed
them how to wrap around the yard of silk and
make head covering
All sorts OF conjectures were made by those
listening to him as to what he was getting at The
prevailing opinion that in course Of time he
would offer for sale some kind of magic Indian
medicine. None in the audience probably knew
who he really was the object of his speech Just
once in the course of his talk he referred to the
fact that in the New York public libraries can be
found a book entitled Young India" written BY
him. He didn't give his own name and he
offered no books for sale.
This man is one of the best known public char
acters in India and in England He was none
other than Lajpat Raj whom the English de-
ported 10 BOMBAY and whose deportation resulted
in the bomb outrages that nearly started rcvoIu-
ton in the Indian Empire
Mr.. Raj was for more than twenty years a lead
ing member of the bar in Lahore He was the
head of the Arya Samaj, an influential religious
movement which rejects idolatry and caste He
was also head of the Swadeshi movement for the
promotion OF native industry. Two leading news
papers-one in India and one in London-pub-
ished charges of sediton against him. On his
release from prison in Bombay he brought legal
action against these papers and was victorious in
both cases.
Mr. Raj holds that it will be impossible for
Great Britain to ignore the nationalist movement
or to keep it down. He says the ancient history
of India refutes the idea of the unftness of ORR
entails for democratic institutions
1t indeed seemed a little strange to find this
martyr to cause playing the spellbinder on the
West Side of New York to lot of people who
thought that of course he was talking about Amer
lean politics. If didn't know MI Raj was a verv
earnest and humorless individual l would think he
was playing a joke the rubes Of New York.
Whether he was trying to joke with them or not
is of no consequence, for he certainly did fool
them.