Grand Forks herald. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1916-1955, 1917-12-15
Former Local Man Visiting
Brother Here-Is Interna-
tional'Y. M. c. A. Secre-
tary in India-Great Eco
nomic Service Given in
That Country.

Few men who have visited Grand
Forks have had more interesting ex-
periences than have fallen to the lot
of o. o. stanchfeld. who is in the city
as h guest of his brother. NJ.
~Stanchfield. Mr.. Stanchf1eld has for
the past four years been International
secretary of the Y. NJ. C. A. in India,
and during the last year, since May,
he has been travelling in the United
States in the interest of the work Of
back to India, and expects to leave
Vancouver next Thursday, after call
ing en- route on another brother in
Spokane. He is no stranger in Grand
Forks. as he attended the law school
at the university in 1903 and 1904,
going from here to Ann Arbor, Mich,
where he vol advanced college work..
After the close of his university work
he entered Y. M. c. A. work, in which
he has been engaged ever since. His
first Y. M. c. A. experience was in
Grand Forks and he was interested
yesterday in finding that H. H. Tuttlc.
who was general secretary of the local
association during his residence here,
was again on the job after several
years. absence.
i Is Interesting Man.
During his residence in India Mr..
Stanchfeld has accumulated a store
of knowledge of East Indian customs
and character which make him an
exceedingly interesting man to meet.
He is stationed at Bangalore, a city
of 200, 900, in the province Of Mysore,
which is the headquarters for associ<
alton work throughout India. in
M~esopotamia n in East Africa. In
addition to this, because of the rela-
lively low cost of maintenance, BAN
galore has been used as a training
station for large numbers of associ-
alton workers in many other fields.
The work, therefore, covers a Wild
field. and those in charge Of it come
in contact with many sides of human
nature and pass through many and
varied experiences.
A few minutes talk with Mr..
stanchfield speedily h i'm
preston, if that impression exists,
that the work of the Y. NJ. G.. A. is
confined either solely or chiefly to the
holding of religious meetings. The
work in India, as it is in fact every
where else, is religious in its basis.
but ii it's method it touches the lives
of the people at every point. In India
it is. very largely an economic work.
as the economic condition of the peo-
pie lies at In root of most Of the
social and religious problems which
are presented there. In order to place
the work where the need is greatest
the activities of the association in that
great district is chiefly in the rural
districts and small villages, where the
,condition Of the people is one of alb
iect poverty. A few illustrations will
Indicate the spirit and method of the
work. -
Girls Sometimes Welded Before Birth
All Indian girls must be married.
and while the child may be welded
in infancy, and in some cases actually
before birth, she must be married be-
fore the age Of about IA. With the
bride goes 9. dowry, which is provided
by her parents. Among h very
poor, who constitute h bulk of the
rural and village population. that
dowry amounts to about $500 of our
money, In most cases that must be
borrowed, and the local money loaner
charges a rate of interest, payable
monthly, which amounts to about rs
per cent per annum. The wages Tor
common labor in those districts vary
from $500 to $3.50 a, month, hence
%one-fourth of the total earnings OF
the father are required to meet the
interest on the loan for the dowry OF
one daughter. The result is that with
several daughters to be married off
and the ordinary expenses Of mainte.
nance to be met, the head of the
family is apt to be kept in a condition
. which amounts to slavery
AS a means Of combating this evil
the Y. M. G. A. has organized a o
operative banking system which bears
q striking resemblance to the rural
credits system recently established ir
this country. A central bank has
been created which supplies funds tc
the local organizations. These loca,
I IT, - 80 1i~1lnc - yoAAn I'm M
small groups of local borrowers, tC
whom money is loaned at 9 per cent
Instead Of Is. All the members OF
each local group are responsible fol
the debts Of all their members, and
this plan insures a common interest In
the payment Of all obligations. 1t has
been found that with this system in
practice the borrower, instead of be-
ing held in perpetual serfdom. Is able
!: to wipe out his obligation within a
reasonable time.
Money is also loaned for productive
enterprises Of various kinds. The In
dian custom il to pillow the ground by
scratching the surface with q crooked
stick. This practice has been fol.
lowed for generations, partly because
the spirit Of representation, which
strongly characterizes these people
prevents the adoption of improved
methods in time, and because thert
Il q general feeling that what wa
GOOD enough for ones father and
Grandfather ought to be good enough
for him. The result is that the fer
tility has been extracted from tht
surface soil, while the lower eartf
remains untouched. The Y. M. G. A
has caused improved plows to be in
troduced in many sections, and ,tht
bringing up Of the lower soil has In
rrasaad production several fold. TheY