Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-02-28

Of opinion among both Europeans and
Indians as 20 the speed towards which
the home rule goal should he ap-
preached The great bulk Of the peo-
pie Of india are illiterate. something
IKE 81 Per cent, according 10 the lat
est statistics. but among the other
per cent there are many highly edu-
Gated and brilliant men who could be
called upon to play their part in gov
eminent Home rule can never be-
come an accomplished fact until
trained body of Indians has been rails
ad np And 5n order to achieve this
one or tire most important steps win
be the opening up Of the civil service
20 sffli greater extent 60 the edu-
Gated Indian. Not oniv must this be
done. but Indian and British govern
Eent employees must be placed on the
same footing ana must learn TO WORK
in close cooperation.
Foreigners ia considering home
rule for india often make the mistake
OF looking upon India as q nation AS
q matter IF 1aCt. Hiudusrau represents
many races ana many languages. and
III the process OF uniHCaEiun there are
q
there would be- for instance. in an at
tempt to bring an the various coun-
tries Of North and South America uu-
der one government
Moreover. the average Indian Of
the so-caIled iIIiterate class knows
nothing Of politics and takes no inter
est IN problems Of government He
IFS mainly concerned with his own lit
ne personal matters, and so long as
conditions of government favor him IN
the pursuit of bis AFFAIRS it makes
small adherence 10 him what that gov
eminent is or what shape it takes
The ideas Of democracy are entire
iE foreign - the bulk or india. For
endless centuries until the assump-
ton OF British rule. the people were
governed as a conquered race, and so
thoroughly has the idea of subsection
been tushlled that III viii be exceed
ingIy hard for them ID break away
from the belief that they can have no
voice in governing themselves. But
all this is bound To change gradually
with the spread Of general education.
"One great stumbling block TO the
way of democracy is the fact that the
Indian never has learned to bow TO
the VIII Of the majority This may be
seen wherever bodies or Indians come
together for the discussion OF matters
Of mutual interest Opinion lis divid-
ed along partisan lines, family racial
ana religious ties playing an Impor-
tanC part in the division. The fact that
the majority decide that certain things
are for the best means nothing % the
minority and a split Of the body into
two or more factions IS almost newt
able This characteristic is something
ia
cess can be achieved i'm the matter Of
popular government
There are numerous other features
which present obstacles 10 the home
rule advocates We have two great
religious bodieE-Lhe Hiudus and Mo
manned whose interests at pres
emit are largely at variance with each
other. Some Indian politicians viii
tell you THE claim that Hjudue and
N0hammedaus cannot work iu har-
mony is pure faltacy- but te one who
has spent many vcaTa In India and has
made deep study of these questions,
H. seems an almost Eelf-evideHt fact
that the Chasn TO bee bridEed between
these two bodies is wide and deep
Ultimately, through a process az edu-
cation Hindus and Nohammedans viii
be drawn together into close enough
p
iu unison for the common good We
have seen similar conditions fu the
past history Of many countries. and
while the question of religions 81 the
moment lis q most important one, yer
do not feel that If ts a permanent
barrier in tine way Of political prog
ress for India
Despite am the drawbacks to home
rule, ] have great faith.5u the capacity
Of India To govern itself ultimately
and 10 do il we'll The Indians are O.
Wonderful people. and while they lack
certain characteristics which we of
the west consider important. u some
other features they hg We shown them
selves to be our superiors. The peo-
pie Of this vast empire are rOusIng In
a remarkable manner from the leth-
argy into which they had sunk
II cannot, OF course. set myself up
as spokesman Of the government Of
India but I have talked with many
officials on the question Of home rule,
and I may say that i'm general Z have
/ gathered the impression that the Brit
( ish government intends 10 do all that
may seem possible to facilitate the en-
trance or Indians who are qualified to
( higher positions in the government
Z service.