Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1920-04-16
HINDU, CHRISTIAN, MOAMME:DAN UNITE
 FOR A DRY INDIA
Financial Problem is Chief Difficulty to be Over-
 come

A prohibition movement looking to make India dry by gradual stages and uniting under it's banner leaders of Mohammedanism and Hinduism with Christian missionaries. has been unlcashed in the British dependency prlmadily as q result of the Reform bill which handed over the Depart ment of Excise to native control According to the Rev E. T. Badley, of Lucknow, executive secretary for India of the Methodist Centenary Movement, recently arrived in New York:
 "As long as excise was controlled by England herself" said Mr. Bad ley, "a temperance and prohibition movement was impossible Four or five years ago when the Indian rep resentatives on the Niccroy's Council introduced resolution looking to the introduction of prohibition into India, the Imperial Legislative Coun- cil divided with every British off cial voting against the measure and every native for it. The British ma jority won.
 But under the new reform Gov ernment both the Imperial and the Provincial Legislative Councils have great majoritles of Indian members. bill looking to prohibition that may come forward now is likely to meet with d very different fate. "Realizing this, the Methodist Cen tenary has organized a department which aims to wipe out the Hindcn- burg line of rum in India and trusts to the fullest cooperation of both Hindus and Mohammcdans in this undertaking. Already Hindus and Mohanimedan leaders arc serving on our committees. Our organization is such that it can go clean through the country, for Methodism is represent ed in all parts of India There isn't a railroad junction of any impor tance where we are not establiShed.'
 Although, according to Mr. Badley, thoughtful men of all religions and all political parties are supporting the prohibition movement, there is an almost insurmountable obstacle in the way of early success. This is due to the fact that the budget for edu- cation is largely drawn from the ex- i else revenue.
 "Educaton," he continued, "is one of the most important problems be- fore India today, especially in viey of 1 the transcendent importance of pre- pairing an intelligent constituency for a Government that looks forward to achieving democracy. There is no municipal tax for education. There fore, ii excise were to be dispensed with at one sweep, education would be stifled
 "What will happen is problemati- cal. It is likely, however, that some scheme will be worked out whereby liquor sales will be reduced by year ly gradations, and each depletion of the liquor money paid into the edu- cational fund will be made up by some other form of taxation. Thus new sources for educational funds can be opened up gradually, liquor being dispensed with gradually until eliminated. In the past forty-five years the revenue derived from ex- else had increased from $6,000,000 tc $40,000,000 year.
 "It is sometimes said outside of India," he continued, "that only the white man drinks and the native is abstemious. That is not true. Buff faloes carrying great leather bags across their backs filled with the palm wine toddy made from the palm tree are driven from village to viii lage. Men, women and children come out to get their supplies in brass ol earthen vessels. Children drink Il right on the streets. Everybody also drinks crude liquor made from the
 mahua flower which is most deadly in it's effect. In some regions the village soloon is a shack that is aban-
 doned as soon as conditions mako that desirable. Shacks where liquor is sold are put up along the way where fairs are held. In the cities too, drinking is greatly on the in, crease, especially in the matter o1 foreign liquors.
 "The Koran is not keeping Moham medans from drinking, although il forbids any follower of the prophet to touch liquor. The Hindu's sacrce books are not preventing the Hindt
 from drinking, and neither is the Ri
 ble preventing the Christians iron
 drinking"
 Born in India forty-four years ago
 son of the founder and first Presi
 dent of Lucknow College, MT. BadleJ
 has lived most of his life in India
 being educated, however, in Amcric' at Ohio Wesleyan College and Co
 lumbia University. He is the autho1 of number of books.
 One effect of the extension of thu Indians powers of government , it appears, and one which will hav' , increasing scope as the natives come } more into power with the fuller de velopment of home rule, is that Hin , dus and Mohammcdans arc squcez t ing out the native Christians now II ] Government service. The Methodis , organization, according to Mr. Bad
 ley, has plans for co-operativc-storc , on mission sites in large center , such as Lucknow and Calcutta. Elm / ploymcnt might be found for man, l Christian ex-civil servants as mana . gers of these establishments. EIGHT SAILORS DROWN.