The Washington herald., 1922-03-02


Busy at Spinning wheel.
That is the spirit Of GandhPs
inner circle. He is master
philosopher of God to these men
and women.
Finally the secretary disappeared
and reappeared, beckoning me to
follow him. A chair was carried
into the room ahead Of me. A
group of Hindus. garbed in home
| spun, parted and ] was in the pres
ence of Gandhi. Seated on a quilt
| OF homespun. with q great home.
spun pillow at his back, Mahatma
was busy with a spinning wheel.
He was sparse OF figure. his head
| shaved, except for one thin gray
lock at the crown, and his ears
protruded. He wore silver-framed
glasses. As he smiled a welcome
I noticed that several Of his teeth
were missing. g..
You are from America. BE
seated. I have long wanted to talk
with America through your great
newspapers" he said. as he ex-
tended his hand. He was naked
save for a loinr cloth of white home
| spun. which he had probably woven
himself. I glanced at the wheel
| curiously.
More Effective Than Gsns.
That" he said. 'is our weapon.
IT. is more effective than machine
guns and mightier than armies. AL
| ready there are 100000 in the
Punjab. Far away Manchester is
beginning to feel its force. 1t Is
| touching the Briton in his most
vulnerable spot-his pocketbook."
The setting for the interview was
primitive. He was not an easy
man to interview. He answered
my questions slowly and volun-
teered no information.
That, then" I ventured. pointing
to the wheel. "is the means by
which you hope to gain Indian in
dependence"
That is the symbol of the move
ment. yes" Gandhi replied. When
every home in India turns to its
own spinning wheel for its cloth,
our battle is won. There will be
no need for violence"
Power In Nea-Cs-operattsa.
But you are facing 200. 900 armed
men," I said.
What can these armed men do
in India II we do not aid? II every
indian folds his arms and refuses
| to cooperate with the forces which
rule the country, they are helpless.
II the Indians refuse everything,
even to 4 blade Of grass. the Brit
ish army cannot live a week in
India.
civil disobedience. Imprisonment
until the prisons can hold no more,
! and refusal to cooperate with
Great Britain so long as she gov
erns 1ndii in the present corrupt
way, will win all for u.s.
what about Bordoli? why was
the test OF mass civil disobedience
abandoned there on the eve of put
ting 1t into operation? What OF
tire two previous attempts" I then
asked.
Test oaIy Postponed.
'Bordoli was abandoned Because
the country was not ready. The
principles OF nonviolence had not
yet made themselves felt. There
fore we postponed the test. but it
las not been abandoned. We will
continue our work Of sowing seeds
which will come to a sure harvest.
We will continue individual dis
obedience and boycott. When the
time 10 ripe we shall call ell India
| to lay down its tools and British
weapons and to refuse to pay taxes.
When that time comes the wheels
| OF tho government and industry will
cease to turn until Great Britain
gives US what we want. We have
made three errors: we will not
make q <ourth attempt until the
time Is ripe"
! But when crops and homes are
seized, fines collected. and men i'm
prlsoned, how can your policy heln
from leading TO violence?" ] asked.
1T can and will. We must team
all our people that all they need
to do is to cease working. suffer
little while. and starve II neces-
sary. Then the battle Is won"
Wrongs Must BE Redre.sed.
What do you ask from Eng
lsnd:"
THAT depends" he said. Barring
two points we are willing to negoti-
ate, but on two points there Is no
argument. II Great Britain grants
US these two demands We are will
ing to accept the status OF a do
minion. with the right to complete
independence when we wish II. We
are willing to enter into partner
ship with Great Britain and to be-
come a nation in the British EN-
pire with her to guarantee the
peace of the world.
| These are our two demands:
THE Punjab and Khalifat wrongs
must be redressed and Islam must
be restored to her proper dignity.
Those corrupt officials who have
robbed and laid waste the Punjab
must be discharged and the pensions
Of those who have retired must be
stopped.
Wants Turkey Restored.
"As to Islam. the Christian ma
tions must understand that Moham-
mechanism Is q dignified religion.
Turkey must be restored as nearly
as possible to its pre-war frontiers
and the other Islamic countries
must be given their proper places
III the concert Of nations. II Great
Britain refuses these two points,
then our goal IL complete .indepen-
dence. There will be no peace in
India. no terms with England until
these ends have been achieved.
"As q dominion India would well
come the Viceroy. but the actual
government Of India must be in the
hands of Indians"
(cspyrisht. lsas)
Gives Reception March IA.