Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-09-28

while, the Macdonald Labor government came
into power and renewed former pledges that
India should eventually have dominion status.
But the year 1929 drew TO close and the
Gandhi ultimatum had not been met.
Gandh went into action. India must be
aroused.
TO arouse such composite group of peo-
ples-250, OO0, 0OO-divided into castles and
Sects and counter religions. he must have some
common denominator which all would under.
stand. He chose the salt tax.
Shortly after the close of the World War
the finance minister of the Indian govern
ment had doubled the tax on salt to prevent
a deficit In the national budget, which was
threatened by an elaborate building program
to house the government secretariat At the
time 1t was denounced as blow to the poorest
Of midas poor, for no fewer than 100000
persons in India barely maintain life with
daily mite of rice cooked with salt as its sole
condiment. Moreover, the use of native salt
was forbidden by the government monopoly
To accomplish his war on the salt tax.
Gandhi again chose the weapon of non-violent
civil disobedience. He proclaimed that ON a
certain hour of certain day he and group
of his followers would march from Ahmadabad
toward Dandi. on the sea coast and that
there he would in person break the salt mono-
poly law and the salt tax law by manufacture
ing salt from water he would take from the
sea.
Under the sweltering heat of the tropics the
march was begun. Gandhi stolidly leading the
way, attired only in loincloth of homespun. AS
the march progressed, disease attacked the
ranks of the marchers but Gandhi pushed on
and an ever-increasing line of followers filled
the gaps left by those stricken. Arriving at last
at Dandi, Gandhi informed the world that at
am. on April 6 he would violate the salt law
And precisely on the minute he committed
the crime.
He had expected to be arrested at once.
Before leaving Ahmadabad he had made his
will and appointed series of leaders who were
to succeed him, the list arranged so that as
each expected arrest followed, a new leader
would step into the gap and his followers.
would always have directing hand. But on
this point the British had outmaneuvered him.
He was not arrested at Dandi when he openly
defied the salt law. Instead, those men
scheduled to succeed him were being quietly
taken into custody, one at time.
Before he was finally arrested, the first
week in May, his nonviolent campaign had
begun to. get out of hand. The more radical
of his followers had broken their vows and
struck back at their assailants. Rioting had
begun When Gandhi went to Jail he was in
part dscredited
Thereafter the situation in India was
altered. Instead of an almost solid Gandhi
movement peculiarly Sp7CCeQ SITUATION ap-
peared The Moslems began to break with the
Hindus The more liberal elements leaned
toward arbitration. Rioting continued even
increased. There was talk of releasing Gandhi
to quiet conditions-a procedure followed six
years before, when violence threatened to be-
come widespread. But even in prison Gandhi
remained in touch with and somewhat in con-
troll of his forces.
IN the north, around Peshawar, the Afridi
tribesmen began to occupy British attention,
and the Gandhists gradually quieted down.
London began to hope that Gandhi was going
into another eclipse.
But London guessed wrong. The Gam
dhists were only shifting their attack The
boycott on British-made goods. particularly
cloth, had been secondary phase of the
homeopathic campaign. Now it became the
major tenet. Business fell of alarmingly
At the height Of the boycott crisis the
61-year-old Mahatma once more played an ace
From his prison cell Gandhi sent emissaries
TO Viceroy Lord Irwin with a message After q
conference with his lieutenants, also In Jail.
the Mahatma had decided to call off the nom
cooperative campaign, boycott and all--on two
conditions. First, the Macdonald government
and the government of India must sponsor
dominion status as their own policy at the
forthcoming conference in London. Second.
they must declare an amnesty for all political
prisoners