Evening star., 1932-02-21
BY II. ". LAWRENCE.

n. W LAW nLlNNGs
N this year 1882 nearly half . billion peo-
ple are turning their attention reverently
toward two of the greatest men Of all
time. In the United States more than
hundred million persons are being remind
ed Just now of the virtues and achieve
ments of George Washington, born 200 years
ago. founder of a great republic.
In India, meanwhile Mahatma Gandhi is
receiving the devout admiration Of some three
hundred million aroused souls whom he seeks
to lead in the founding of another great repub-
lic If he should succeed in his gigangic enter
prise, the new Indian republic would be sister
to the American in this respect at least that
they would both have the same stepmother, the
British Empire.
It might seem at first glimpse, however. that
there would be few other similariaies between
either peoples or their leaders in these Two
epoch-making struggles for independence.
The Indian Gandhi and the American Wash
ington lived in strikingly different times and
employed utterly unlike methods in securing
their ends. 1t seems fairly clear that George
Washington and Mohandas Gandhi would nave
to undergo sharp changes in character ana
habits before they could see eye to eye on most
of the questions of life, great and small
A S to small matters. for instance. that OF
offers sharp contrasts.
A contemporary wrote of Washington: His
person was fine his stature exactly what one
would wish, his department easy erect and
noble; the best horseman of his age, and the
most graceful figure that could be seen on
horseback
A superficial glance at Gandhi shows almost
an antithesis to this gallant picture: He seems
incredibly frail," his large ears stand out
straight from round skull, most OF ms
teeth are gone," likewise most Of his clothes.
George Washington was moreover one OF the
wealthiest men in the United States OF his day.
Nor had he the slightest intention to become
poor: in fact, he managed his affairs with the
very evident purpose to preserve and increase
his riches.
In this respect, Gandhi is again his opposite,
practicing and recommending voluntary poverty.
Thus, in an address delivered last September in
London he said:
IT came definitely to the conclusion that,
had to serve the people in whose midst my life
was cast and of whose difficulties was witness
from day to day, I must discard all wealth, all
possession. I cannot tell you with truth that,
when this belief came to me, discarded every
thing Immediately. I must confess to you that
PROCESS at first slow.
"a ND now, as I recall those days OF
n struggle, I remember that it was also
painful in the beginning But, as days went by,
I saw that had to throw overheard many other
things which used to consider as mine, and
time came when it became a matter OF positive
Joy to give up those things.
IT tell you that it is beyond description, the
bliss the happiness, and the ability that this
voluntary poverty gives one can only say:
try it and experiment with it, test it for your
selves"
The contrast between these two men of power
Is no less remarkable In regard to the times in
which they lived and the methods they en-
ployed.
In Washington's day the world was very large.
II took numerous weeks to get troops, or even
messages, from England to America Rebels
we're harder to subdue then at 5000 miles away
than they would be today at $4,000.
On the other hand, the number Of rebels to
be subdued then was only about one per cent
of the number today, and it is difficult to be-
Ieve that less than three million Americans
would not be somewhat easier to conquer than
three hundred million assorted Indians, even
though the latter fought according to the ex-
tremely futuriStic rules Of nOn-resistant warfare
that Gandhi recommends
It must be remembered, too, that the little
strip of North American Atlantic seacoast oc-
cupied by the English colonies in the eighteenth
century was not regarded at that time as very
important part Of the mighty British Empire;
its share in supporting the imperial prosperity
was quite unworthy to be compared with that
of India today. It had too little economic value
to be worth very costly war.
"A /ASHINGTON and his fellow rebels had .
w great handicap, t5wever, in the fact that
they were fighting for a new and unpopular
idea in government; an idea which most Of the
respectable people in the world of that time
firmly opposed as q dangerous and subversive
political heresy: the idea Of democracy.
Besides, England is far stronger now than she
was in 1776
She now has at her command, as her rebel
antagonists have not all the resources Of .
highly mechanical civilization for manufactur-
ing the armaments and munitions of military