Evening star., 1937-07-25
BY WILLIAM b. BENTON.

SEGAON, India (NAN.A) The
mahatma reached over his legs,
crossed before him on the floor. He
grasped my hand firmly. like any good
Tammany politician. You'd better
sit over there" he said, motioning to
. vanished box about half the size Of
an orange crate, six feet directly in
front of him. This box was the only
article of furniture in the room.
AS an American advertising man
travelling with press credentials, Ma
hatma Gandhi had granted me an
interview. Mahadev Desai, for 20
years his secretary, told me it was
the first interview this year given any
writer or press representative. The
mahatma is partial to Americans. He
cannot get a direct hearing in the
English press. His only chance to
reach the English is at rare intervals
through America. He once called
Americans brothers.
Segaon is thatch-roofed Indian
village of IS or 100 mud houses. Most
Of Segaon's 500 inhabitants are 'un-
touchables." They are of India de-
pressed class, those the mahatma calls
Harlan" or man Of God
You reach Segaon by train from
Delhi-after 26 hours. I had ar
rived the evening before at hotelless
Wardha, the nearest railroad station
and five miles distant After sleep
less, mosquito-ridden night on a
bench in the station I had hired a
two-wheeled cart and had driven
across a plain, as fiat and Scorching
as Kansas at its worst, to the ma
hatma's ashram. Ashram, a famous
word in Hindustani, means the rest
ing place or hermitage Of the holy
man.
Windows Are Small.
Gandhiji-the I'll" is a mark Of
respect-received me in his mud plas
ter one-story bungalow. Hut would
be a more accurate name for it. A
small room is tackled on to main
room, perhaps Is by 25 feet. Three
crude bamboo grills, no larger than
small napkins, serve as windows.
Thirty feet to the rear CT the Ma
hatma's hut is another, about half as
large, with two Closet-sized rooms
opening on a narrow porch. There
6-year-old, Gandhi's grandson
stands and bawls for 10 minutes, re-
fusing to be comforted by black
bearded Indian who stops his work
to kneel before the boy. This hut IS
q separate home for Mrs. Gandhi,
mother of four sons. The Mahatna
once advocated abstinence to Mrs.
Margaret Sanger as the only accept
able method Of birth control.
His eldest son. middle-ag man.
Is a turncoat Hindu; few months
ago he switched to Mohammedanism
then back to Hinduism again. He
likes the softer, better things OF life
He is not the son of the father. The
other three sons are sympathetic with
the Mahatma,s movement, but do not
seem to be actively of it. Little is
heard of them in India.
Miss Siade Lives Near.
Further on to the rear, behind Mrs.
Gandhis hut Is third dun-colored
structure, about twice the size Of
double bed. Here lives Miss Madeleine
Slade. The daughter OF an English
admiral, Miss Slade for Is years has
been a follower of Gandhi. Potent
today in the movement 10 improve the
lot Of the Indian ryot or village
farmer, she Is perhaps second only
to the Mahatma as leader of Indian
women of all races and creeds
On the near side Of Miss Slade's
cabin two spinning wheels are mold
ed cameolike on the mud wall. The
spinning wheel is a symbol of Gan
dhi's work. It appears on the flag
of the all-India Congress party, Gan
dhis nationalist political organiza-
ton, which recently won an over
whelming victory in the first election
under the new India constitution.
In this primitive setting in the
heart Of India, Gandhi has lived for
year. Here may he live for years
to come. To plumberless wardha the
working committee of the Congress
party migrates for crucial meetings.
Here Gandhi maintains his spiritual
overlordship while he delegates active
political leadership to others.
Today he is avoiding the direct
spotlight, gathering strength in repose
for his next rhythmic attack on the
English raj. Yet his hold on poll
ticlans remains as strong as ever. His
magnetic power over the masses is un-
dlmmed. His closest associates do
not know his next move. All agree,
however, that where he leads, tens of
millions of Indians follow.
Blood Pressure Treatment.
AS I settle myself on my box. I
notice that the Mahatma s knee-length
dhoti, usually his only article of ap-
parel, is supplemented by white head
bandage fastened in front by a single
safety pin. Gandhi's secretary later
told me that this turban contains
ordinary dirt. carefully sifted through
clean white cloth and kept well
molstened. This treatment, plus gar
lie, Mr.. Mahadev said, has brought
the Mahatma's high blood pressure of
year ago down to normal. The secre-
tary credlts the cure to German
doctor. DR.. Jost, and assures me
that mother earth has remedial pow-
ers unrecognized by Western science.
The Mahatma's eyes flash and sub
side behind his spectacles as he waits
for me to begin. I hesitate. He gives
me no lead or encouragement. He sits
Cross-legged on the floor in a narrow
recess formed on two sides by a corner
OF the room and on the third by a
shoulder-hlgh pile of books and boxes.
Shadow light drifts through the
doors and the small bamboo grills,
This is conscious staging, simple
illustration Of Gandhi's gift for the
theatrical. Here the Mahatma be-
nignly reigns like the idol In its way
side temple, gathering unto himself
the traditions and powers Of the
5,o00-year-old Hindu gods.
ask him some questions about In
dian politics, about the victorious Con-
gress party's policies.
(The Congress party, while accept