"I asked him -if. he would ptve me a lit
tle of the milk for the starving woman.
" 'No. 1 he said, 'I've "only enough ¦ for
my puppies.' : • .¦¦¦¦. '-. ¦- -•¦
"I took the woman , home and did for
her and the, baby as well as. l could. . A
few months later; the same . gentleman
came to see me one day. The baby had
grown fat and handsome.
¦¦,". 'How much will ." you take for the
jbaby?' he :asked. ;•-..: *r -.v :--¦: ,
¦..".'You cannot have It- at any price.' I
replied..' .'When It was, starving, you
'would not deprive your puppies of. a drop
of milk to keep It alive, and now you can
not have it." - . ..-'.¦-,'
¦- "lie was astonished, but repeated hi*
offer. ' He wanted a healthy child, which
might be trained to-be "a. good house ser
vant." • rss&& e &Bf*&t^9ATilfl<*M&tHl>**gBSli36
In my professional capacity and.- as, an
individual I have come, across- several
cases of cruel .indifference on the part of
those able to alleviate the suffering. ' But
never anything to equal this refusal to
deprive a ; pappy =of a little milk that a
child might be nourished. « l have general
ly fouud people *fceen to aid the natives.
even to the extent of Injuring their
health.- to say nothing of shrinking their
purses thereby. . . .
A great deal of activity Is belnjr shown
in India to build Irrigation works and
thus . protect it against * famine - from
drought. ¦By means "of irrigation it is
hoped to turn barren lands to fruitful
fields. But It takes time and a vast
amount of money »•» accomplish this.
The famine specter that for centuries
has stalked through India will be crippled
by modern methods, but It will be years, if
ever, before it is entirely laid. law.
*% "X OT many weeks ago 1 came upon
I \l a lmn<i of children merry making
IV in a leafy canyon of the Berkeley
I V foothills. They were happy,
\» healthy youngsters. as rosy
cheeked and lusty lunged as any
that ever romped up hill and down dale.
Tired of this nook, they made for the
next green knoll, leaving the remnants of
their pjcr.ic luncheon behind them.
I watched them scampering off so full
of life and health. I looked at the partly
filled boxes and bags left behind— a dozen
or more sandwiches, a hard-boiled egsr,
bits of cake an.l scraps of the odds and
ends mot her 5 tuck into the picnic basket.
Then somehow my mind went back to a
scene in India that I witnessed Just be
fore I left that country. I was passing
through one of the famine-stricken dis
tricts with several other people. By the
roadside cuddled a heap that on nearer
view proved to be several children. They
¦were lying almost naked, too weak to sit
t;p. their hungry-looking bones showing
pitifully, their faces drawn and gaunt.
We save them a luncheon which we
¦were carrying for ourselves. At the most
they had expected a coin or a bit of bread.
To them our simple fare was a repast fit
for the gods and as unexpected as though
it had fallen from heaven itself. They de
voured it greedily, even searching the
ground for a stray crumb. We ourselves
went without food until the next stopping
place, when we satisfied our hunger, but
never have we been able to erase the pic
ture of those emaciated hunger-mad chil
dren. Whenever I see children cramming
their little "tummies" full and gayly leav
ing the rest to the birds, I think of tho?e
hungry miles in India, who are grateful
for a morsel.
Why should India be subject to such Cre
quent famine?? Is nothing done to miti
pate them? -These ouestioni* are con
stantly asked by the uninformed.
There are many causes of the Indian
famines. Vnder former native govern
ments famines were regarded as visita
tions from the pods, and therefore beyond
the power pC man. So the officials did
nothing to prevent or lessen the ravages
of famine. "There-i.-- no remedy but the
mercy of God," the officials. Famine
gathered it« frightful tieatii harvest un
checked. People left to die did not com
plain against the officials, for, being fatal
ists themselves, they believed that human
efforts were powerless against the anger
of the gods.
Th« first great Indian famine of which
there is any authentic record is the. fam
ine of l~<). Prior to that year the stories
of natives and casual references In native
chronfcles are the only sources" of " in
formation. In 1770 tbe records say that
owir.g to a sudden failure of the periodic
rains "the fields of rice became like fields
of dried straw." The stock of seed
grain was equally devoured, and when
this was exhausted, leaves, grass and
linally the dead supplied sustenance for
the livir.g. Official accounts further state
that this famine resulted in the death of
more than a third of the population.
The recurrence of famines in Southern
Ir.dia. at intervals of about eleven years
has suggested the ingenious theory that
this periodicity accorded with the period
of sun spot variation. Though ingenious.
The theory is not credited by scientists.
A report of an expert says that famines
In India have arisen from several differ
ent causes, but the most general cause
has not been failure of the usual rains.
Storms and flood?, swarms of rats and
locusts, and the immigration of the starv
ing people from distant distressed parts
ir.xo districts otherwise well provided
¦wfth food supplies ar<? some of the causes
enumerated br this scientist. - i
If I were asked to give what I consider
the chief cause of the famine I should
promptly Kay — fatalism. Fatalism teaches
Them to believe that whatever Is must be.
a.r.!i they accept plague or famine without
stirring hand or foot to stay its progress.
Their sufferings are beyond imagination,
but death holds no fear for them, so they
offer no resistance to the scourges that
plow through their ranks and carry off
friends and relatives.
This indifference, founded on fatalism,
runs through all classes. The Rajah or
. Nawab !r. a famine-stricken district will
pper.d a fortune fcr his personal and
Eelf.fh gratiflcatlcr:. while around him his
for lack of. nourishment. The Rajah's
creed 'teaches him that the gods have sent
the. famine, so why should he open .his
coffers to allay It? Nor do the people 'ex
pect it. No hungry mob stones a prince's
palace. They take the good days and the
bad day? a<j evidence of the pleasure pr
wrath of the gods.
An English lady, a physician, was rnllod
to the palace of a Prince who ruled ov-. r
a famine-stricken district. She saved the
life of one of the newly acquired women
in his hairm. of whom he had not yet had
time to grow tired. He begged her to L*
allowed to show his gratitude, and to htj
surprise the lady asked that he (five a
public dinner to the people in the imme
diate neighborhood, numbering several
hundred souls.
The Indian Prince could not understr.nl
such a request; but h» acceded to It. after
ward, however, sending her the mary val
uable n:jr.» and hangings which had d*?c>
rau-d the apartment in the pa!ace givtn
over to her use.
Through Jier pleading this Indian P r 'r.re
was finally made to partly, see that human
intervention Is possible In a famine visita
tion. She Induced him to put Fuch a strict
watch over the native overseers that they
"could not pursue the dishonest methods
in that district by which they flaurlMi on
others. The native overseers are given i
certain* amount of grain to pay the pce.r
who labor In the fields. The pittance of
grain is measured out at the close of trie
day, and the wily overseer adulterates it
with sand, bo that the people only get a
fraction of their dii*. In famine tlnsvs
grain Is almost worth It* weight in golJ,
mitigate famine suffering, and also the
outside world has put it? hand deep into
its pocket for this stricken nation. Mis
takes have been made, but they were not
through carelessness, but rather ignor
ance and lack of co-operation of the na
tive dignitaries. To reduce to order and
method a gigantic organization for the
distribution of relief has' been a herculean
task. " . . , .
The the humanitarian work
is shown by comparing the d^ath rate
during the' recent famines with that of
JS7S-7*. Although the area and population
affected in the earlier famine were some
what smaller than In tin* recent one, the
death rate was much greater.
It is often said that foreigners li\-insr in
India soon become . thoroughly unsym
pathetic and hardened to suffering. .It is
true that we become hardened to sights
of suffering, for suffering in all Its forms
is ever before our eyes. But it. is not
true that the majority are unsympathetic.
A. calm exterior often hides an aching
heart, but where there are so many calls
on sympathy one must husband It and
give it judiciously.. I saw In a recent In
terview with Mrs. Harriet Tytler. who Is
now In New York -trying to ral.se funds
for an orphange in Tncin. the following
example N of selfishness. I quote'- Mrs.
Tytler exactly as she is quoted in the New
York Herald:
"Just before I left India I saw, sitting
outside one of the bazaars, a starving na
tive family, consisting of mother,, father,
son, and daughter. They were emaciated
beyond description and seemed too weak
even to ratKe their heads. An English
gentleman tossed them a rupee. At sight
Tn^s^s^nS Stcvy told by D^JoaePh'n^jSTtehottt, Who Has
Spent Five Years of Professional J
StUdU In the FarpTrte and PTaSUg SWck^H ¦D'rtVfcts oF India.
Cause and Effect of the Frigtful Scourge of Famine in India
THE SUXDA Y : CALL.
people fuccjmb to the hunger wolf. Ha
will load a favorite with wealth Jn Jewels
tvh!!e outside his palace walls starving:
mother* must watch tntlr little ones die
«o the overseer gets large profits for his
dishonest pilfering. ]
It Is only fair to say that the English
Government haa done all in Us power to
of It the woman started up and then fell
and rolled into the roudway— dead. The
sight of the silver had killed her.
? 'Orie day I found a poor starved mother
carrying her. child to the bazaar to sell
It.- I bought the child and told the mother
she might remain with It. >My next door
neighbor was an Englishman who had
several dogs. He was in his garden feed
ing his puppies with milk.^ ¦¦•-.-
9