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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (July 1, 1906)
been Ignored, and Indians excluded from service for which Iney were fitted, but he charges that the antagonism between the officials and the people Is growing and that there Is among civilian magistrates "an undoub'ed tendency to Inflict severe sentences when natives of India arc concerned, and to Impose light and some times Inadequate punishment upon offenders of their own race," and that In trials "In which Englishmen are tried by English Juries" the result Is son.etlmrs "a failure of Justice not falling short of Judicial scandal." If Justice cannot be found in the courts, where shall it be sought? After the Indian mutiny the queen In a proclamation promised that natives should be freely and impartially admitted to offices, "the duties of which they might be qualified by their education, ability and Integrity to disc. ' cra Lytton, a Tlceroy of India, in a confidential document which got Into print, speaking of the pledges of the sovereign and the Parliament of England, said: "We all know that these claims and expectations never can or will be satisfied. We have had to choose between prohibiting them (the natives of India) and cheating them, and we have chosen the least straightforward course," and again: "Since I am writing confidentially, I do not hesitate to say that both the governments of England and of India appear to me, up to the present moment, unable to answer satisfactorily the charge of having taken every means in their power of breaking to the heart the words of promise they had uttered to the ear." The government of India is as arbitrary and despotic as the government of Russia ever was, and in two respects it Is worse. First, it Is administered by an alien people, whereas the officials of Russia are Russians. Second, It drains a large part of the taxes rled out for the benefit of European interest, regardless of the act harmoniously together. The first argument will not Impress any welfare of the masses. unprejudiced traveler who ha come lute contact with the educated So great has been the drain, the Injustice to the reople and the classes. There are enough Informed, college trained, men In India, tax upon the resources of the country, that famines have Increased not to speak of those who. like our own ancestors a few centuries In frequency and In severity. Mr. Gokhale. one of the ablest of ago, have practical sense and good Judgment without book learning, India's public men, presided over the meeting of the last Indian na- to guide public opinion. While the percentage of literacy Is der-lor- tlonal congress (held In December) and declared that the death rate ably small, the total number of educated men is really conslder- had steadily risen from 24 to the 1.000 In 1882-4 to 30 in 1892-4, able, and there are at this time 17.000 students above the secondary and to 34 at the present time. I have more than once within the schools and studying for the B. A. degree. There Is not a district of last month heard .the plague referred to as a providential remedy any considerable size that has not some intelligent men in it, and for over-PODulation. Think of it. British rule Justified because these could be relied upon to direct the government until a larger "It keeps the people from killing each other," and the plague praised because it removes those whom the government has saved from slaughter! Railroad and Other Problems The railroads with all their advantages have been charged with number are qualified to assist. It is true that native princes have often seemed Indifferent to the welfare of their subjects princes who have lived in great luxury while the people have been neglected, but today some of the native states vie with those controlled by European officials In education and material advancement. And Is not the very fact that the people are left under the government of native princes In the native states conclusive proof that In all the adding to the weight of famine by carrying away the surplus grain nment coud be adrnInl8tered wltnout the aid of so In good years, leaving no residue for the years of drouth. While European9T grain can now De carriea dsck more easily iu uiucs ui iwhuj, mo people are too poor to buy it with two freights added. The storage of grain by the government at central points until the new crop is safe, would bring some relief, but it has not been attempted. If It Is argued that the railroads have raised the price of grain In the interior by furnishing a cheaper outlet to the sea, it must be remembered that the benefit has accrued not to the people, nearly all of whom are tenants, but to the landlords, the government being the largest holder. large The second argument is equally unsound. To say that the Indians would necessarily fight among thenv.elves Is to Ignore the progress of the world. There was a time when Europe was the scene of bloody religious wars, and our country Is indebted to the persecu tion of the Pilgrims In England for some of its best pioneers. There has been a growth in religious tolerance during the last century, and this is as noticeable In India as elsewhere. Already the intel lectual leaders of all sects and elements of the Indian population are mingling in congresses, conferences and public meetings. Al ready a national spirit is growing which, like the national spirit in Not only are the people being Impoverished, but the land is out of the country, whereas the Russian government spends at being worn out. Manure which ought to be used to renew the fields Rn and Amerlca dlsregard8 rellglous lines and emphasir.es home the money which It collects from the people. A third dls- Is consumed as fuel, and no sight Is more common In India than that more mQre the broad soclal needg wMch Rfe eommon t0 aI1; and advantage might be named, since the czar nas aireaay create or women ana cnuaren garnering manure ru.u tue n.u. ,ncrea8e of Renera, educatlon there wlu De stln more unity a legislative body, whereas England continues to deny to the Indians hands. This, when mixed with straw and sun dried Is used in place natlonal .etiment. Those who make this argument also forget of wood, and from the amount of it carried In Baskets, it must Dlalnta)ng 80verelgnty lt wl be lmpos8lble DO one oi me cniei articles ui mercimuuisw. iucm mo u !. any form of representative or constitutional government. Tax Drain On the Indians ,r, The people of India are taxed, but they have no Tolce in the amount to be collected or in the use to be made, of the revenue. They pay Into the government nearly $225,000,000 a year, and of this nearly $100,000,000 Is expended upon an army In which Indians cannot be officers. It Is not necessary to keep such an army merely to hold the people In subjection If the Indians are really satisfied with English rule, and If the army Is Intended to keep Russia from taking India, as Is sometimes claimed, why should not the British government bear a part of the burden? Would lt not be wiser to so attach the Indian people to the British government that they would themselves resist jjr-aexation to Russia? The home charges, as they are called, absorb practically one-third of the entire revenues. About $100,000,000 go out of India to England every year, and over $15,000,000 Is paid to European officials in the civil employ. What nation could stand such a drain without impoverishment? Taxation is nearly twice as heavy in India as in England in pro portion to the Income of the people. Compared with the people of other countries, the Indian's Income is, on an average, one-twentieth of the average English Income, one-seventh of the average Spaniard's Income, one-sixth of the average Italian's income, one fifth of the (European) Russian's income, and one-half of the Income of the Turk. Sir Henry Cotton shows that the average per capita deposit in banks In England is $100, while the average per capita de posit in India Is 50 cents; but how can the Indian be expected to have a large bank account when the average yearly income is only ten dollars? I have, In another article, referred to the Jewelry worn by Indian women. The bracelets and anklets are sliver, except tracts of useless land that might be brought under cultivation if the Irrigation system were extended. Proof of this is to be found in tho fact that the government of India has already approved of exten sions which, when made, will protect 7,000,000 acres and irrigate 3,000,000 acres. The estimated cost of these extensions is about $45,000,000, and the plans are to be carried out "as funds can be provided." Ten per cent of the army expenditure, would complete the system within five years, but instead of military expenses being reduced, the army appropriation was increased more than $10,000, 000 between 1904 and 1905. Of the total amount raised from taxation each years about 40 per cent Is raised from land, and the rate is so heavy that the people cannot save enough when the crops are good to feed themselves when the crops are bad. More than ten per cent of the total tax is collected on salt, which now pays about five-eights of a cent per pound. This is not only a heavy rate, when compared with the original cost of the salt, but it is especially burdensome to the poor. The Bait tax has been as high as one cent a pound, and when at that rate materially reduced the amount of salt consumed by the people. The poverty of the people of India Is distressing In the extreme; millions live on the verge of starvation all the time, and one would think that their very appearance would plead successfully in their behalf. The economic wrong done to the people of India explains the political wrong done to them. For more than twenty years an Indlas national congress has been pleading for a modified form of repre- for religious differences to lead to war and that differences in council would strengthen rather than weaken her position. Illiteracy a Disgrace to England But why is there a lack of intelligence among the Indians? Have they not had the blessings of British rule for several genera tions? Why have they not been fitted for self-government? Glad stone, whose greatness of head and heart shed a luster upon all Europe, said: "It is liberty alone which fits men for liberty. This proposition, like every other in politics, has Its bounds; but it is far afer than the counter doctrine, wait till they are fit." How long will It take to fit the Indians for self-government when they are denied the benefits of experience? They are ex cluded from the higher civil service (ostensibly open to them) by a cunningly devised system of examinations which make lt impossible for them to enter. Not only are the people thus robbed of oppor tunities which rightfully belong to them, but the country is deprived of the accumulated wisdom that would come with service, for the alien officials return to Europe at the end of their service, carrying back their wisdom and earnings, not to speak of the pen sions which they then begin to draw. The illiteracy of the Indian people Is a disgrace' to the proud tatlon which for a century and a half has controlled their destiny. The editor of the Indian World, a Calcutta magazine, says in last February's number: "If India has not yet been fit for free institutions it is cer tainly not its fault. If, after one and a half centuries of British rule tAntotlvo ernvomment Tint fnr a flpverlncp of the tift that binds India to Qreat Britain, but for an Increased voice In their local affairs. But (indla remains where lt was in the middle ages, what a sad coraJ this request cannot be granted. Why? Because a local government,' mentary must lt be upon the civilizing Influences of that rule! composed of natives selected by the people would protest against so When the English came to India this country was the leader of Asl- among the poorest, and this was formerly a form of hoarding, but iarge an army, reduce the taxes and put Indians at lower salaries ctlc civilization and the undisputed center of light in the Asiatic the suspension of the coinage of silver deprived the people of the jnt0 pace8 n0w held by Europeans. world. Japan was then nowhere. Now, in fifty years, Japan has privilege of converting this hoarded sliver into rupees, jt ja ne fear cf what an Indian local government would do revolutionized its history, with the aid of modern arts of progress, It will be remembered that the late Senator Walcott, a member that prevents the experiment, although two other reasons, both In- and India, with 150 years of English rule, is still condemned to of the monetary commission appointed by President McKlnley In sufficient, are given. One of these is that the Indian people are not tutelage." 1897, on his return from Europe declared that the suspension of the Intelligent enough and that they must be protected from themselves Who will answer the argument presented by this Indian editor? coinage of sliver In India had reduced the value of the savings of by denying them a voice in their own affairs. The other Is that the And he might have made it stronger. Japan, the arbiter of its own the people to the amount of $500,000,000. The suspension was car- Indians are so divided Into tribes and religious sects that they cannot destiny and the guardian of its own people, has in half a century bounded from illiteracy to a position where 90 rr "nt 1,8 peopl can rend and write, and Is now thought worthy to enter into an Anglo-Japanese alliance, while India, condemned to political servi tude and sacrificed for the commercial advantage of another nation, still sits In darkness, less than 1 per cent of its women able to read and write, and less than 10 per cent of Its total population suffi ciently advanced to communicate with each other by letter or to gather knowledge from the printed pages. In the speech above re ferred to Mr. Ookhale estimates that four villages out of every five are without a schoolhouse, and this, too, in a country where the people stagger under an enormous burden of taxation. The pub lished statement for 1904-5 shows that the general government appropriated but $6,500,000 for education, while more than $90 000,000 were appropriated for "army service," and the revised esti mate for the next year shows an increase of a little more than $500,000 for education while the army received an Increase of more than $12,000,000. Education Slowly Progressing The government has, it Is true, built a number of collegea (with money raised by taxation), and it is gradually extending the system of primary and secondary schools (also with taxes), but the progress Is exceedingly slow and the number of schools grossly Inadequate. Benevolent Englishmen have also aided the cause of education by establishing private schools and colleges under church and other control, but the amount returned to India in this way la insignificant, when compared with the amount annually drawn by England from India. It is not scarcity of money that delays the spread of education in India, but the deliberate misappropriation of taxes collected and the system which permits this disregard of the welfare of the sub jects and the subordination of their Industries to the supposed ad vancement of another nation's trade is as indefensible upon political and economical grounds as upon moral grounds. If more attention were given to the Intellectual progress of the people and more regard shown for their wishes, lt would not require many soldiers to compel loyalty to England; neither would lt re quire a large army to preserve peace and order. If agriculture were protected and encouraged, and native industries built up and di versified, England's commerce with India would be greater, for prosperous people would buy more than can be sold to India today, when so many of its sons and daughters are like walking shadows. Lord Curzon, the roost brilliant of India's viceroys of recent years, Inaugurated a policy of reaction. He not only divided Bengal with a view to lessening the political influence of the great province, but he adopted an educational system which the Indians believe waa intended to discourage higher education among the native popula tion. The result, however, was exactly the opposite of that which was intended. It aroused the Indians and made them conscious of the possession of powers which they had not before employed. As the cold autumn wind scatters winged seeds far and wide, so Lord Curzon 's administration spread the seeds of a natlonal sentiment, and there is more life In India today, and therefore more hope, than there has been ever before. So high has feeling run against the government that there has been an attempted boycott of English made goods, and there is now a well organized movement to en courage the use of goods made In India. Let no one cite India as an argument in defense of colonial ism. On the Ganges and the Indus the Briton, in spite of his many noble qualities and his large contributions to the world's advance ment, has demonstrated, as many have before, man's Inability to exercise with wisdom and Justice irresponsible power over helpless people. He has conferred some benefits upon India, but he has extorted a tremendous price for them. While he has boasted of bringing peace to the living, he has led millions to the peace of the grave; while he has dwelt upon order established between warring troops, he has impoverished the country by legal pillage. Pillage is a strong word, but no refinement of language can purge the present system of Its iniquity. How long will it be before the quickened conscience of England's Christian people will heed the petition that swells up from fettered India and apply to Briton's greatest colony the doctrines of human brotherhood that have given to the Anglo-Saxon race the prestige that it enjoys T . (Copyright, 1906.) , , XV. J. BRYAN. Trolley Rides Around Omaha Disclose Aany Delightful Views IAy I up scenic effects? No prettier I - I Ir.ntifV rnn Km fnntiil thin that presented by the Missouri valley from Florence to Bellevue, cover ing an extent of approximately twenty miles, the center of which Is Omaha, along whose front flows ono of the greatest front of the fort, affording; a full view of then oft Into a pretty residential section In the great structures comprising it. the north central part of the city. q The Farnam street line Is exclusively a Miller Park's Attractions. city line extending from near beautiful Just beyond fort Omaha lies one of the BJverview park on South Tenth street. .rf,,m..t ,u. n.hMmr n.r. past the Burlington and Union Paciflo Handsomest parks of Omaha Miller parn It Is one of the new parks and is traversed by the Florence boulevard. The entire park passenger station over a magnificent vla- rlvers of the world. Tho Iowa bluffs on la provided with drlvnwava and walks, with the east and the Nebraska bluffs on tho abundant shade and numerous flower beds, west, wooded to their tops, in the shade of Here Is to be established the public gotf which lie three great cities, and with the links. To the west of the trolley line rises beautiful suburbs of Omaha, afford a view a high ridge, along which Is built numerous unexcelled for Us beauty on the continent suburban homes, and on two miles farther and all of this beautiful stretch of bluff a spur of the trolley line leads up into For- land, valley, lakes and mighty river is vis- est Lawn cemetery, the most beautiful city lble by trolley ride from Omaha at a trl- of the dead In the west. A short distance fling cost. Nowhere on the continent can ,o beyond the Forest Lawn spur lies the town, much be seen and enjoyed for so little cf Florence, one of the oldest settlements In Nebraska, and a suburb of surpassing beauty, In which aie the homes of many Omahana. Here, too. Is located Mlnne Lusa, the great waterworks pumping: sta tion that supplies Omaha and South Omaha with its water. The station is one of the money. Borne Trolley Rides North. Starting from Slxtoenth and Farnam Streets, the business heart of Omaha, the trolley cars will carry you to Florence, mogt complete and largest in the United even mues to me nortn. passing through states. Immediately In front of the pump cms of the prettiest parts of the city both lng. ,tation la a handsome park. In which business and residential, then past Fort are iocated the great settling basins, or Omaha and beautiful Forest Lawn ceme- reservoirs, which In themselves are worth a tery to Florence, nestled among tha vl8lt to Fiorence. From the Mlnne-Lus wooded hills overlooking the Missouri. B,aUon u pumped the water that goes into Bhould you not care to go out to Florence tne Walnut Hill reservoir, you can transfer at Twenty-fourth and The Vlew from FlorenC9 one of tha Cuming streets for Benson, passing beautt- flnegt , th, WPgt overlooking as It does ful Bemls park, then gradually rising you tn, Mu,,ouri valley for several miles, reach tha crest of the hill at Fortieth street, passing through a modern residen tial section to Walnut Hill, where Is lo cated the great reservoir that supplies the city with water, then on past Clifton Hill, crossing over the Belt Una, then curving out onto the highlands catching a glimpse of the Nebraska School for the Deaf nes tled amid trees, affording a view to the nbrtheast of the Missouri valley and over looking practically all of the northern part of the city; thence onward past Krug Over Sherman Avenae. Another trolley line runs from Four teenth and Douglas streets northward for five miles, and Is known as the Sherman avenue line, traversing much of the busi ness part of the city, and then switching over onto North Sixteenth street at Nich olas, follows the crest of the bluff tract for about four miles overlooking the Mis souri river, and passing through a fine ratrint1al nart nf th oitv. This HnA alsa Park, one of the most attractive pleasure overlooh, Cut on, ,ak., Courtland Beach resorts in tne west, immediately across from Krug Park lies tho great golf links of the Country club with Its splendid mod ern equipment of clubhouses and drive ways, and then onward to the pretty sub urb of Benson, the town of handsome new and modern cottages. The trolley line terminates at the western limits of Ben son. At this point It affords a charming and the popular fishing grounds of the Omaha vicinity, as well as East Omaha, and the great railroad yards of the Mis souri Pacific, Northwestern and Illinois Central roads. This line connects with tht Florence line at Ames avenue. A branch shoots off at Locust street for East Omaha, a pretty and busy suburb, lying tn the Missouri bottoms. Hera are located the turbid Missouri. Pretty lakes and la goons are scattered all through here, which present an Interesting contrast to the highland views a short distance to the west. view of pastoral beauty, with farms and th, famou, Carter white lead works, the fields stretching off In the distance to the m0it tltenBlve In the country, and the big west and northwest that cannot be sur- ,, central swinging bridge. The passed. Benson Is but Ave miles from the troUey nn pa,,es along numerous farms great throbbing business heart of Omaha. and an1 mucn pretly pa.toral 4 scenery and gives frequent close views of Fori Omaha's Beantles. The trolley tourist continuing northward on the Twenty-fourth street line from Cum ing Street passes along the levelest part of Omaha, connecting at Ames avenue with the Florence line, passing the old Trans mlaslsslppt exposition grounds, thence on ward to Fort Omaha, one of the old mili tary posts of the government, and recently remodeled Into a great modern military es tablishment for the United States Army Signal Corps station. Upwards of 1500.00) has been expended at this fort within the last year and a half In Its rehabilitation, which Is still going on. The fort Is at pres ent garrisoned by two companies of the sig nal corps, and as soon as the barracks are ' Three laslde Lines. Tha Harney street line Is almost ex cluslvely an Inside city line, though It passes many points of Interest, notably all the great depots, the theaters, public li brary, court house, T. M. C A- bluldlng, Omaha club, the High school, Crelghton university, Bemls park and terminates at Prospect hill, one of the highest points in the city, from whence a magnificent view la obtained of central Omaha, the Missouri valley for ten or twelve miles up and completed, which will be done within the down the river. coming few months, two additional signal Tn. podge street line Is another ef the companies will be stationed there. The fort jnslde lines, passing the depots, and climb. Is on the government reservation of eighty ing- the hill t Seventeenth to Twentieth, Acres, which is grown with stately trees, Passlng the lt.000.000 federal building, giving it a dignified, as well as beautiful, army building, high school and thence affect, The trolley line runs past the tuaOa northward past the Ak-Har-Ben den, ao4 MAP SHOWING STREET RAILWAY LINES duct, thence up Farnam through the busi ness heart of the city of Omaha, and on out Farnam street to Fortieth, where are located scores of the finest residences of ATttKi finns arATio wealthy Omahans, many of them unsur passed for elegance and costliness by any west of Chicago. At Fortieth street tho Farnam trolley line Is extended to Dundee, another of Omaha's suburbs, and one of the handsomest suburban towns In the country. Many of Omaha's leading citizens make their homes here in beautiful residences, and the town Is distinguished as being desti tute of a saloon and the absolute Imposs ibility of one ever being established there. Dundee Is situated on the crest of another of Omaha's seven hills, and a magnificent view of the country is obtained from any part of the town to the west and southwest. Oat to Ilsnuom Park. Coming back to Sixteenth and Farnam streets, the trolley tourist can take cars to Hanscom park, out Leavenworth street, and down Park avenue, one branch run ning to the west side andMha other on the east side of this magnificent park, which Is unexcelled for Its beauty by any In the west. The park comprises over 1O0 acres and Is charmingly wooded with large, stately trees, with a fine lagoon, pavilion, driveways, pathways and a magnificent floral garden. The park Is surrounded by many of the handsomest residences of Omaha, and as It Is the nearest lt Is also the most popular park of Omaha, being the constant scene of picnics and celebrations during the summer season. To the Great ParklasT Center. From Leavenworth street southward on Sixteenth street extends the South Omaha trolley line, the main artery between the two cities, which are only divided by a street. This line passes through the heart of South Omaha, diverging at Q street, where lt passes over a great viaduct over looking the great South Omaha stock yards. 1 I 0H I V. f f H-ML I (if i 1 H Ln JGW rf E2J LE: - . fg p cf? 1 H r" A r T, f Sir-,. 1 -Tp l tjl ; the second largest In the world, and thb buildings of the colossal packing houses, all of which are constantly the scenes of busy activity, both day and night. The Omaha visitor or citizen who has not lotted the stock yards has missed the opportunity of a lifetime. They are almost constantly visited by commissioners from very foreign country, as one of the most Important food centers of the world. It would take a page of The Bee to detail even a part of the interesting things that can be seen at the stock yards, but much of lt can be seen from the trolley cars. From Benson to Albright. Another line of peculiarly attractive scenlo beauty la what la known aa the Al bright line, which extends from Benson on the north down through Omaha via Thirteenth street to Albright, a suburb of South Omaha, a distance of eleven miles. After crossing the railroad tracks of the great continental lines that converge at Omaha the trolley line strikes the high lands about half a mile below, and thus affords a continuous view for several miles that cannot be surpassed by any trolley line in the country. The line follows the crest of the ridge overlooking the Mis souri valley and great Missouri river from Florence nearly to Bellevue. The great river Is seen far below through the trees for miles; then occur open stretches that look like a lake, with Islands dotting It here and there. Across to the east a fine view of Council Bluffs and the high hills beyond, southward, one gets a glimpse of beautiful Lake Manawa and Its many at tractions, beautiful by day, but still more beautiful at night, when the electrlo lights glint across the waters like thousands of glow worms. The whole scene Is one of en trancing beauty and win never be forgot ten. The river forms a crescent here and the Albright trolley line follow It for a mile or two Just at the point where the view ran be taken In at It best The wooded bluffs of the Nebraska side closely abut the river, and across on the Iowa side for ten miles extends the low Missouri bot toms, dotted with farms, and here and there pretty lakes peer out from openings In the trees, while the low, undulating hill of Iowa south of Lake Manawa present a scene that Is beauteous beyond expression. Across the River, Another of the delightful trolley rides Is from Omaha to Council Bluffs and then on down to Lake Manawa, one of the most charming summer resorts In the west. Boating, bathing, free concert afternoon and evening and all the attraction of the most popular summer resorts are fully en joyed by a large patronage. Another fine trolley ride Is out the West Leavenworth Una to Forty-eighth street, past the great Omaha Field club golf links, which are among; the largest In the west and on which was held the recent Trans mlsslsslppl golf tournament. In brief, no city tn the country affords better or more attractive opportunities for trolley tides than Omaha. The Omaha & Council Bluff Street Kallway company fur nishes chartered car for picnic parties or private parties at a reasonable cost, the coat per car to and from Hanscom park be ing 7, thus permitting plcnlo pertles to re turn to meet social obligations without tak. lng chance on crowded car. Chartered car are also supplied for any points on the eomtnarS Ones. Trolley parties are yearty becoming more popular and nowhere tn the west can this popular ayatent of onting be more readily and, pleasiuabty enjoyed than tn Omaha,