240 
to seat these people, was fenced in with na- 
tive mats, and then divided into blocks, 
225x75 feet, which would each accommodate 
1,000 people, seated on the ground. Twenty 
of the enclosures were reserved for the 
Hindoos and 10 for the Mohammedans, as 
only 30,000 were expected at first, and the 
15,000 extra unexpected had to stand or 
crowd as best they could. The 2 sets of 
blocks were 300 feet apart, as, of course, 
they must observe the rules-of the religion 
and not have even the shadow of an infidel 
cast on their foods. At 10 o’clock in the 
morning drums began to beat and the poor, 
lame, blind and halt came forth in hun- 
dreds from all parts of Calcutta and its 
suburbs. 
It was the most amazing collection of 
people one could possibly behold, in the 
greatest variety of costume, or no costume, 
imaginable. The committee for receiving 
them had no trouble with the Mohamme- 
dans as soon as they were made to under- 
stand the whereabouts of their enclosures, 
but there was much trouble and vexation 
with the Hindoos, for one caste absolutely 
refused to sit near another. The Brahmin, 
or priest caste, insisted on a separate en- 
closure for themselves, and got it! It was 
like a huge company of white clad black- 
birds, fluttering about, changing places, 
lighting and flying off and all the time keep- 
ing up an appalling chatter. They were at 
last seated, the whole 20,000, but in spite of 
the care of the attendants some of the 
castes got mixed. In one place we were 
shown a lot of municipal scavengers next 
or opposite some Sadhus, religious beggars 
of the Hindoos, covered and smeared with 
mud and saffron; and farther along, a num- 
‘ber of chamars, tanners and Domes, the 
caste who carry dead bodies, sitting beside 
some interesting looking snake charmers in 
long, yellow drapery and huge turbans. 
After all were seated, there were several 
hours for them to wait, but waiting is an 
accomplishment peculiar to the native of 
India, and even small children did it with 
patience. The cooking must have been a 
gigantic affair. We were told that every- 
thing given to the Mohammedans was 
cooked the night before, but that for the 
30,000 Hindoos it had taken fully 5 days to 
prepare the food. Sheds had been put up 
inside the matting fence, and there all the 
food was stored. Each block was under the 
care of a committee of 3, with 30 assist-, 
ants. The Hindoos had banana leaves for 
plates and the Mohammedans earthen plates, 
while all of them had earthenware drink- 
ing cups. We were told also that 2% miles 
of piping for filtered water had been laid, 
and large earthen jars were placed at the 
corners of each enclosure. 
The menus interested us greatly. For 
the Mohammedans there were paloe, rice, 
RECREATION. 
- some of them, as it can be divided into 24 
ghee (rendered butter), korma, a brown 
curry, and sweets; pan, which is betel nut 
and lime; and cigarettes and tea; and for 
the Hindoos, toochis, or cakes, vegetable 
curries, dahi or curd, sweets, pan, and tea. 
It was difficult to learn the quantities of 
the menu, but according to the Calcutta 
Statesman of the 28th 24,000 pounds of 
flour, 10,000 pounds of ghee, 32,000 pounds 
of potatoes, 16,000 pounds of curry, and 
1,500 cabbages were used for the Hindoos 
only; and the meat alone for the Moham- 
eng cost I,000 rupees, equal to about 
5. 
The whole feast went smoothly from be- - 
ginning to end, and as each one left the 
enclosure he was made happy by the pres- 
ent of a bright, new 2-anna piece, fresh 
from the mint, which would mean 4 cents 
of American money, quite a fortune to 

pie, the smallest coin of Indian currency. 

THE COST OF LIVING. 
From figures showing the income and ex- 
penditures, in the year 1901, of 2,567 fam- 
ilies in 33 States, representing the industrial 
centers of this country, the U. S. Bureau 
of Labor has deducted some interesting and 
instructive figures. The basis of selection 
was that the head of the family must be 
a wage worker or a salaried man earning 
not over $1,200 during the year, and must 
be able to give information in regard to his 
expenditures in detail. The average income 
of these families for the year, from all 
sources was $827.19. The average expendi- 
ture for all purposes was $768.54, and the 
average expenditure for food was $326.90 
per family, or 42.54 per cent. of the aver- 
age expenditure for all purposes. 
The average cost of food per family in 
1890 was $318.20. In 1896, which was, ac- 
cording to figures gathered by the Bureau, 
the year of lowest prices for food stuffs, it 
fell to $206.76, and in 1902 reached the 
highest point of the period included in the 
comparison, being $344.61, an increase of 
61.1 per cent. over 1896 or of 10.9 per cent. 
when compared with the average for the 
10-year period of 1890 to 1899. 
The family expenditures for articles 
other than food in Igor represent 57.46 per 
cent. of the income. Certain of these ex- , 
penditures representing 14.51 per cent. of 
the total, such as payments on principal and 
interest of mortgages, taxes, insurance, fees, 
charity, amusements, etc., are from their 
nature affected only indirectly and in slight 
degree by any rise or fall in prices. Mis- 
cellaneous purposes, not reported, for 
which, from their character, no prices are 
obtainable, made up 5.87 per cent., and rent, 
for which also no prices for the several 
years are available, made up 12.95 per cent. 
of the total expenditure, 
- ? Py 
ii ale i a lk ea a” 2 
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