Page:The Modern Review (July-December 1925).pdf/505

480 oo_ained the Bahova of the public ? If they are unwilling to replace the dishonoured cheques by cash, their names should he forthwith published so -Jut the country might know fully who practised such deception upon her. The statement shows that a sun of Rs.25,000 was set apart for Desbandhu Das “for the purpose or the political work mentioned in his appeal for the Fund”. The committee disavow all responsib­ ly for this amount and of course do not care to give any account of it. All that is said is that the money was spent for the Congress and Swarajya Party Work. So that there seems to be a sure shortage of Es. 8,000 and a probable shortage of a consider­ ably larger sum; moreover, a sum of 25,000 has been spent in a way which is extremely vague and non-committal. Deshbandhu Das, when he appealed for the Fund, stated that the funds would be spent for village recon­ struction work and not for “Political Work”, hence it becomes all the more necessary for those in charge of the Fund to render a more elaborate account of the expenses. “Political work” may or may not have any­ thing to do with village reconstruction, if tie public are taken in confidence as to how oieir hard-earned money has been spent, the Swarajya party will certainly go down in popular esteem. Not only that; such slipshod method of rendering account is highly conbemnable. The leaders of the Swarajya Party should wake up and take proper notice of the above facts. A. C.

In the last July number, Prof. Sarkar had forecasted that “the history of Bengal” during the next few months will furnish the answer to the question whether we have acquired the one indispensable basis of popular government or whether we still retain the spirit of the Kartabhaja and Maharaja sects.” The answer has been supplied, and very promptly, by Mr. J. M. Sen Gupta, who has publicly called upon the youngmen of Bengal “to give less importance to their conscience and follow their leader unquestioningly.” (see Sept. number, p. 381.)

Conscience is the faculty of distinguishing what is morally right from what is morally reprehensible. The Maharaja sects are taught to surrender this faculty to their spiritual guide if it is to win salvation. A similar surrender of conscience and judgment is found among the Kartabhaja sect of Bengal as is indicated among other things by a corrupt interpretation of a line in its song relating to its founder Aoolchand, “এর সঙ্গে বাইশ জন, সবার একটি মন” “He has twenty-two persons with him whose mind is one.” And now we have been told authoritatively that a political party must surrender its conscience to its leader, if it is to win Swaraj. The parallel has been completely established by Mr. Sen Gupta.

America’s Breach of Faith The following

letter, which appeared in deeply inter­ international moralist and

The New York Times, will be esting to the statesman:—

Men avithotjt a Country

To the Editor of The New York Times: On May 25, the United States Supreme Court handed down a judgment to the effect that Japanese Avho volunteered and served in the American Army during the World War are not entitled to the rivileges of immediate citizenship on honorable ischarge granted to other aliens under similar conditions. An act of Congress, it seems, provided (May 9, 1918) that “any alien serving in the military or naval service of the United States during the time this country is engaged in the present Avar may file his petition for naturalization without making the preliminary declaration of intention and without proof of the required ifive years’ residence Avithin the United States.”

S

This act was generally understood to be allinclusive, free from any trace of race discrimina­ tion. On the basis of this laAV many thousands of aliens who had served in our armies secured citi­ zenship papers from the appropriate courts. Among these were a feAV hundred Japanese.

The Court now declares that it Avas not the intention of Congress to extend these special privileges of naturalization to any except “free white persons” and persons of “African nativity” and “African descent” and that, therefore, all soldiers of their races serving in our army who have become American citizens have done so illegally. It follows that they are now to be deprived of this citizenship. The Chief Justice dissented from the decision, but it is now the policy of our land to say that though a Japanese or Chinese may serve in our army and may even give his life in support of our Constitution and our flag he is not worthy to be an American citizen. This surely is a reductio ad absurdum of the law passed by Congress. Reactions are beginning to come from Japan. The Yamaio of June 2,1926 dis­ cussing America’s Immigration law declares, as translated by the Japan Advertiser:. “As long as America assumes such an insolent attitude toward this country, the outbreak of war may be beyond our control. Our relations will be