Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, September 01, 1901, Image 16

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    Dutch Methods of Governing in the East Indies
gar-
('ENEItAL V ItOflSENIIOOM, (iOVEKNOIt
OK Dl'TCH HAST INDIES.
it ip rlKttl. l'J 'l. Iiy Frank 12 Carpenter.)
BUlTENZOItO, Jnvn, Am?. 1. -(Special
Correspondence ot Tho lice.)
I Hpt'tit an hour hero IIiIh morn
ing with (lencrul W. Ilousoboom,
tho ruler of thu Dutch East
Indies. Ilu hna been a soldier uf high dls
t luctlon lii thu Dutch army, nml I In only
a year or ho ngo that ho was t,t:nt hero to ba
govurnor general of the vaat posses Ions
which Holland owns In thin p:irl of liu
world Tho words govornoi funeral glvo but
a small Idea of thu extent of hla power. Ilu
Is In reality a U 1 iik. and liu has moro power
ever his subjects than nny ruler of Europe.
He rules more than 31.000.000 peoplo, srnl
terid over a territory moro than three t mes
ns groat as CJermany or Franco mid greater
thnti nny country In Eurnp except Hut-tla.
Ilu hn.t thniisandii of olllclnls under htm; his
standing army Is more than half ns Inrgu
ns our own, and ho has Tor years b en
carrying on a war with scmo of tho tribes
of Sumatra as Burtons as our war with tho
Filipinos.
riuil ullli linvcnicir Cciu-inl.
Thu governor general lives In great state
hero In Java. He Is allowed $G0,000 a year
for entertaining and his annual salary Is
larger than that of our president. His
pnluco Is as big as tho White House and It
nyB it Is the only ono by which they can
bo mado contented and happy. Upon leav
ing liu gave me notes to some of his olllclnls
and t'ln ce then has had forwarded me a
general lettir to the resident governors of
the various provinces, tho o 111 curs of thu
military and others In all parts of the
Islands, directing them to aid me In my In
vestigations In every possible way.
Civil Sen lei- In .In vn.
Tho civil service of tho Dutch East Indies
Is tho most remarliablo of tho world. There
is no colony where the olllclals are so well
educated nr.d of such a high standing In
every respect. Tho system Is based upon
thu native government, the native nobles
and chiefs ruling the peoplo by their own
laws, with th" Dutch us advisers behind
them. The native rulers nro merely tho
tools In the hands of the Dutch; they are
ho strings which thu latter pull to Inllu
enco tho people. In Java thero are twenty
two provinces or residences. Each of these
has Its native governor, nsslsteil by a
Dutch resident, who Is known us his elder
brother. Thu elder brother lives In lino
statu. He liu a magnllleeut limine ami a
fund for entertaining and his salary Is
$0,000 a year. The native chief Is also paid
a salary and an allowance, t'nder I lies
residents the re are iiHslstiiut residents, cott
troletirs and cbikH, nil of whom have their
The native rub is are uf the nobility ami
tho olllclals all lome from the b"st families
Tho common people, thirefore. feel Hint
they nro ruled by tho Javanese nobles und
thu majority of them do not know that
the foreigners ire in aitunl control.
Somewhat the same system pr vails In
thu Du'eh East Indies outside Java, al
though some of thu Islands, Inhabited by
savages, have to bo held with a firmer rein.
Dutch nml I lie Xiillvi'N,
Tho native olllclals aru also well edu
cated. There are schools for them In nil
parts of the country and tho higher-class
natives often speak Dutch, French and
English as well as tho Javanese languages.
They are treated Just Ilka tho Europeans
natlvo subordinates or younger brothers,
and tho native chief's wife has tho same
Htnudlng ns the wlfo of tho resident gov
ernor. Tho salaries paid to tho natlvo
chiefs vary according to tho provlnco and
thu stnto required. Somo nntlvo chiefs have
houses built for them at a cost ot from
$.10,000 to $10,000 apiece and thoy receive
salaries of $100 a month,
I am told thai tho Dutch believe they
can easily control thu natives If they can
NATIVU OFFICIALS OH DUTCH YOUNQ Kit 1JHOTIIUHS.
Is Bltuattd In a great park, n part of which
contains thu botanical gardens, said to bo
by far tho lines t In thu whole world. It
was In tho palace that I met his excellency.
Tho nuillcnro was held In tho morning, hut
notwithstanding this I had to go In full
dross und In ns much stato as though to
visit a king. 1 wns met at tho palace door
by soldiers mid olllclals In uniform and his
excellency's secretaries passed mo from ono
to another until I wns at Inst ushered Into
tho nudletico room of the governor.
Ills excellency addressed mu In Kngllsh
nud wo chatted together for somo time
nbout tho Dutch colonial empire and how
nintters are handled In Jnva. Tho question
of the Philippines enmo up and ho lutl
matod that we hnd n big Job on our hands,
but suggested that wo might learn some
thing from Holland's oxpcrlcnco In handling
tho people. Ho approved of the Dutch
methods of treating tho natives and ho
control the chiefs, but nt tho samo tluio
thoy aru careful to let thu cinera Know
that they themselves aro thu rulers, Thoy
make It a principle to bo honest with tho
natives and to protect thorn In tholr rights.
Thero nro courts everywhere held by tho
Dutch olllclals and In quarrels between na
tives and Europeans tho natives aro given
tho hcnellt of the doubt. I nm told that It
will bo much safer for mo to strlko an Eu
ropean hero than n natlvo, for tho native
will bu suro to land tno In prison.
Strlet AcciMintN mill Tiim.
At tho samo tlmo tho government Is vory
strict In keeping Its accounts. TaxeB aro
honestly levied and must ho honestly paid.
Every village and every house In tho whole
Island Is numbered, tnd every pleco of
ground pays Its tax. Every horso and
cvory cart pays a tax. The govorntnont has
Its tax Inspectors, who see that everything
Is properly collected, It has Its account
ants who go through the olllces ot tho
provinces examining thu books, thu cash
and the manner of doing business. There
is a law for everything, nml the bookkeep
ing Is enormous. There are Irrigation olll
clals, rondmaklng olllclals, civil engineers
and all thu machinery of n vast govern
ment. Dutch iin .Superior IIcIhkn.
Thu Dutch endeavor to Impress upon the
natives that they belong to a higher order
ot creation than tho Javanese. They. In
sist that all of tho Dutch olllclals shall be
treated with tho same respect shown the
noblest of tho Javanese fillers. This Is
very evident In out-of-thc-wuy districts. 1
havo traveled for miles through tho coun
try where every man, womnn nnd child 1
met would squat down on the ground nnd
fold his hands In an attitude of prayer
until I passed. I havo met Javanese on
horseback, myself riding at thu same tlmo,
and tho Javanese ns soon as ho saw me
would Jump down from his horse In order
that ho might not bo on the same level as
myself wheu I passed by. I have had
women with great bundles on their backs
lltt them down and scat themselves on tholr
heels, putting their hands together, In my
honor, and I bellevo that tho rank of su
perior and Inferior Is nowhero greator
than here. According to the old customs
of Java which still prevail those of lower
rank must not sit above those ot higher
rank. There aru several native sultans In
central Javu, and when the resident gov
ernors wero llrst chosen to rulu with them
thero was quite a discussion us to whether
ihe sultan should not hen little higher than
his older brother. The Dutch Insisted on
absolute equality, but it is said that for a
tlmo tho sultan had silver dollars nailed
to tho legs of his chair In order that lit
might bo a trlllu higher up than tho Dutch
resident when tho two sat together.
.Servants nml .Miitc-n.
I havo a natlvo servant, n swell Javanese,
who speaks broken English and who nits
for mo both ns boy and an Interpreter
Ho whitens my shoes nnd my helmet, and
sleeps In front ot my door nt night Ho
never smokes n clgnretto when I am pr.
ent nnd ho never comes before mo without
his turban. It Is ctlquctto hero for the
servnut to keep his head covered, and It
would bo quite as Impolite tor Slum, my
boy, to come In without his turban as tt
would bo for your hired man to keep h:
hat on when ho enters your parlor. A na
tlvo should not smoke In tho prcs nco of a
European, nnd If ho Is smoking on the
street ho should take the clgnretto out of
his mouth nud hold It behind him whllo
Europeans pass. Tho Dutch ollUinl never
requests his servants to do thlngH, he com
mands thorn. Tho Inferior U expected to
uso high Javanese In fpcnklng to his su
porlor, nnd tho superior speaks low Jav
nnctso in speaking to him. A Javnncso
should not speak In Dutch to a European
without tho European especially requests it.
Such trrntmcnt seems ridiculous to
Americans, amongst whom all are equal
Tho Dutch Ray that It Is a necessity In this
part of tho world, and that It is on'y by
menus of upholding tho old customs that
thoy can maintain tho respect of the poo
pie. Ono of tho richest of tho plnnters, n
Dutch bnron, who has chargo of n prop
erty worth several millions nnd who era
ploys hundreds of natives, tells mo that th
peoplo do not look upon such nctlons ns
degrading. They do It ns n mntter of
politeness nnd respect to their suprrlors
Tho customs hnvo prevailed for generations
nnd the employer who does not Insist upon
them will soon lose casto with his peop'o
They will think htm nn Ignorant boor nnd
ho cm do nothing with them.
Iu tho nntlvo states tho servility of tho
common peoplo to their natlvo suporlors U
ROVEItNMENT OFFICES AT I1ATAVIA.
so great that one would hardly bdUvu It
If he did uot experience It himself. 1 have
seen princes kitting thu foot of tho.r
fathers und crawling along to them on
their knees, nnd at ono tlmo I saw
1,000 olllclals equattlng down on their heels
In honor of the native chief,
liter)' Clerk a Scliiilur.
I have spoken of the education of the
Dutch olllclals, but 1 almost ik'spulr of
making you understand how wo.l educated
they ure. Every clerk here Is a college
ginduute. Thu Dutch have a university ut
Delft, In Holland, for tho education of thel,
colonial olllclals. Every clerk has to bu a
graduate uf tho public schools and also ot
this university, where ho takes a special
couisu to lit himself for the colonial seivicu.
Ho must bo able to speak Fieuch, Geim-n
and English nnd at least two ot tho tin Ive
languages of Jnva, one of which must be
the Malay. There are four lungugen
spoken In Java, hut tho Malay Is In common
uso everywhere. Tho higher oIlLlals and
those who act as Judges of any of the
courts must be able to speak three
languages and must also ho graduates in
Dutch law, as well as thoroughly posted on
the natlvo laws, customs nml religions ot
Jnva. Tho character of tho clerks Is care
fully looked after, and as a rulo only
gentlemen aro chosen.
trvli't' In .fiivu.
After graduation tho would-be govern
ment clerk Is sent out hero on trial. He
must pass an examination for aspirant
controleur nnd If successful Is assigned as
nn nsslstant to n controleur or minor of
ficial of ono of the provinces. He now re
ceives about $S0 a month nnd a house, but
ho Is as yc!. on'y on probation nud he inns'
servo several years before ho can bo ex
amined for the position of controleur ot
the second clnss. If he passes this cxnm-
(Contlnued on Seventh I'age.)
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Nebraska Business and Shorthand College
lioyU lluiliiinn, Cor. 17th ami II inuy Sts., Om.iha, Neb.
Section l View of Actual Himiness and It uiUIni; Dep irtmeiit.
business from
(irogg Sys-
IIOOKKRKIMNO -Actunl
tho start.
SIIOUTIIA.NM) Oraham and
terns.
I TYI'KWKITINO The Touch Method
ENGLISH Practical and Thorough.
W ' W M f
Ksmhllshed nlno years A school with
out a superior. Employs tho ablest teach
ers. Endorsed by High School Principals,
Leading Business Men and Olllclal Court ,
Reporters.
"ABSOLUTELY
The Ilnext nml most thnrnuphtv nniiltimul I
M.000.00 Invested In now Typewriters Inst year.
$2,600.00 Hanking Fixtures placed in Actual Ilusiness Department.
Another lloor has been leased that all may he nccoinmodated.
Employs the ablest teachers. Situations procured for over 90 per cent of last
year's enrollment. Wo securo work outsldo of school hour3 for students to pay hoard
If desired. Fall term opens September 2nd. Write for elegant cataloguo freo.
Address I. C. 0NG, I. M.f LL. B,, President, Omaha