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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 25, 1901)
Vast BmNHjaaaaaaJ MAIDEN KHOM INTKHI011 JAVA. (Copyright, 1001, by Frnnl: O. Carpenter) BATAVIA. Jnvn, July 21. (Special Correspondence of Tlio lieu.) I have t'ome from Australia to Java to toll yon how tlio Dutch are mnnnging their colonial umpire. Their possessions tonslst of a vast archipelago Just south of tho Philippine Islands. It lies on both sides of tho equator and Is Inhabited by peoples, savngo and civilized, who havo all the characteristics of our Filipinos. Some of tho Islands have been governed by Dutch olllclnls for centuries. They havo been the scenes of all sorts of colonial experiments and they cannot but furnish valuable lessons to us In the management of our Philippine possessions. Hut first let mo givo you some idea of tho Dutch Knst Indies. You luiow tho lit tle country of Holland. It Is hardly more than a watery pimple on tho broad face of Europe. The Dutch territories here are sixty times as largo as their possessions in Kurope. They nre one-fifth the size of the wholo United States, Including Alaska, and so largo that you could put our Atlantic states nnd also Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Tennessee and Mississippi in them and havo room to spare. These territories con tain 31,000,000 people, or seven times tho population of Holland. They havo half as many peoplo as the whole United States had in 1SS0 and on some of the Islands there nro moro people to tho square mile than In nny other part of the world. UlK InIiiiiiIh Owned ly Hie llntoli. I had no idea of the size of the Dutch colonial empire until I came here. They havo Islands which nre principalities In themselves. Tnko Sumatra, the soil of which Is as fat ns that of tho Nile, and which has petroleum nnd undeveloped min eral resources. That Island Is longer than from New York to Chicago and as wldo ns from Boston to Vnt hington. It is larger than nny of tho United States except Texas and it Ilea right next to Singapore, on one of tho chief Undo routes of tho world. Take Ilornco, which Is also uiipro'pscted Tho Dutch own moro land there than all New England nddod to Now Jersey, Penn sylvania and Ohio. They havo moro ter ritory In Now (Julnca than Callfornli, nnd In the Celebes there is twice us much land ift In Indiana. Tho Timor nrchlpolngo. through which my Btenmer wound Its way from Torres strait to Datavla, lias nn nrn twice that of Massachusetts nnd In that Journey, which lasted two weeks, It seemed to me I could not get out of sight of Islands owned by tho Dutch, There xvero Islands nil tho way nnd If you will look nt tho map you will see thnt they spot the Indian ocean llko stepping stones on n straight path ns long as from Now York City to Salt Iike, nil tho way from southern Asia to beyond Australia. l'rlnoe of Colonial I'oxxoNNlnnn. All of theso Islands of which I hive spoken arc comparatively undeveloped. They nro Inhabited chiefly by savages and no ono knows Just what they nro worth. It is different with Java, from whero this letter Is wrltton. This Is tho cnpltal of Asiatic Holland nnd it has been tho place whero the Dutch have mado their colonial experiments. Thry hnd possession of It when Shnkespcaro was yet living and they havo been ruling it ever since, until thoy have now mado It tho garden of tho trrpld, tho Switzerland of tho 1'nclflc ami tho won der of the world ns to colonial manage ment. Think of nn Island only ns largo as the stato of Now York which is supporting .comfortably moro than 25,000,000 people. That Is Java. It Is less than 700 miles long and from .10 to 130 miles wldo, but It has moro people than nil tho rest of tho -irchlpelngo of which It forms a part. It Is about an big ns Luzon or Mindanao and Its soli Is of much tho snmo chnrnctor, I havo nlroady traveled through parts of it nnd I havo yet to meet n natlvo who looks hungry. The country Is feeding Itself nnd in nddltloa is sending nway $80,000,000 worth of goods every ynr. It 1h not only feeding tho nntlvcs, but ft Is making for Possessions tunes for Dutch capitalists. It Is covered With plantations of sugar, coffee nnd qui nine and 1 ntn told that tho Dutch Invest ments in It nlroady amount to more than $12.'i.000.000. In future letters I shall show where tho money Is placed nnd tell you something as to the profits. Ititllroiiiln, Tclom-iipliN SoIiimiN, The Jnvn of today shows tis what tho Philippines may bo in the future. It U al ready a land of railroads, telegraphs ami schools. Yon can got ns giMid nn educa tion here In Ilatavla as In tho average American city. I can telephone from the hotel whore 1 am stopping to cities and vil lages nil over tho country nnd on tho long distance can bo connected with Soerbaya, on tho other side of tho Island, which is ns far away from here as from Washing ton to Cleveland. I expect to travel all over this Island on railroads and 1 could go on n bicycle or nn nutomobllo through every part of It. Tho Dutch have built hero the host wagon roads of tho world nnd thnt notwithstanding tho tropical Hoods and ether water problems that wo havo In the Philippines. It Is ns cheap to telegraph hero as In tho United States, am!. In fact, there are all sorts of modem im provements. In IllltllVllI, But let mo toll you something about IJatavia, tho city from which this letter Is dated. It Is next to the largest city of Asiatic Holland and Is tho capital of Java. Tlio town was founded when PuriM'Htu. White, the first baby born In the United States, was making his first squall In ills cradlo at Plymouth, and It Is now a city of 115,000 peoplo, with a vast population of natives p the country nbout It. Nntnvla Is situated nt the eastern end of tho Island, nt tho mouth of tho TJIllwong river, ar.d not far from the harbor of Tand Jong Prick, with which It Is connected by railroad and canal. I landed at the harbor on my ship from Thuisd.iy Island and was quickly passed through tho customs nnd came to llatnvla In nln ut halt nn hour by rail. Tho town consists of two parts, a lower nnd nn upper. The lower, which Is Ilatavla proper, comprises tho government others, tho chief exporting nnd Importing houses and nil the old buildings. It Is not unlike a city of Holland. A wide canal runs through tlio prhulpal street and tho houses along this have white walls nnd sharp overhanging roofs of red tile. They are just llko tho buildings In parts of Rot terdam and Tlio Hague, and with their Dutch signs nnd Dutch merchants would not bo out of place If lifted up bodily and dropped down In tho Netherlands. Tho town lias many natives and many Chinese. It is surrounded by small houses and It Is very unhealthy. In llt-itutlful WcllcvrcMli-n. From Hatavln a wide road runs for four miles along the canal, the canal and mail being lined with houses on both shies, until it reaches the city of Woltevrodeti, which Is tho great residence city of the Dutch In the East Indies. Tills Is one of the most beautiful cities In tho world. It is n gigantic pn-k In which not only tho homes of tho people, but oven tho stores nnd Hie business houses havo gardens nnd tropical trees about them. There are public squares containing hundreds of acres, there nro great avenues of palms nnd vast collec tions of orchids ami beautiful (lowers nnd all tho sutroundlngs of falrylnnd. Take the King's plain, for instance. This Is n park n mile square almost in tho cen ter of tlio city. It contains more than .r00 acres nnd it is one vast stretch of olvoty lawn. Thoro nro roads running around It which nro ns f'liiootli ns those of Central park and back of these, looking out through tho trees, arc the villas of the nabobs of this Dutch capital. Each of them has grounds about it with so many curious plants within them thnt it would ho n very botanical garden nnyxvhro else. Here tho driveway up to tho house Is between two rows of royal palms, nnd there It Is between nn arbor of shndo trees so gigantic Hint you -vlll not see their like ouslde Jnvn. Tho houses nro nil classic Crook archi tecture married to the red tiles of tho Dutch roofs. They nro painted whlto to represent marble, and each of them has a great veranda uphold by Ionic, Doric or Corinthian columns. Tho people sit on tho verandaB but tho rooms within nro so largo and nlry that thoy seem qulto ns cool. Tho most of the houses nro floored with stone. Mnny havo tables of I nllan mnrblo or mosaic. Very few of the resi dences nro of moro thnn one story, but they cover n great space. Some houses havo nnallor houses nwny from tho main building reached by covered ways. Thcs" nro guest houses, and are so made that tho guests may have a llttlo house to them selves and ho Independent of their hnsts If they wish excepting nt meals. I.IIMirlllllH llflllll'N (if lllC Ullll'll. I wish I could show you how some of theso Dutch live nwny down bote among tho so-called savnges on the edgo of tho equator. I venture It you could soo their homes many of you would go to the Philip pines nnd build nthor3 llko them. Their gardens nr" better thnn those of nny mil lionaire In tlio United States, and Presi dent McKlnley with his While House con servatories has no flowers for his recep tions llko thoso 1 soo hero. Thoro Is no Inek of furniture. The Btores of Weltevrcdcn are supplied by the host establishments of Holland, nnd you can buy every luxury In tho way of hooks, paintings, notions nnd furniture. All sorts of Holland of foods made in Europe nre sold, nnd tho country raises vegetables and fruits of every description. Tho place Is ono where you get lots for your money, hut whero nevertheless it costs lots to live. Every one lives up to his Income nnd a little be yond It. Tho Dutch gentlemen dross bettor on tho nvorngo than our people at homo Thoy nre sticklers for etiquette, and one daie not anept an Invitation 10 dltim r with out he has a awalluwtull suit. Mulit n( the Coiieoi'tlla t!nli. I put on my store clothes tho other night and went to a concert at tho Concordia club. Untax In bus two swell clubs, ench of xvhlu.li has several hundred members. Doth have club houses which xvould be considered lino in New York or Washington and tho Con cordia lias a groat garden nbout It, xvhere every Saturday night Its members give a concert to their rnmlllcs nnd friends. Tho music is furnished by ono of tho military bauds nnd It Is as good as any you xxl 1 hear In the great gardens of Europe. Last Saturday night the band sat In a stand In tlio open air, while the audlcnco was 3oated on chairs about tho tnbles In tlio tropical garden In front of tho club house. The light was furnished by hun dreds of whlte-globcd lamps, which hung from the trees, nnd nlso by tlio rays of the full moon, filtered through tho green palms. There wore, I Judge, nt least n thousand ladles and gentlemen present, nnd ns we sat there, limiting nnd drinking, stately untlvo waiters In turbans nnd livery trotted nbout in tlielr bare feet nnd waited upon us. Tho people at tho tables xvero as well dressed as -my European eroxvd and ns fashionably dressed as the averago audience of out toiicirts nt homo. With tho ex ception of the military officers, xvho xvero clnd in xvhlto duck, with gold lace and brass buttons, the men wore black clothes and 1 ho women wore bonnets and well-lit-ling dresses. In the intervals I walked through tho club house. It was floored wit li Italian marble and parts of it were walled xvlth great mir rors. It has n library nnd newspaper room, a large billiard room and halls for darning and enrd playing and nil the con veniences of tho best clubs the xvorld over. Another night I spent at the Har monic club, xvhero the concert xvas equally good. (luecr IIiiU'In TIioho. I mil stopping nt the Hotel des Ind, one of tho largest In the far east and by all odds the largest In the Dutch East Indies. It is situated on tho right side of the canal on tho edge of Woltovreden as you come up from Ilatavla. It has something llko ton ncrcs of gardens nbout It, all shaded by magnificent trees. Thoro Is a banyan 'roe, covering a good city lot, in front of tlio veranda and thoro nro pnlms nnd other trees In front of my room. Tho houso consists or two long roxvs of rooms opening out on nrendes or cloisters on ench sldo of tho grounds, xvlth n parlor and din ing room and olllces at the back. I don't know how many rooms there nre, but they must number hundreds nnd every ono Is on tho first floor. I hnvo two rooms open ing Into each other nnd I nlso use tho pnvo nient In front of my door. It Is there I loaf In my pnjnmas and bare foot from day break until 8 or 0 o'clock In tho morning nnd nlso ngnln nfter my afternoon nap from 3 until 0. I am by no means tho only bnrefnotcd, lightly clnd guest. Thoro Is n xvomnn next door who xvenrs only n thin mother hubbnrd nnd too slippers, with out stockings, excopt when she Is dressed for the evening. I see her nnd her Iiub hand trotting by every morning in their bare feet, each carrying n towel, on their way to the bath and they ent bcsldo me In much the snmo costume. I don't know that I llko tho Dutch man- in the Far nor of eating. Thoro Is plenty of food, hut tho way of serving it Is so strange that 1 four for my liver. As siun as I awake in tho morning my boy brings mo n cup of coffee. This 1 nin epi-. ted to take In the room or on the pavement out side. I can have It as onrl ns o'clock nnd oven at that hour 1 always find others drinking. Tho coffee Is served from a I1AUHOK AT IIATAVIA vinegar cruet, being absolute!) 'dd as it Is poured out. It is ir.ixdo by dd nitra tion nnd Is merely tho extract of coffee. Tho hoy puts n spoonful or two into my cup nnd Alls It up xvlth hot mill, ami the eoffeo Is made. He gives 1110 11 1 miplo of lumps of sugar, but no broad nor tu.ixt nor anything solid. Tho next meal is "ontbljt." Ymi need not pronout.ee It; It merely means break fast. It consists of cold meat and fruit, xvlth perhaps soft-boiled eggs, whuh al xxays come on half cold. Tho n. t meal is "rljsttnfcl," or rice table tins is A NEW ART SERIES The Hoe hns secured a series of beautiful reproductions of fnmoiiH paintings nnd beautiful pictures In colors. These pictures are all suitable for framing and will '00k handsome in any homo Tho fifth of Hie series will be Hi UHLthaVaLjaa iirLHaLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLI BBBaBBBBBaVaaLiiyaaf aWi iHBVX?afMflBlBaBrBBBBBBH vf fcT -4Wy njj3CBBKB French This henutlful picture Is In colors, giving the imliirnl tints to tho fruits represented and 's an excellent subject for the dining room How to Get Them. Thohe pictures are Ifi by 21 Inches and have never been sold nt the art stores for less than ono dollnr. Ily securing an Immense quantity of thorn we arc ablo to offer them With a Coupon for 15 Cents. When ordering tttuto the name of the subject, nnd If they nro to bu mailed incloao six cents nddltlonnl for postago nnd packing. CUT OUT THIS COUPON Present at He Offlca or mall this coupon with lBc and get your cholea of Pbotogrnphlc Art Btudlaa, Whan ordorlng by mall add 60 for postaca. AKT HKI'AHT,Mi:.VI', IIKIS IMJIII,lftlll.; CO., OMAHA. AIIT Or.l'AltTMICNT, THE BRE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 17th and Fnrnum Sts. East luncheon; It I n mixture of rlco with every eoncolxnblo meat and vegetable un der tho sun. You are expected to half till your soup plate with rlco, pile the other things on top nnd then stir tho wholo up together and shovel down until the vacant space In your anatomy Is tilled. 1 do dlf fereutly. 1 lake the rlco and one or two moats nnd pass by the rest, so that my method of eating Is not a fair sample of the custom. Xleiil of 11 Dutch XI11I1I I onu bettor deseilbo It by tollllng you xvhut tine Hleiub r Dutch gill who sat be side 1110 today ato at this meal. Ah she came in to the table I could see tho out lines of her fot 111 plainly through her thin Jacket and calico Huroug, or single skirt, which th" women hero consider enough ex cept xvheii 011 dross parade, and had 1 dared (Continued on Eighth Page.) Fruits