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About Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 1901)
Odd Manners and Customs in Asiatic Holland Ci: Mill ICS WARRIOR IN I'UM, DIIHSS. (I'lipyilght. laoi. by Frunk a Carpenter.) I ATA VI A, Juvn, Nov. 7 -(Special B CoriVHpDIIllLMIl'U lf Till' Ht'O.) Ill this my lHt letter fiom Juva I wish to mention n number of curl dim little things I hnvo lionril ntul this out-of-the-wny part of the HCI'll 111 world. I might write (or a year and not ilo scrllio half tliu colonies the Dutch linvo In the i:n Ht I utiles. I hear of now pcoplu and new Islands every day, and hiicIi iih I vlttlt am moru strange tlinti the storloB told of them. A Hhlp which haH Just arrived at Ilatnvln Iuib brought a Nuw Zealand mlnliiK engineer from the Celebes. Ho has licen In the employ of the Dutch government, nnd hag spent tlm hut few years In Investigating Dm inlnir.il pc hhIIiIIHIuh of dirferent Dutch unexplored iHlands. lie tolls mo ho finds tracts of gold almost everywhere, hut bo far niine In paying (tuantltlcs. Ihi iilnrtMl CflelifN InIiiikIm, I eliatted with him for some time about the ('elelieu. These Islands lie almost di rectly south of the Sulu uichlpclngn, to near Indeed, that t hoy mlKht ho called our neigh hors. The Celebes, which Is this immo of the largest Island. Is bigger than any of the Philippines, and It has a coast lino of enor mous extent. It Is shaped much like an octopus, with feelers reaching out In every direction. It has more Innd Minn tho state of Missouri, and from end to end In Us longest part It Is nbotit COO miles. Tho natives nro very wild In somo sections and seml-clvlllzcd In others. The Dutch havo cotTeo plantations In tho civilized sections. They have had possession of the country for 200 yenra, hut hnvo tlono llttlo with It. Tho most prominent sottlomont Is that ot Makassar, nt tho southern end ot tho Islnnd. Hero tho Dutch stentnera Btop. Thoro are sovornl liuslncsa houses and tho chief ox ports of the nrchlpeliiKO come from thoro, I asked tho engineer something about the town, Ho snya It hns ninny Chlneso and Arabs, but very few Europeans, The peo ple are MolinmmedniiB nnd they have a way of running amuck as they do In the Philippines, Very llttlo of the Celebes la explored. This engineer spent mnny weeks without seeing a white mnii nnd at times found It very dnngeroua. He described tho country as rich In tho extreme and said Unit tho coffee plantations which have recently been set out In tho north nrc doing well. Ho telU inn that tho natives have many trlbca and languages and tho dirferent tribes can not understand one another. In one sec tion the chief natives wear breechcloths of bark. They taku tho bark of a certain tree nnd soak It nnd then beat It out with mal lets until It Is very thin. When dry It la glossy and will withstand the rain. In Hie 1. 11111I of Nutnien". This mnn Bpcnt somo time In tho Mo luccas, Ho knows nil nbotit cloves nnd spices, nnd tells wonderful stories of tho nutmeg plnntntlons. There nro somo nut megs horo In Java, but the best trees aie found In Ambnlnn, In the llnnda Ulnuds, the Moluccas and other parts of tho Dutch Enst Indies. There nro also plnntntlons in Sumatra nnd llornoo. The trees In the Mo luccas are planted and rultlvntcd. Thoy grow In tho shade nnd require somewhat the name care ns our apple troca. Indeed, tho nutmeg tree looks Just like n pear treo ami ill fruit is not unlike an apricot or pencil. The tree does not begin to benr until It Is ten yenra old, but nftor this If It Is properly cured for It tuny Inst a century, A good treo should annually produce nbout thru) pounds i f nutmegs nnd one pound of mace and nt this yield tho business Is prolltnblc. Tho fruit ripens Bovcrnl times a yenr nnd you sometimes see blossoms nnd fruit on a tree nt tho rnmo time. As tho nutmegs ripen the pulp, which I nbout half an inch thick, breaks nnd shows the nut enclrclod by 11 network of maco. In preparing tho f 1 tilt for the market tho pulpy ouUldo Is thrown away and tho nuta aro dried alowly In ovens. There nro obout 1,600,000 pounds of nutmegs exported from tho Dutch Knst Ind.0.1 ovory yenr nnd something like 330,000 pounds of mace. ForolKticrn Aliroiiil. I havo Investigated tho chances for Amor lenns hero nnd I should not ndvlso tho Ignornnt among our pcnplo to come to Jnva to live. Tho foreigners of this part of tho world nro men of flno cducntion. They nro usually college-bred and It Is rnro to find a man who cannot speak thrco languages. Tim Dutch olllclals In most cases speak half n dozen nnd tho higher clnsscs of thu nntlvcs two or more. There is no pines whero ono so much needs to know tho cus toms of refined society, nnd no plnco whore mnttors of etiquette nro moro rigidly ob served.' It Is Impossible to trnvel comfort nbly nnd see nnythlng of tho pooplo with out drew sultB nnd dinner gowns. This Is ho In overy settlement of tho far cast from Vokohamn to Hong Kong nnd from Singa pore to Austrnlln. In tho most out-of-tho-wny parts of tho Icnst known Islnnds you nro likely to find n planter who puts on n Hw.illowtnll cr.nt for overy dinner nnd whoso wlfo would rnther resent your com ing to tho table without one. .Ml 11 SI 11 tier of CiinIoiii, Notwithstanding this, tho same womnn would think nothing of your traveling nrtuiid through the house In tho early morning In your pajamas or Billing on the vernndn In your bnro feet nnd n snrong. In fnct, bIio would do tho samo thing her self. Th's Is so more In Jnvn thnn nnywhere tdse. Tho women coino not only to enrly breakfast, but to tho noon lunches In n stnto of dishabille that would Insure their summnry dismissal from nny of our seasldo hotels. I remember one stately dame who sat noxt mo nt dinner Inst night nnd whom I mot ngnln thin morning. As sho nppenred in tho evening sho mndo mo think of n downgor queen. Sho was clad In n soft grny silk which looked as though It enmo from Pnrls. Her hair was a In pompadour nnd hor wcll-Inccd-ln form, though n hit over plump, wns not unhandsome. Sho wore diamonds In her enrs, nt her neck nnd In her hnlr. She wns vivacious, nnd her con versation wns charming. Indeed, I enmo enrly to breakfast hoping that I might bco her again. I did bco her nnd such n sight. If I had hnd n fan I really hnuld have hid den my fnco behind It to roncenl my blushes. Tho stately nguro had disap peared nnd In Its plnco were tho llnhby out lines of n fat old womnn hunched up on n chair. I could bco tho gross lnycrs of ndl pose tissue -plnlnly through her thin cam brio Jncket, which wns half open nt the neck. Ilelow tho Jacket n gorgeous sarong or bag of red and black calico was draped, I might almost say pawled nbout hor enor mous hips nnd well developed stomach. It fell within six Inches of her bnro ankles, which, as sho sat thcro over her cotTeo and hard-boiled eggs, hor baro feet resting on tho tocB of hor hcolleas slippers, wcro plnlnly visible. They wero not pretty nnklos nnd tho night rnther disgusted me. Such n coatumu may bo nil right for tho tropics, but It Is to bo hoped that It will novor bo ndoptcd by tho American women of tho Philippines. I. mill of nooil Hotel, Tho contrnst betveen tho hotels of Jnvn nnd thoso of tho Phlllpplnrs is striking. OutBldo of Mnnlln thoro Is hardly a hotol ot nny slzo In nil tho Phlllpplno Islnnds, nnd tho hotels In Mnnlln nro uniformly poor. Hero there nro good houses everywhere nnd where there nre no regulnr hotels thcro nro government nut houses where ono enn Btny at low cost. Tho nverago hotel rnto Is nbout $2 n dny nnd never nioro thnn $3. For tills you havo coffco or ten In tho morning, an enrly ns C o'clock If you wish. A break fast at 9 or 10, luncheon nt 12:30 nnd dinner nt nbout 8. No ono ilium enrly nnd nftor dinner but fow pooplo go out. Tho rooms nt tho hotels nro usually good. All nrc on tho ground Door nnd nenrly nil fnco vernndns, each guest using that part of tho vernndn In front of his own room. Tho beds nro hnrd n deslr ablo thing In tho tropica nnd overy bed has Its extrn bolster, or Dutch wlfo. Tho stuffed mndnmo la round nnd Bho never kicks on cold feet. Sho la nbout five feot In length, nbout thirty-two Inchca In diam eter nnd bo packed with cotton that sho Is perfectly hard. In tho wnrm nights of tho tropica this forma nn excellent support for ono nrm nnd ono leg, thus nldlng von tllntlon. Very few ot tho hotels havo electric lights nnd In tho Interior thcro Is no gas In tho rooms. Every guest hns a night Inmp, n tumbler half full of wator with an Inch of coconnut oil on top. In tho oil li II sort of n tin whlatlo with a wick run ning through It. Tho whlatlo flonta and the wick burns nil night without a stnoll, giv ing n light equal to thnt of n flickering cnndlo. 1 usually Insisted upon having n lamp In my room, but whon I got It I hnd to pay 20 conta n day extra. VmiUroa In Jnvn. Thoro nro very fow Yankees In Java. The Standard Oil compnny hau oiUces In Ilntavln, Sntunrnng nnd Socrbla. Thcro nro ono or two inrgo roffeo exporting flrnis nnd now nnd then n commercial trnvelor or so. Our consul, Mr. 11. S. Ralrden, has lived In Jnvn for mnny yenra nnd ho la very elllclont. Ho wns long vlco consul, hut President McKlnley clevnted him to tho hend of tho consulate, Ho hnB n wide acquaintance nmong tho Dutch nnd the hotter-class natives. Ho speaks Dutch and ' tf jM-r I J understands well how to di.at with tho peo ple. Ho Is nt the same time nn enthusi astic American ami Is doing whnt he can to advance tho Interests of the Culled States. Nnniiili'M nf Duli'li IiiiiiiInIIU I'lifMN. It Is Important thnt our governments bo well represented here. The officials nro highly educnted, and they nre ns n rule nblo men. The people nro Inquisitive, nnd ns tho foreign colony Is small everyone knows nil nbout his neighbor. Ilntavla Is n largo city, but as far as Its European pop ulation Is concerned It Is llttlo moro than n village, nnd tho pcoplo nro quite ns village like In asking questions. An American connected with ono of our largo monopo lies doing business hero gave me some of his experiences. Said he: "Whon I first enmo to Ilatnvln I whb nsked by n Dutchman how much snlnry I got. I told lit in bluntly that I thought thnt was none of his blanked business, whereupon he replied: "Well, If you won't nnswer I will nsk the bend of the house." I nttorwnrd heard that ho did bo nnd I nm uro ho eventually found nut whnt 1 wns getting. Thcro Is little possibility of anyone keep ing such mntters n secret. Tho govern ment collects nn Income tnx on nil salaries nnd oven tho government ofllclala hnvo to pny. Tho nsscssmcnt Is equnl to nbout 2 por cent, nnd you havo to declare your salary to tho collector of taxes. Your dec laration Is filed In tho recorder's offlco and tho government clerks nllow tho Informa tion to go out. .cwniiiivi-h in Anlntle llnllniiil. I am surprised to find dally newspapers nwny out hero Bouth of tho equntor. Thoro nro plenty of them. Every town of nny slzo hns Its big paper. There nro twenty six published In tho Dutch colonics. Thoro nro six In Sumatra, threo In tho Colebes nnd seventeen in Jnvn, five printed In the Mnlny nnd Javanese languages nnd twelve in Dutch. Tho largest circulation Is thnt of tho Dntnvlnn nows sheet, which comes out overy nfternonn nnd tho most Important porhnps, Is tho Jnvnscho Cournnt, tho of flclnl orgnn of tho Dutch government, which Is Issued from the government printing of flco, whoro nil tho government books nnd papers nro published. This estnbllshment issues tho school books, printing them In dirferent nntlvo languages. It publishes notices In Chinese, Jnvnneso nnd Arabic, as nil tho proclamations have to bo put forth In four or flvo different languages. I havo chatted with tho official pub lishers nnd also with the editors of tho different newspapers as to how tho Dutch nro treating the natives, Thoy hnvo changed tholr policy during recent yenra. For n long tlmo thoy ran Jnvn exclusively AMERICAN CONSUL iMii" tei- 3WC3kkkkkkkkW kkkkkkkkkkkH kkkkkkkkH il ii An IPI P. iiH kkkkkkkkkWBPBBBiMWBikMBfcaiMj -l. --BkBkkBBMIBBBBBftBB JivHRILW mmmwmsmm Till: WATER WORKS OK I1ATAVIA, JAV for themselves, but they aro now running It moro for tho Jnvnneso. They nre try ing to educnto tho pcoplo nnd to give them modern Ideas. Many fear that edu.-ntlon will spoil tho people ns workers, but they sny they must educnto them notwithstand ing. They look upon tho Javanese ns their part of tho whlto man's burden, whlili they wish to carry ns crcdltnbly ns nny nf tho other nations of Europe. r:iitit'iit'ii auvcx. Mnny of tho natives are already well edu cated. I have written of tho native schonlB. They nro found everywhere nnd tho number of students steadily Increases. Tho lending nntlvo officials speak th Dutch and Jnvnneso languages. Thcro nro nntlvcs In private business who havo had good educations. Thoro nro some doc tors who havo taken a medical college courso and boon nwnrded diplomas. They nro licensed by tho government to prnctlco nnd thoy do n grcnt deal of work nmong the natives. Nntlvo doctors nre used In nil th" hospitals nnd they nro to bo found every where occupying different medlenl posi tions under tho government. Thero Is no doubt but thnt our govern ment enn lenrn much hero ns to tho de velopment of tho Philippines. The Dutch hnvo scientifically developed Jnvn. Within n fow yenra thoy hnvo Increased Its popu Intlon from C.000,000 to 23,000.000, nnd nt tho snmo rnto tho Philippine Islnnds could support n population cqunl to that of tho wholo United Stntcs. Tho Dutch hnve nil sorts of oxperimcntnl fnrms nnd gardens here. Thoy havo tho finest botnnlcal gnr dens of tho world nt nuttenzorg, and In It ovory sort of treo nnd plant thnt will grow In tho tropics. They havo somo of tho best botanists nnd agriculturists In their cm ploy nnd they nro nlwnya testing the differ ent vnrlotlcs of soil for ten, coffee nnd other plants. Ten, SiiKiir, CtilTi-e unit luliiliir. It was through tho Dutch officials that the Immense ten, coffco nnd quinine plnn tntlonn havo been built up. A hundred yenrs ngo thcro wns not n clnchonn tree In Java and now threo-fourths of tho quinine of the world Is raised hero. Tho coffco estates wnro practically destroyed by tho blight, but through tho government tho Llborlan coffee trees wero introduced nnd Jnvn has ngnln becomo rich ns n coffco Innd. Tho government stnrted tho tea Industry nnd millions of ten trees hnvo sprung to life upon n thousand hills. There has been trouble with tho sugnr estates, but the gov ernment experiments nro remedying the do fects, nnd tho snmo enro Is shown In tho cultivation of other things, Tho govern ment has set out forests of valuable woods, nnd, in fact, It nets llko the mnnngcr of n AND HIS FAMILY. great estate, making It its duty to develop Java for tho Javanese. Tho Dutch have spent millions of dollars hero In making mails, In building railroad 1 nnd lirlgatlon works. Tho Internal Im provamenls of Java nro almost ns tine ns thoso of Holland, nnd I venture to say thoro nro no such ronds In tho world ns here. I doubt whether better civil engineers enn bo found tlnn thono who hnvo been In the em ploy of tho Dutch government, nnd ns I have pnhl beforo It would pny Uncle Sam well to send here for advisers to our au thorities In the Philippines. If this la dono It must bo by good salnrlcs. Tho Dutch pny their colonial olllclnls moro thnn wo nre paying our men In tho Philippines, nnd salaries of 100 n week in the higher places nr.. Milt II n nnt.i... nn rl,nn t wuo nrc getting 120 a week nnd achoo ttuiuiia mm tuu uuiiuiK tiuu lo tuu nor month. Itulliiu Tin-iiimii tin- NntUiM. I don't know that the Filipinos could he ruled through their own people as the Dutch rule Java, but I should think It might ho possible on some of tho Islands. hucIi ns those of the Sulu nrchlpelngo and Mindanao. The Javanese are not unlike the Moros In some respects. They nro Mohammedans and they are ruled by their chiefs. For n long time they hnd slavery among them nnd It wns Into In the 'COs before It was abolished, tho govern ment paying each owner a certain ntnount for his slnvcs. Tho prices varied accord ing to nge from $20 to $110. the lntter sum being paid for nblc-bodled men. A grent deal Iuib been published nbout tho terrible oppression of tho Jnvancso by tho Dutch. This may have been tho caso In tho past. It Is not so now. Tho na tives havo to do police duty and work on the roads In lieu of taxes, nnd somo of them aro employed In tho government plan tations, but no one labors for any time without pay, except when doing work for his tnxes. There is no doubt but that the pooplo nre far better off tlnn thoso of India or China, nnd tho island is moro thickly populated than either of those coun tries. There Is no poverty to speak of. I haVO nOt RPP?! n ann-n nf I several thousand miles nf travel In differ out parts of tho Island. Thoro hnvo been no revolutions for yenrs and ns far na I enn see, tho pooplo nre, from nn Orlentnl stundpolnt, both prosperous nnd content. FRANK G. CARPENTER. Pointed Paragraphs Tho part of wisdom Is often enacted In tho divorce court. Occasionally a man. like n mule, puts his best foot backward, (lood resolution don't tost nnythlng, but 'lit ,iru iiiirti in Keep. Cliicngo News: Knowledge Is power In l college foot bull contest. Tho flirt's punishment for contempt of court Is ancient splnsterhood. Women can't bo logical because they aro nlwnya begging the question. No mnn knows how foolish he enn act un til ho attends a C o'clock tea. Tho most trying time In n woman's llfo is wucn sue visits her dressmaker. "Glad to seo you" is one of the little whlto lies that nro worked overtime. When n man guesses ho enn knock nn other mnn down ho usunlly makes a rough estlmnto. Short reckonings nro suppos d to mnko long friends, hut when you beKin to reckon on making a touch your friends nro usunlly short. If n man has tho right kind of material in his brakbono it doesn't matter whothor ho Is born with n silver spoon or mi Iron Indlo in his mouth.