Evening star., 1901-08-24
Wonderfully Rich Possessions in the
Orient.
PROGRESSIVE And PROFITABLE
How the People of Batavia. and
WeItevreden Live.
TIL EIR GU EER HO I E L S
Copyright. 1901, by Frank G. Carpenter.)

Copyright, 1901, by Frank G. Carpenter.)
Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
BATAVIA, Java.
have come from Australia to Java to
tell you how the Dutch are managing their
colonial empire. Their possessions consist
or a vast archipelago just south of the
Philippine Islands. 1t lies on both sides of
the equator, and Is inhabited by peoples,
savage and civilized, who have all the char
acteristics of our Filipinos. Some of the
islands have been governed by Dutch Off
cials for centuries. They have been the
scenes of all sorts of colonial experiments,
and they cannot but furnish valuable les
sons to us in the management of our Phil
ippne possessions.
But first let me give you some idea OF the
Dutch East Indies. You know the little
country of Holland. 1t is hardly more
than a pimple on the broad face OF
Europe. The Dutch territories here are
sixty times as large as their possessions in
Europe They are one-fifth the size OF the
whole United States, including Alaska, and
so large that you could put our Atlantic
states and also Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky,
Tennessee and Mississippi in them and
have room 10 spare. These territories con-
population OF Holland. They have half as
many people as the whole United States had
In 1890, and on some Of the islands there
are more people to the square mile than IN
any other part of the world.
Bis Islands Owned by the Dutch.
/ had no idea of the size OF the Dutch
colonial empire until 1 came here. They
have islands which are principalities in
themselves. Take Sumatra, the soil of which
is as fat as that of the Nile, and which
has petroleum and undeveloped mineral re-
sources. That island is longer than from
New York to Chicago and as wide as from
Boston to Washington. 1t is larger than
any OF the United States except Texas, and
ii lies right next to Singapore, on one of
the chief trade routes of the world. Take
Borneo. which is also unprospected. The
Dutch own more land there than all New
England added to New Jersey, Pennsylva-
mia and Ohio. They have more territory in
New Guinea than California. and In the
CelebsS there is twice as much land as In
Indiana. The Timor archipelago, through
which nv steamer wound it's way from
Torres strait to Batavia, has an area
twice that of Massachusetts, and in that
journey, which lasted two weeks. it seemed
to me l could not get out of sight of islands
owned by the Dutch. There were islands all
the way, and if you will look at the map
you will see that they spot the Indian ocean
like stepping stones on a straight path as
long as from New York city to Salt Lake,
all the way from southern Asia to beyond
Australia.
The Prince of Colonial POssessiOns.
All of these islands of which I have
spoken are comparatively undeveloped.
They are inhabited chiefly by savages. and
no one knows just what they are worth.
1t is different with Java, from where this
letter is written. This Is the capital of
Asiatc Holland, and it has been the place
where the Dutch have made their colonial
experiments. They had possession of 1t
when Shakespeare was yet living and they
have been ruling it ever since, until they
have now made ii the garden of the tropics,
the Switzerland of the Pacific and the Won
der of the world TO colonial manage
ment.
Think of an island only as large as the
state of New York which is supporting
comfortab more than 2J000,000 people.
That is Java. 1t is less than 700 miles
long and from 90 TO 13O miles wide, but 1t