Evening star., 1901-09-28

Is large one-story stone structure, which
has cost 1s5, 600 in gold This represents
sum equal to three times that much at
home. The ceilings of this building are
twenty-five feet high. It has magnificent
rooms looking out upon wide galleries up
held by white Grecian pillars. 1t has thea
ter with full stage machinery and beau
tiful drop curtain with pictures upon 1t.
sketched In by the officers and painted in
oils by the men. The chandeliers are of alu-
minum and the floors are of marble The
Canteen has billiard rooms, reading rooms
and card rooms, and the lawns and flower
gardens about it are as beautiful as those
of our millionaires on the Hudson.
A Military Prison.
During my stay here have gone through
the military prison. 1t is more comfortable
than Bilfbid, our penitentiary in Manila. It
is made much the same way as the bar
racks, save that there is great wall
around ii, and the entrances are carefully
guarded. The prisoners are forced to work.
l saw fifty of them making clothes for the
army in one of the rooms, using American
sewing machines. In another department
were two score shoemakers, and in others
there We're jewelers., carpenters and work
ers in iron. The prisoners are paid about
80 cents week for their labor. They are
well fed and we'll treated. They have books
to read from the prison library, and their
wives are allowed to call upon them once
every week.
The Dutch and Native Soldiers Mix.
The Dutch and the natives seem to be on
an equality in the army. They march to-
gether in the same battalions, many bat
talions consisting of two companies of Eu-
ropean soldiers and two of natives, or, more
often, one of Europeans and three of ma
tives. The half-castes are on footing of
perfect equality with the Europeans, but
at least half the non-commissioned officers
must be Europeans. All the higher officers
come from Holland. They are fine fellows,
well educated and well trained Together
with the officials. they form the aristocracy
of the foreign colony, and, as rule, live in
fne style. There is a military academy
near Batavia, and the military clubs at
Weltevreden would be considered fine in
any European settlement.
/ am told that the natives make very
good soldiers, although there is vast diff
ference in them, according to the tribes
and the locality from which they come.
The people of the Island of Amboina
especially brave, and there are now over
4,0OO of them in the East Indian army.
All foreign residents are required to serve
a certain number of days every month in
the militia. The number of days decrease
with age, beginning with seven days a
month and finally falling to four days. The
drill Is from pm. to pm. 1t Is very
severe, but 1t makes every foreigner,
whether he be English, American or Dutch,
a soldier.
This regulation is, I suppose, to make the
foreign population valuable in case of an
uprising of the natives. The Dutch have
had such rebellfons in the past and al
though there is little danger of it in Java
IN Sumatra and other places the foreigners
must be alive for such an emergency.
There is a tribe known as the Achinese, in
northwestern Sumatra, which has been in
rebellion for generations. The Achinese
have about half a million people, and their
country is about half as big as Ohio They
nave always been noted for their hatred of
foreigners. They fought the English and
the Portuguese and they are still fighting
1o,u00 Dutch soldiers and natives have lost
their lives in the war which is now going
on with Achin, and that that war has cost
Holland something like $50, ,0O0, 600
How Dutch Official Broke Up Re-
belIton.
There are other parts of Sunatra which
are very rebellious. I heard the other day
how the Dutch resident of Palumbang
frustrated a plot in which the native
chiefs conspired to kill him and seize the
government. The scheme was to set the
city afire in quarter where it would do
little damage, with the expectation that
the resident and soldiers would run to it.
During the burning the natives expected
to capture the fort and kill the resident
and his soldiers, including all the Euro
peans.
The resident, however, was posted by
one of his spies and did not go to the fire
Then the chiefs demanded an audience ex-
pecting to kill him when he came to it,
The resident consented, but the night be-
fore he powdered his face until it was a
chastity white and placed medicines beside
his bed. He then called in some of the
conspirators and told them he was sick
and that he could not possibly meet the
appointment. He asked them to have the