The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1902-11-16
SCENES IN SINGAPORE.
observations Of Oscar r. Williams,
United SIXTIES Consul General.

Washington Star.
Oscar F. Williams, the United States con-
sui general at Singapore. is at the Airing
ton. Singapore is a vast market and Is a
very busy place" said Mr.. Williams, 'at
the same time there is the usual tropical
Incidence. We are only one degree re-
moved from the equator. The climate Is
delightful. The temperature varies from 20
TO 20 during tho year. but the nights are
always cool. Europeans live in the bunga-
lows near the city and enjoy their tropical
homes. The masses of the people live in
the port city, which has a good harbor. IL
can be entered without the use Of a pilot.
THE island has a commanding position.
being in the center of the highway leading
from British India to China. 1t was the
first free port in the Malayan s,as and soon
became a great center Of trade. 1t is only
twenty-seven miles long and from eleven
TO fifteen miles vide, with an area of about
zoo square milea. Something like seventy
small islands of. no value. within a radius
OF ten miles, are, included with IL In a Brit
ish colonial government. The island itself
produces little IF value. The soil is not
very fertile; in TACT. the rock is found at
the surface. Notwithstanding this fact.
when the British took possession there was
a thick covering OF shrubs and vines. For
many years nutmegs were grown profit
ably. but a blight several years ago killed
NIAC AL1S1 anu AC dNAtbAbl a bIth a
since TO raise a crop on a large scale. Trop-
ical fruits grow satisfactorily where good
soil is found. and a few p~ineapples and
cocoanuts. are raised for export, but the
main business of the island is the exchange
Of Eastern and Western commodities.
The British fsg was first hoisted over
had laid claim IL the island in 1911 and he
resisted the English claim. A treaty was
completed in 1924 by which he relinquished
all rights to Great Britain The people are
a mixture OF all races and the civ is very
cosmopolitan. The bright colors OF the va
riouS costumes Of the Orient mingle with
the sober black of the Europeans. There
are comparatively few women. about one
third of the popu'ation. and the largest pro-
portion of the people arc Chinese. There
are Malays, !avanes and people OF all ma
tionalities. 1t. is very interesting TO visit
the houses Of worship in the city. There
are Mohammedaa mosques, Chinese joss
houses and Hindoo temples. In the Euro
pean quarter there are several hotels, an
esplanade. a Gothic cathedral and mission
buildings. The city has a botanical garden.
a museum and numerous Buddhist temples.
The sanitary arrangements and policing
are good. The surface of the island Is hilly,
but the highest Hill is only about five hun
dred feet high. The streams are small, the
longest extending about six miles from
the bay. The domestic animals of Europe
have been introduced. and there are also
some wild anims Is. deer, wild hogs. mon
keys, SQUIRRELS. and occasionally a tiger
crosses the straits and kills several people
before 1t is captured.
The bay is usually calm and serene, only
disturbed by the long swells from the Bay
of Bengal or the China sea. The northeast
monsoon lasts from November TO April.
but IL is never violent. The southwest
monsoon follows II and that is equally mild.
The southerly Java winds are the worst,
for, while they are cool and refreshing az
the time, they ere very enervating. In
stead of a regular rainy season the rain is
distributed throughout the year. so that II
rains almost every other day, on an aver
age. Altogether IL Is a very pleasant and
interesting place to live, and / cannot re-
call a place where more strange ships and
people gather"