Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-05-14
GATEWAY 0FATHE EAST
Singapore the Greatest Dis
tributing Point of the World.
A BEAUTIFUL CITY
CAPITAL OF THE jsrRA1rs SET
ELEMENTS.
British Crown Colony and Its
Famous Sultan, Who is Trying to
Start Monte Carlo.
BY WILLIAM E. CURTIS.
Ial Correspondence of The Evening Star and
Chicago Record Herald.

of the commercial cities of the world, al
though it has only 22S,555 population 1t
is ,rpassed by London, New York, chi
cago and Liverpool only; 1t outranks Ham
berg. Antwerp, Marseilles and every other
port In the extent of its shipping and the
tonnage of it's vessels. Last year os,5lo
vessels of all kinds, with tonnage OF 49,
800 coo tons, entered and cleared from ITS
ba rhor which is an average of about 160
a day, and it's tonnage was 90 per cent
greater than that of the entire Chinese en-
nire The commerce of Singapore in 1902
an ounted to $25O,O00,000 gold. 1t is free
port No duties are charged, and yet lts
revenues that year were more than sl2,oW'-
Geo. Nearly one-half of this revenue comes
from a tax on opium, which yields ABOUT
s465 eco a month, and $3.50, 600 last year.
Singapore is situated on little island at
the extreme tip of the Malay peninsula at
the foot of the China sea, and at the SOUTH
ern entrance of the Straits of Malacca. II
is the gateway of the east, the point where
the products of the east are exchanged LOT
those of the west. Every steamer tnat
plies between the east and the west stops
there, while many of them d1scnarge men
cargoes to be transshipped in other vessels
to different points in either direction. II is
midway between China and India, between
India and Australia, and the headquarters
of branch lines of steamers which run 10
Philippine Islands, Java, Borneo, Sumatra
and every other port of the East Indies.
Most Important Distributing Point
Nothing is produced here, and the 22S-
800 inhabitants do not consume any more
per capita than those of any other city,
perhaps much less, but Singapore is the
most important distributing point In the
world for the products of all countries. Its
| immense warehouses and docks are filled
| with European merchandise which mas peen
! brought here for transshipment TO eastern
| ports and with the products of Australia,
| the Asiatc countries and the PACING IS
| lands which are brought here for trans
shipment to Europe and America.
Its enormous business blocks are built
| with thick double walls of brick, and have
| wide arcades to keep out the heat, and are
| painted deep blue color as relief from
| the glare of the sun They are occupied py
the counting houses of the wealthieSt ship
| ping merchants of all countries, and many
| manufacturers have Branches and agents
| here to buy raw materials and to sell their
finished products: Banks of all nations are
| found here-English, French, German, Rus
| sian, Italian, Austrian. Swiss, Greek and
| even American-for the International Bank
| ing Corporation of New York has recently
established itself, No other city of double
| it's size has half as many banks as Singa-
pore.
Singapore handles g. per cent of the
| worlds supply of tin, Which comes from
yesterday, and that is the biggest item in
the list of her commerce. 1t is all tmined,
handled and shipped by Chinese. Rice
comes next and about So, 600 coo of it is
handled at Singapore every year; gums and
other drugs to the amount of $50, 600, 900;
opium, s15,O00,0O cotton, s15000000; spice,
s15,000,0O0, and other tropical products in
proportion.
Every variety of European merchandise
is handled. Every manufacturer in Europe
contributes, but 1T is transit trade almost
entirely, the goods changing ships in the
harbor or being landed and stored away i'll
the warehouses to await reshipment.
The Straits Settlements.
Singapore is the capital of what is called
the Straits Settlements, a crown colony,
under the administration of a governor APP
pointed by the king and assisted by an ex-
ecutive council and a legislative council
composed of both English and natives Sir
Francis Swettenham, who is considered by
many the ablest man in the British colonial
administration, having reached the age of
seventy years. has just been retired after
forty-eight years of continuous service In
the east. He is going to the United States
TO live because he does not like the climate
of England. and hopes TO find the home he
wants in Virginia, North Carolina, Tonnes
see or in southern California After man
has lived at Singapore or anywhere else in
TINS part or the world for forty-eight years
ne cannot endure cold weather Singanore
| is a perpetual hot house botanical gar
den, where you can find the ideal of tropi-
cal vegetation and beauty, and the rain
ran averages about 100 inches a year That
Is elght and one-half feet of water fall
upon It's soil from the clouds annually. and
II rams every other day. The average num-
per OF rainy days for the last ten years has
| been $50 a year. --''
Although the city is almost directly unop
me equator, being only eighty miles dis
taht, the temperature is not so high as Won
would expect the mean during the last
year having been 1924. The heat is very
trying, however. There is less variation in
| the thermometer here than anywhere else
on the earth's surface. During 1903 the
mercury did not rise higher than 50 81 and
dd not fall below 1856, the entire range
De1ng less than three degrees while it is
frequently less. In 1902 the variation was
! only 2.4S; In 1894 it was only IFS This
STEADY neat and the humidity caused by
the excessive moisture, is much more diff
cut 10 endure than the great changes from
neat to cold that are experienced in China
lhdla ana other Asiatic countries. The eli
mate IN singapore is enervating. There Is
no ozone In the atmosphere. 1t is always
as not at night as it is during the day, and
the human system has no opportunity to
recover from the effects of the sun. One
| reels a perpetual lassitude; he has no en-
ergy and little ambition, and at first there
is an almost Irresistible tendency to sleep
| all the time. 49,
A Beautiful Place.
| Nevertheless you And many people here