Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-28
BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.
'peciai Correspondents q The Evening Star ana

steamers and hotels. as well as in women
and fashions and practical jokes.
We had an excellent steamer from Cal
cutta, as neat and comfortable as any one
could ask for. The table was good, the
captain and other officers were cordial and
attentive. the sea was smooth, and we could
not have planned pleasanter voyage any
where. And we have found the hotels quite
comfortable also. fully as good as those Of
Calcutta The rooms are clean, and the
table Is fair. but they furnish only one
into a room as possible. just exactly as
they do In our own hotels in the United
States.
It is 773 miles across the Bay Of Bengal
from Calcutta to RangoOn, the principal
port Of Burma. This does not include a
voyage Of sixty miles down the sacred
waters of the Ganges, which is mighty
river and has as many mouths as the Nile
Both shores are lined with manufactures
for a long distance, then brick yards, and
beyond them palm groves and jungles. and
after a while the river widens, It's banks
recede in the distance and finally disappear.
colors the Bay of Bengal for many miles.
Different From India.
Burma Is a part Of India for administra-
tive purposes, but is very different in every
respect. in topography, 7 in climate. In the
character and habits of its people. in the
style of architecture and in vegetation
Coming directly from; India traveller can
not fail to be impressed with these differ
ences. The bright-eyed, good-natured people
Of Burma, with their Chinese features and
happy, devil-may-care habits, are as far
removed in disposition from the Hindus as
as II they lived upon another planet They
have nothing in common. Even the wages
Of Burmese coolies are three times as much
as Is paid for the same sort OF labor IN
India This brings many Hindus across
the bay to work in the rice paddles, upon
the other plantations, and in the teak for
ests. Our ship was crowded with them,
and the rate Of fare, which Is only So for
journey OF more than 500 miles, enables
them to go back and forth between the
two provinces, according to the demand
and supply Of labor. And the lives of the
people of Burma are as different from
There Is no caste among the Burmese. to
begin with; in the second place their wo-
men are as free as those of the United
States; and finally. the gods they worship
are kind, gentle, helpful deities, who pro-
tect and encourage them instead Of max
ing the worshipers wretched. as the gods
of the Brahmins do. The Burmans stand
upright, too; they look you squarely In the
face with frank and friendly smiles. The
Hindu crouches on the ground and looks no
man in the eye. His religion has made
him fearful and has enslaved him to In
visible demons and powers that inspire
The Burmese are short, thick-set and
solid; they have fat features and almond
eyes, which show their relationship to the
the streets are thronged with them at all
times OF the day. They do all the market
ing and shopping and take the greatest
delight in everything that 10 lively ana
gay. Nearly all the small shops are kept
by women, and wherever you find crowd
in a park or other public place you may
be sure that majority are of the femi-
nine gender. which seems quite odd when
one has come directly from India, because
of their habits Of seclusion there.
Prosperity Of Burma.
Burma is the most prosperous province
OF India, and, although the people suffered
severely from famine three years ago. they
have entirely recovered. and the soil. which
Is fertile. always yields generous harvest.
It lies between China and Siam and the Bay
Of Bengal. Is semi-tropical. has an area
of III ,430 square miles, and a population
of about eight million. One of its great
advantages Is in the fact that every section
Is watered by navigable stream. There
are five great rivers, the Irrawaddy being
navigable for over 800 miles, and the others
for nearly as great q distance: There Is
scarcely a town that cannot be reached
by boat, which gives the people facilities for
getting their products to market, and the
population live chiefly along the banks OF
these rivers. few miles back from their
shores the country Is uncultivated and I'M
settled, and vast tracts of rich aliuviai
plains have never been disturbed by a
plow, and have never produced crop, al
though the soil Is Of unsurpassed fertility.
1t is estimated that there are 116,OOO,0O0
acres of tillable land In Burma, or when
S,50O0 acres are under cultivation. The
remainder could support population OF
100000 Of the miserable ryots or peas
ants who are struggling for existence upon
the overcrowded farms of India Here Is
q strange phenomenon-one province Of the
same empire crying for settlers, while the
other provinces are-so overcrowded that the
soil can scarcely support the population.
The backward condition OF Burma, the
idle land. the undeyeloped resources and
the sparse population are easily accounted
for by the. history OF the country. which
was under the heel1of one Of the most cruel
of despots until aafew years ago. when the
English routed him out and gave the peo-
pie good government. Since then they
have increased rapidly In numbers. In
wealth and prosperity. and are so contented
and happy under the new conditions that
they do not seem to care to better them.
But no one I have ever talked with could
make 1t clear why the surplus population Of
India cannot be diverted across the bay and
Just as the surplus, population OF our east
ern states moved westward and created an
empire upon the prairies and In the noun
tains. Ia
Labor is so scarce In Burma that plant
ers not only pay three times the wages
that farm hands earn In India. but will give
them money to pay their steamship fare
back and forth. Mechanics OF every sort,
clerks. bookkeepers and every wage-earner
and salaried man also receive three times
as much pay In Burma as in the neizhbor-
ing countries. 1t is most agreeable place
to live, but the expense Of living Is on g
corresponding basis. 1t is not fair to Judge
by the hotel charges. although they are
excessive. but II You hire carriage upon
the street or buy bunch Of flowers in the
rof 1<In oS~A
sometimes four times as much as In India,
and there IL no apparent reason for It ex-
cept the scarcity Of labor.
Comfortable and Easy Travelling.
Travelling is quite as comfortable and easy
as In In6ia- Excellent steamers run on all
the rivers. quite as good as our best. and
much better than we have on most of the
rivers of the United States. The railway
system, about 5000 miles in length. is slim