The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-05-13

administered w Visit thHV wv NstHNf'
hests tedis q e%stsnitl eyetefH wits dWs
IagsNg IN W. meghods from ~ syssesae
adspgsl by ether N%stieas, . have theslehe
10 sBgth siilo ~ ntabs sofns ndsifies
coutushine w.
ina Nstty asohlp~isep, Which might
siss 10 desrflbol ~ = csutiHent eht up
Into liahds, hns Furnished . farm w wh'ch
several ns,lons lmve etp~fhmentei "
eogoalallart, hait the Dutch. hath w lenath
N ocmgppncy and IN tho numbet " people
atblseiei 10 their rule, arc etsily nfs.
1hs ~afubipelae1 ID more than 900 fniles
Ions from etat 10 wes,, and " tha PhiliIl-
e,ns islands ate included, I'M miles vide
syma III thr Islands are larger ttan Huto-
uasW States. Borne, and New 0uinea have
zach an area greater than thai 81 The Bfitlsh
lslas.
On tho man tho islands n thu archipelago
tooh like stopping stones cpnbeu,ins AsiR
v,,b Australia, hut spms writer's. arguing
srom the fauna and fpfa ~ well as from
the dsptha ~ surrounding waters. contend
That che western Ialtnds are an extension
Of Asia aud tho eastern ones an extension of
Australia. Alfred ilusspl Wallace. for In.
stanoe. points out that the animals, birdie
and natural products % the two sectione
differ 40 much a. 10 suggest that ono group
IL much older than the other.
Thts Archipelago IL the home Of one n
the branches into which the human family
IL divided. the Malay or brown race.
These PEOPLE are distinct In appearance
and In many Of their characteristics from
the yellow and black races, as we'll m from
the white race.
There are In acme Of the islands rompants
of aboriainal tribes, but the Malays from
time immemorial have furnished the pre-
vailing type. They have shown them
eelyes capable of continuous and systematic
labor where they have been subjected
20 coercion, or where a sufficient inducement
has been presented az a stimulus, but the
depressing influence Of q continuous sum-
mer, added TO the bounty Of the tropics,
has naturally made thom less industrious
than tho re in the temperate zone.
The clcthing required by the Malay Is
IN significant in amount and value. The
little children are bare and seem to enjoy
a shower as much as ducks do. In Soura-
baya, the second city In Java, we saw a
group of them naked sliding on their
stornaohs on the marble floor Of an open
porch during a heavy rain. This seemed
a fairly satisfactory substitute for the ice
ponds Of the north.
EVEN WHITES WEAR THE sARoNo
The adults, both men and women, wear
n earopg' Except when the men content
themselves with a breech clout). The
sarong, a simple strip Of cloth, Is draped
about the figure with oil the fulness In
'front.' and Fastened In some mysterious
way without the aid OF buttons, hooks or
pins.
This garment, II garment Il may be called,
gives ,opportunity for the exercise Of taste,
and tho range in pricesis sufficient to permit
of some extravaganza in dress. The best
native sarongs are more expensive than
silk, the cloth being overlaid with wax,
upon which the pattern IL traced, and the
dyes applied by hand. The masses uss a
cheap cotton print made In Europe.
One Of the striking peculiarities OF
Jayanese life Is the adoption OF the sarong
by the European women for morning wear.
Iadiss who appear at dinner In full even
ing dress may be seen on the balconies
and streets tn the morning hours. Glad in
loose hanging sarongs and thin dressing
sacoues, their bare feet enoased in sandals.
On the Dutch boat upon which we left
batavia we saw posted notices designating
the hours during which the sarong could
be worn, and giving permission to men to
wear q pajamalike outfit during the same
hours.
The Malay women wear no hats. but
the men, usually wear q turban, the tying
Of which Is a great perplexity to the
foreigner.
The natives Of the Malay islands appear
70 he a mild hammered and peaceful people,
although fighting tribes have been en-
\ countered In the mountain regions, the
suppreaslon Of which has cost the Dutch
many liyes and a large outlay Of forms.
In Sulrnatra there are sections that have
never been subdued.
CHINESE IN THE
The Chinaman Is to be found through
out the archipelago; In fact, he far outstrips
all other foreign elements. The popula-
ton Of Java is given as 2s,747,o 900 In the
Government statistics, and Of this total
277,o 900 are Chinese.
The number Of Europeans is given az
oa,A77 and the number Of Arabs at 1900,
while q little moro than 5000 come from
other Asiatio countries. ] was informed
that the %, 900 described as Europeans In
cluded the half oastes, who number more
than 10000, the number Of real Europeans
being about 5000.
In the other islands controlled by Hol-
land the population 10 given as q little more
than Ave and q half millions and the num-
Der Of Chinese at 100000, while the Euro
pean population 10 estimated at 1900,
the Arabs at e,ooo and other Asiatics at
5000. II will DO eeen from these figures
that the Chinese form the chief foreign
inRredisnt In Netherlands India. as they do
In Borneo and tho Straits Settlements.
In Java, where We had q chance to OBJ
serve them, we found that the Chinese monop-
olized. the mercantile business, except
where they were compelled to share 1t
with Arabs and Indians. We also heard
Of them a. money lpaners, the rate Of in
terest being generally usurious.
II may be said TO their credit, however,
that a. Shylooks the Arabs can surpass
them. Tho superiority Of the Arab In this
respect has given rise TO the saying among
the natives that the Chinaman leaves a
native with nothing but . sarong, while
an Arab strips him bare.
Many Cinnamon have grown rich and
have permanently identified themselves
with the country, and Of These some have