Los Angeles herald., 1909-07-30
THE STRAITS SETTLEMENTS
ITI-TF1E SULTANATE OF JOHORE
By Frederic j. HaSkin

ba,,o nointed ont the dangers that lie
i'm sowing oats while occupying the
throne of a country unable to defend
itself, and which is desirable as q tln
mine and rubber plantation.
one evidence of the willingness OF
the sultan of Johore to encourage the
Industrial development of his country
lies in the fact that he is permitting
the Federated Malay States to pulld
railroad through his dominions. lie
has also undertaken rubber growing on
a large scale and may become rup-
Der king as well as sultan. IL ue
should now turn his attention to road
building and construct feeders for the
railroad Johore might move along In
the procession with the other Malay
states.
At present the revenues of Johore are
derived chiefly from the chinese VINO
have settled there, and go mostly INTO
the pockets of the sultan. The country
has never been accurately surveyed,
and its actual area and population are
unknown, but, roughly speaking. 1t Is
about as large as three or four coun-
ties of average size in the middle
west 1t is sparsely populated and
most of 1t is jungle, yet the sultan
official income is more than twice the
salary Of the president of the United
States. AS there are no roads in Jo-
hore save in the vicinity of the prn-
cipal city the new farms upon which
the Chinese produce pepper, gambir
and other crops are situated on the
coast or along the rivers, so that
transportation to market is possible.
| Tracts that would readily be settled IL
there were roads are lying idle be-
meath the primeyal jungle.
Johore maintains treaty relations
with the British government and a
British agent is appointed to reside IN
the country. A few European officers
and a number of Malays assist in tho
management of the sultans govern
mental affairs, but there Is little system
in the routine work of the government
and no vigorous effort to improve the
country has been made. In the Fed
Grated States. where native sultans still
sit upon their thrones but have little
to do with the conduct of AFFAIRS, al
| lowances to the titular rulers have been
reduced in order that the revenues or
the states may be applied to their de-
veopment. The maximum salary of a
sultan in British Malay is 100000 a
year The result has been that these
states have advanced In prosperity
His advisers have hinted to the sultan
of Johore that he should make personal
sacrifices for the benefit of his people;
in other words give, up part of his
princely income, but up to the present
| time he has not consented to do so.
In the hands of an energetic execu-
tive, Johore presents as many attrac-
tions as any toy kingdom in the world.
It's agricultural and mineral resources
are of considerable Importance, and al
though it lies near the equator II boasts
an equable and comfortable climate. 1t
| is a rolling country of beautiful land
scapes clothed with all the Verdure OF
the tropics. Road building is compare
lively easy and economical If 1t were
properly opened up by transportation
| facilities its population would increase
! by leaps and bounds and If converted
into a model kingdom there would exist
no excuse for any other country taking
| Ii over. Few young men in the east
or west have such magnificent oppor-
tunity as the sultan of Johore, who is
| still upon the sunny side Of middle age.
Personally the sultan is well liked
| both at home and abroad. He is unas-
suming in his manners and not given to
| inslstence upon the observance of for
NAL etiquette befftting the magnitude nf
his title. His friends hold that he Is
Iacduiring balance with increasing years,
| and that the public should be indulgent
| enough to forget his early peeadilloes,
! including an event in Calcutta, where
he was charged with having entered a
purse winner In the Maiden stakeS.
| Time will tell whether he will go down
! in history as the first progressive sui
tan of Johore and the father of his
country. or as the last real sultan Of
| Malaga.
Rubber and tin have made many large
| fortunes in the Federated States. The
| tin mines are historic yet unexhausted.
The growing of rubber is a new In
dustry, out of which large and compar-
atively quick returns are to be made.
With his hand about a country that
will produce both rubber and tin. and
unrestricted by the laws that hamper
captains of industry where representa-
tive government exists. Sultan Ibrahim
might easily become famously rich and
at the same time greatly increase the
wealth of his subjects.
Tomorrow-The Straits Settlements; w.
| Germans in the Orient.