Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1910-02-25
Y ENiON

stan Said to be the SeTenoiD oil inc
Arabian Nights Entertainments.
" -CEYL0N.
Colombo. the capital city OF C"H
Ion. is >itla,cd in latitude Is deg. -
min. y. and i> therefore about 400
miles from the equator The last
census taken WAS in 1891. and at that
time the city had l3S, 093 persons re
siding within its limits. As it has
been. progressing there must be con
siderable more than the number
stated at the present time. Vessels
from the East and Australia make
this Il port OF call. and in consequence
many large ships are at anchor IN the
harbor at all times. The harbOr Is
an artificial one, and although it is
very good even now, additions are
being made to the brcakwatcr, and
when these are completed Colombo
can DOuSJ Ol IL tOtl!IiIOtIptS anu N't''
haven. The brrakwater is now some
distance above sea level. but during
the monsoon season heavy storms
prevail and the waves dash over the
barrier, and for this reason they are
adding 20 its height.
People who had visited the island
of CeylOn told us it was very beautl-
full. On this account. We expected
much and | am glad to say we were
not disappointed. Our good ship
passed through the break water open
irg and came to anchor close to the
channel but quite distance from
shore. AS usual. tenders were pro-
vided to take us ashore. Carriages
were in waiting to convey us about
the city and in them we visited the
Victoria Gardens and other minor
sights. The drive along the shore
Called the Gale Face drive) is inter
esting. The surf comes dashing in
at short intervals and hardly has one
spent its energy until another takes
its place only to be lost in foam. As
the breakers were quite high this fca
ture added to the pleasure of the
drive.
At all of the postOt1ices previously
visited only their Own money would
be accepted for stamps, but at Co
lombo they will take any kind, Amer
lean, English, French, German, In
dia or Ceylon moncy-cach and all o
it is good here. 1t surprises me t.
find it SO, but they account for i
that many ships of different nation
alities are coming in, and they cal
use the money with them. Will,
this would be true in other places
Colombo is the first one | have seel
which is so accommodating. A saw
ings deposit branch is operated il
connection with the postOtfice. De
! posits as low as % cents Ceylon, or
} cents our money are received, and tn
maximum amount one person can dc
posit is II pounds. Interest at tn
] rate of 2 per cent. per annum is pal
and it is computed annually. 5
4 away out here on little island abOu
\ two thirds the size of Pennsylvania
. can be found savings bank, operat
\ ed by the government while we {
the great United States, who prid
ourselves on being up to date, al
only talking about establishing on
! and it will be many years before ii
. talking over resolves itself into AZ
tiOn. In some things we are ava
behind. A very convenient thin
Z for travellers was the keeping open I
the postoffice all day Sunday for tt
y sale of stamps.
When you first arrive here, I'll
y money is very confusing for they II.
! cents same as ourselves. but when
J person asks you twenty-five cents
J does not mean that you have to pa
] with the equivalent of quarter dc
lar-oh no. for their monetary sy
4 TEN is based on the rupee, worth
our money about 32 cents, so TIL
) twenty-five cents would be equal
, about eight in our coinage, as Ol
. rupee is equivalent to 100 cents Ce
= Ion. When purchased stamp
: the postoffice for postal card, al
Z was told it cost six cents, [ imagin
: that was pretty high, but when l G
! my change with it | received my fir
! lesson on Ceylon's money system.
! The railroad here does not ha
! half fare for children under twel
. years Oi aye, lS We w, Ou1 iHotC
= they say that for adults the fare frC
Z Colombo to Handy is ID rupees, al
Z for children under four feet IN he;s
7 10 rupees. This l believe is mu
better than our system which pl
: notes falsehood, for here the brin
! ing along of the family bible, esl
Z cially prepared for the occasion, W
. not avail for they use the rule and
y not care whether it is golden or no
: In the afternoon of our first day
visited Mt. Lavinia. 1t is abo
seven miles from Colombo, and
very agreeable place to live. W
G. they called it Mt. Lavinia, | co,
not figure out, for the "Mountai