New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1916-11-07
UNREST IN DUTCH INDIA"
Reasons for Believing That Japan Is
Less Interested than Turkey
n thu Editor of The Tribune.


Sir: In your editorial about the
Dutch East Indies you said that Japan
wanted to possess, sooner or later
those Dutch colonies. Without preju-
dice, | believe this not to be Japan's
design.
The Dutch East Indies have pop
ulation Of 55,OOO,0OO. Among them
YOU will find perhaps one thousand
Japanese, principally merchants and
a few planters. Two years ago there
vera no more than 500 Japanese to
be found throughout the Dutch Archi-
pelago. Why? Because the Javanese'
the Malay and Chinese are WORKING
on sugar. rubber, tea and coffee plan
,ations for 40 cents (Holland money!;
thi, is IS cents american money!
nor working day Of twelve hours. The
Japanese don't like to work for such
n small amount, especially not wneh
they emigrate. ~
When railroads are built you Will
see sometimes Japanese as foremeh'
I saw them busy as carpenters, track
LAYERS and with general railroad work
in the Sumatra forests. However
they are exceptions, Chinese, Java
nese and Malay people being generally
foremen. carpenters and track-lsyerS,
If course the more intelligent OF them
As storekeepers, as merchants, tney
are successful, but not in marked
degree, because the largest stores ana
warehouses of Asiatics are in the
hands of Chinese.
II is true the Japanese are export
inc very much merchandise IN the
last few years to the Dutch Eas.
Indian Archipelago, but they VIII
never settle themselves in great num-
bers among the Javanese and Chinese;
certainly not in Java, because its
population of 35,ooO,000 souls Is very
dense. You may travel throughout
Java and you will meet only few
Japanese in Batavia, Bandoung'
Djocja and Sourabaja and few else
where. In Sumatra you will find small
colonies Of japanese in Medan and
Padang. where they have some beau
tiful stores. Nevertheless they have
10 easy task to compete with the
clever and experienced Cinnamon, or
rather Indo- Chinese, because they are
for the greater part halfbloods.
The japanese with some capital pre-
fer TO establish themselves, when they
emicrate, in countries where people
have greater buying power than the
Javanese or Malay. These latter
ignore the value of money and pos
scss very rarely any capital.
Consequently their buying power IS
small They are used to buying in
Chinese stores, because the Chinese
toxic keeper knows how to deal with
them. The native customers will get
all kinds of credit. The Javanese will
buy clothes or something else and
they will pay dime or two every
month until the debt is paid.
The Chnaman will even take the
trouble of cashing the dues himself
every month and will walk for miles
and miles around the country visit
ing the customers. Who else will take
the trouble except the chinese ana
Hindu and Bombay merchants to col
lect their dues with a patience which
extends sometimes over years?
Now, | believe l have explained In
some way why Japanese don't go to
the Dutch East Indian Archipelago.
Turkey lost, during the last Balkan
war, some territory, and it is possible
that agents from Turkey are travel
ling through the country trying to
cause discomfort. There are some
classes of intelligent Javanese and
Malay who want self-government
autonomy, but they realize that if
they insist upon it now they will fall
into the hands of some other foreign
power. If they have to choose they
are all for the Dutch system, and
prefer it above all other colonial sys-
tens.
o. G. THODEN VAN vELZEN.
New York, Nov. ., 1915.