Arizona republican., 1921-02-07
Steamer Officer finds Voyage
 In Indian Waters Interesting

That one-half of the world does not know how the other half lives IS proved by the following letter, written by J. Budd McMahan, young officer on the Pacific Mail steamer santa Cruz, and just received by friends in Phoe- nix:
 Enroute from Penang to Calcutta,
 December 19, 1920
 Last night I looked upon the lights of the coast of Rangoon, and in twelve hours we shall start on the 80 mile journey up the Hooghly river to Cal cutta, where I expect to see more interesting things than in all the rest of the voyage combined-and have already seen enough to make me want to take the trip many times again You cannot begin to conceive how different things are over here. but ] am going to disregard structure, etc. and try to crowd as much as possible into this letter.
 Tn Penang, where the German cruiser Emden sank several ships and shelled the city, I visited the largest Chinese temple in the world. It is sur rounded by a high wall, and We were met at the gate by beggars who kissed the ground before us and then famed our backs until within the gates. One held a parasol over us and bestowed all the blessings of Allah tor Confu A stopped this performance. Most Hin du beggars start off in broken English | with NO papa. no mamma, no house and God knows what else they haven't got.
 Within the temple walls are a pond of sacred carp and another pond ol turtles: a coolie wades in and hauls one out of the dirty water to show 1t There are many beautiful decoration: and altars within-much burning o punk. It costs tourists two dollars ft 1 burn joss, and when you leave 1t costs from two to fifty dollars to sign thu register, after which you get the priv ilege of purchasing pictures of th' l temples, and are assured soft sea l in heaven at the right hand of Con
 fucius or Buddha.
 "The most striking thing abou 1 these cities, as I said before. is thu
 preponderance of Chinese. They arr
 the entire coast. The cities are unlik,
 only in name. The buildings are al two or three stories high with opel l fronts, usually of stone and poorl. built. but painted and trimmed in ga.
 colors. The streets are narrow ant
 crooked, seldom over few blocks Il straight lines. Cutters about thre feet deep run along the sides with lit tie foot bridges over them at crossings I They are used by the people as toilets even On the busy streets. Traffic con
 sists of kinrickashas and freight cart pulled by men with leather yokes owe their necks. There are a few oxen
 no horses A few little pony carriage
 and carts. Stores are everywhere = everywhere Usually speciality store. saw one that sold only Worcester
 shire sauce. On main streets used b
 white people are typical Indian bazaar
 run by Hindus. who sell everything i
 the line of spun goods, and have price
 marked at double their real values. any other section of the cities they ar
 all Chinese or Malay merchants-sma , Chinese factories making sandals suits. collins, jewelry, cigars. etc. A
 the fronts are wide open and ther i, seems to be no means of closing then All cigar stores are run by Hindul
 who sit on the counters cross-legget
 Cigarette booths are perched every where in front of stores.
 Hundreds of peddlers roam tn . streets selling anything under the SUI : but each selling only single line (
 merchandise-as cloth. sandals. ra,
 foods, tropical fruits etc. It is inter
 esting to note that they never sell | whole pineapple or orange, but GU them up into about one cents wortl 2 which is one third of cent, Americal Each peddler. besides shouting at tt IOp Ol HIS VO1Ccs CRITICS d OI ; distinct pitch so that everyone know : what he has for sale by the tune
 plays.
 "On the busy corners are "cho : houses"-ouick lunch places--not ( the sidewalk but on the edge of u ' street. These places consist of 1 counter with a six-inch rail that
 l too high for a bench but serves as t perch" for the diners-who never s a down but roost with their bare fee ' like fowls. The food is kept war t over charcoal fires, is very plain al e very cheap, usually consisting of ri . and a fish sauce. It is eaten in u y hands in Hindu places and with cht C sticks in the Chinese.
 t. Solid blocks of stores will sell u n same article. and if run by Hindu n while you arc looking at goods in ol i. shop the man in the next will be tel IF ing you that his are better al = cheaper. You can never get out ,t these places until he has pulled dov ,t everything in the place and shown ,S Needless to say. there is more lookil than buying going on.
 Hindu police who speak no Engli loiter around here and there. All tn Y can ever reply to your question Is t a, name of the street you are on. IT
 Chinese do not speak English either but the Hindu speaks 1t without a = cent
 The pedestrian traffic, even on t [: sidewalks. is remarkable. Where t l- -