Evening star., 1923-05-30
SINGAPORE GIVES
BRITISH ASIA KEY
Island to Be Fortified as
Naval Base Is Great Trad
ing Center.


British house of commons is to have
s50,o0o.000 expended on it to make it
an impregnable naval base, already is
heavily fortified and in strategic po-
sition is the Gibraltar and Alden of
the far east, says a bulletin from
the National Geographic Society.
The great trading center and fort
ress of today is a shining example OF
how great Britain has "muddled"-
AS the British themselves put .it-into
possession of some of the world s
most important strategic gateways.
Singapore is an island twenty seven
miles long by fourteen wide and just
misses being the SouthernmOSt point
of the continent of Asia by half
mile water channel. 1T is at the fun
mel point of the Strait of Malacca,
which extends between the Malay
peninsula and the Island of Sumatra,
the great water highroad between
India and China.
Deserted Century Ago.
Little more than a hundred years
ago the island, owned by the sultan
of Johore on the nearby mainland,
was a deserted jungle, save for a lit
tie fishing village. Ships in the China
trade passed it by as they passed
many another jungle shore. The only
ports of call in that region of the
world were those on the Dutch islands
of Sumatra and Java. But these ports
took a big toll in fees. and Sir Stanr-
ford RaffieS. an official of the East
India Company. began to dream OF a
free British port that would facIll-
I'd te trade.
In 1919 he obtained the seemingly
Worthless Island of Singapore for his
company for a small fee. Develop
ments quickly proved him prophet.
fnr wifi N
ing center he established had a popu-
lation of 10000. 1t was only in lS22
that the British government CON
sented TO take an interest In the
place.
In the little more than a hundred
years since it was founded the jungle
of Singapore has given place 10
huge city of close to 100000 popula-
tion. carrying on trade valued at a
billion dollars annually-one OF the
,uetropolises of the British empire.
Its quays and anchorages serve
thousands of craft of all sorts ana
sizes. from the picturesque. graceful
Malay sampans and the stodgy
Chinese junks to the familiar freight
ers of the west, and what kipling
asserts are the 'ladylike" liners.
They build up Singapore shlpplnS
to the tremendous total of 17,00O,OOV
tons yearly. .
Though Singapore is free from
duties, and to this fact owes Its very
existence. still the people who make
up the city take their toll from the
stream of world trade that howS
about them. They live: in. fact, by
and for and in an atmoSpnere OF
commerce. Tens of thousands make
their livings by~caring for shipments.
tnnditioning and supplying vessels
and taking part in loading ana uil-
loading goods The port is primarily
a trans-s shipping point for ooth I'M
ports and exports.
Handle Finest Rubber.
1t gives what the economists Wouln
call place value" to hundreuS ol
commodities which trick1e to Singa-
uore's reservoirs of goods from scores
of districts in the east and are there
obtainable in the large quantities
that world trade demands. In the
citv's .'godowns," as the east calls its
Warehouses, are handled a very large
mart of the worlds. finest rubber he
fore it begins the long journey that
will take most of it eventually TO
American highways. So, too, mucn
"f the worlds tin is smelted IN ana
shipped from Singapore. 1t might be
dubbed the worlds pepper pot for
more pepper is assembled there than
is ever held in any other port.
If ever city could claim to be
cosmopolitan Singapore can. At one
of the principal world crossroads, and
with a population 100 per cent imml-
grant. it could not escape cosmopoli-
tanism. 1t has drawn its population
from practically all parts of Asia,
from Oceania, the Malay archipelago,
Africa. Europe and America. The
Chinese predominant. making up
about one-half the population. There
have been many thousands of immi-
grants from India; Europeans. Amer
leans and Australians number less
than 10000, and there are probably
as many Japanese.
Presents Wide Contrasts.
The appearance of Singapore
shows its mixture of many Influences.
The visitor may ride in rikishas or
electric cars. automobiles or ancient
horse drawn carriages. In the chief
business district he sees modern
streets and buildings, and in the
.Asiatic quarters he encounters facil-
tiles, sights and odors that smack Of
the orient. Singapore's houses of
worship furnish an excellent index
to its varied life. There are Christian
cathedralS and churches. Moslem
mosques, and the temples of half A
dozen or more Indian, Chinese and
Japanese faiths.
"Without making use of reiteration
one can hardly describe the physical
aspects of Singapore island ade-
auately. 1t is an island of red, red
soil and green. green verdure. The
soil is poor. but since Singapore is
almost at the equator and moist.
vegetation might ne Sald TO grow
furiously. There is an unending fight
between it and the coolies who strive
to prevent its vivid green waves
from engulfing the conspicuous red
roads and cleared spaces.
Sir Stamford Raffles, who planted
the seed of their great city, is rever-
enced by all thoughtful people OF
Singapore. Streets, quays, squares
and public buildings are named for
him. A fine statue of the founder
stands before the Victoria Memorial
Hall.