The Coolidge examiner., 1931-04-24

cane or rice on their own account,
or TO trade among the natives. The
indenture system was abolished in
1920 and as result the sugar in
dustry seems doomed. The govern
ment is encouraging the growth of
rubber trees, cotton, and rice.
CocOnuts have been second only to
sugar in Importance. Thousands
of tons of the dried kernels, known
as "cOpra," are exported annually.
Most of the valleys and hills and
mountains Of FIJI are blanketed
with luXuriant vegetation. AS in
Hawaii, however, the lee sides of
the islands have fewer trees and
are covered with long grass. Only
the fringe of the islands and the
river valleys have been developed.
Roads are few, transportation de-
pending chiefly on boats and
launches. A surprising feature of
the Fiiis, especially to those who
have thought of them as small is
lands, are the many large, broad
rivers. The Rewa river near Suva
is navigable for so miles.
Suva is to the South Pacific
much what Honolulu is to the
north. 1t is the chief cable station
of the Canada-Australia cable and
q regular port of call for mail
steamers from Vancouver to Sgd
ney, Suva is also within easy
of New Zealand and Australia
and has weekly steamers to and
frCm these dominions.
Suva Is Quite Up to Date.
1t is an attractive little tropical
city on a good harbor Approximate
ly two miles square. The chief
business street of substantial con-
crete buildings extends along the
water front. and the residential
sections climb the slopes behind.
Practically all the dwellings are
bungalows, white or cream colored,
and usually with red roofs. Every
bungalow has its broad verandas
on at least two sides, and in many
cases they extend completely
around the house. The veranda,
paradoxically, is the heart of the
Suvan household.
IL spite of its remoteness, Suva
can furnish many of the comforts
to which Europeans and Ameri-
cans are used. 1t has a water
works, electric lights, and tele-
phones There are no street cars.
but motor cars may be hired for
drives around the town and into
the nearby country. VIII Levu has
only a limited mileage of motor
roadways, however.
Like most South Sea capitals,
Suva is cosmopolitan. If one
stands on the Victoria Parade of
an afternoon the passing show
speaks of many lands. There are
the young Fijians in store"
clothes, their shocks of bleached
hair standing out from their heads.
Behind them are Indian coolies and
traders with their women. The
latter are dressed colorfully and
jingle with their heavy necklaces,
bracelets. and anklets. Scattered
in the passing groups are people of
other Pacific lands: Solomon Is
landers, Samoans. New Caledon-
ians. Conspicuous, Of course. are
the Europeans. the men usually in
spotlesS white. In passing auto
mobiles are the women of the Eu-
ropean colony.
The Fiji islands constitute
British crown colony. They have
been under the British flag since
1874.
Helped by the Panama Canal.
The opening of the Panama canal
was helpful to the Fiji islands.
Before, the islands were as far off
the world trade routes as Robin
son Crusoe's isle. Since ships be-
gan moving through the canal Fiji
is on the Travelled path between
England and her important posses
sions, Australia and New Zealand.
Ships having given Fiji a reason
for commercial existence, the is
lands have striven gallantly to pro-
duce not only sugar cane and
cOpra, but also coffee, cotton, rub
Der and cattle. The odds are
against Fiji in two respects; native
philosophy insists that life is
made for fun and frolic and the
warm tropics conspire to produce
pests as generously as plants. In
the tropics, it is said, there is no
ointment without its fly; sugar
cane had its labor shortage, the
banana its borer, coffee its leaf
disease, cotton the capricious
American market, and coconuts the
hurricane. In spite of these obsta-
cles Fiji's exports rose from So
100000 in 1919, to more than S13,-
100000 in 1928.
An occasional hurricane Is very
destructive, but normally these dis
turbances are affectionately known
as BLOWS"