The Bluffton news. [volume] (Bluffton, Ohio) 1875-current, 1939-11-16
Recently Completed High
pr way Used for Shipping
War Supplies.
Prepared by National Geographic society,"
Washington, d. C-WNU Service.

Prepared by National Geographic society,"
Washington, d. C.-WNu service
Burma, where demands for
independence are reported to
be growing steadily more in
sistent, is an important link IN
the British Empire chain.
East of India, Burma
touches on the north the bor-
der of Tibet; on the east that
of China proper, French IN
do-China, and Siam. With
fingers of land thrust into the Bay
of Bengal, Burma stretches south
far down the west coast OF the Ma
lay peninsula, to share with Siam
the narrow and strategic land bar
to the China sea which eliminates
in the Malay States and England's
naval base of Singapore.
From Burma runs the recently
completed highway that is China's
vital back door entrance for sup
plies, now that many of her eastern
ports are closed by Japanese occu-
patton. Connecting Rangoon-half-
way down the long coast of Burma
with the Chinese provisional capl-
tai of Chungking, in the heart of that
war-torn country, this route covers
in all more than 1000 miles, twist
ing tortuous motor path over Chi
mas high western plateaus, dipping
deep into rugged gorges and rising
high over mountain passes.
Burma Route by Rail.
The Burma section of the route,
about one-third Of the entire dis
tance to Chungking, is mostly by
rail, which provides communication
between Rangoon and Lashio, near
the western border of China On the
way the railway passes the town of
Mandalay, of Kipling romance.
Through Rangoon, as capital and
chief port of Burma, flows most of
the country's foreign trade, now re-
ported to include incoming trucks,
gasoline, machinery, and munitions
destined for the Burma-China road
as result of the war in China. ALI
together, Burma's import-export
business was estimated for the last
fiscal year at more than $278, 900, 900.
Rangoon, accessible to river nav
igation 900 miles inland, is also
known in the International transport
field for its excellent airport, where
three major lines converge. So
| many 'round-the-world aviators and
| air-minded travellers come this way
that it has been predicted that RAN
| goon will become to the air lanes
what Singapore is to sea lanes-a
crossroads of the East"
Burma is strictly agricultural
country with rich soil and plenty of
rainfall. 1t is more fortunate than
many of its oriental neighbors; for
with little more than 141a million
| people to support in an area of
about 261, $40 square miles, there is
an adequate food supply of the
East's chief staple-rice. More than
two-thirds of all cultivated land in
Burma is devoted to rice production,
which provides a large exportable
surplus sent not only to populous
India and other Far Eastern coun-
tries but also to Europe.
| A largely one-crop economy, how
ever (of secondary Importance are
/ other products such as peanuts, cot
ton, millet, sesame seeds), presents
| problems of its own. There is need
for new industries to provide more
4 diversity and help solve the unem-
ployment problem. OF Burma's s
millions, less than 10000 now are
employed in industry.
| After farming, the famous teak
industry is Burma's next best means
of livelihood.
Without Caste System.
The Burmese have developed into
a group different from either Indian
or Chinese, yet with traces of the in.
fiuence of both. They are without
the caste system and their womer
go unveiled. Although their mair
| TGlSiOu Ialile lFOfn liiQld, tiGu Oid
lects are related to those of the Indo
Chinese. Most travellers agree thai
the people of Burma are easier te
understand than other Orientals: fol
while their manners are those o.
the East, they have also frank
ness and direct sense of humor akir
to that of the Westerner.
| Yet despite geographic, racial ane
other differences that set 1t apar
from India, politically Burma was