The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1943-11-19
New Guinea Is
Nice-tO Visit
(WNU Feafue-Through special arrangement
with Golfers Weekly
BY Charles Pearson


New Guinea isn't exactly resort
but it is far more habitable now than
it was before the Uncle Sam I'm
provement company went to work on
it. The air corps flying boxcars
have hauled in everything from trac-
tors to hairpins and continue to haul
in more all the time. Air strips have
made it possible for planes to get to
a lot of formerly inaccessible places.
One run that used to take 35 days,
now takes IS minutes. Back home
when something like road had to
be built you'd see surveyors, inspec-
tors and blueprints in huddle for
days. Here they just 60 out and
build the road.
All civilians have been evacuated
and traffic is strictly military.
There's one exception: an old, faded
blue sedan with the top gone and
tenders rusted away. A Port Mores-
by resident gave it to one of the
soldiers after it had been hit by
bomb fragments, and the soldier
fixed it up. His biggest problem was
fitting it with a salvaged truck radi-
ator. Since there is no place to 60
on the island he uses it in an official
capacity during the day. At night
he carries buddies to motion pic.
lures at other camps.
Always Wet.
The dampness is perpetual. After
all sorts of experiments to combat
it the army finally is moving up on
stills and into trees. Platforms are
built of hard wood and floored with
split bamboo. Pyramidal tents are
erected on the platforms. You reach
the front door by climbing up lad
der. The ever-necessary afraid
trench is built somewhere under
meath, which makes the trench rea-
sonably dry. In the past, G.I.'s who
couldn't swim came close to drown
ing while sweating out Jap night
raids. This way you have only liz
ards and centipedes to worry about.
Except for those who live in Port
Moresby, the natives parade around
lightly clad. Gals generally wear
what amounts to the equivalent of an
old pen wiper. Children get by with
strings of beads. These natives are
generally always without bracelets,
trinkets or charms Of any sort be-
cause souvenir-happy Yanks have
bought them all. Until the depart
ment Of agriculture banned grass
skirts from import into the United
States an acre or so Of grass went
down every day to build hay dresses
for the little girls back home.
One unanswered question is wheth-
er the natives are more. curious
about the strange ways and belong
ings of the newcomers or whether
it's vice versa.
Native Cooking.
If you're not around at chow time
you're just not going to be fed be-
cause there is no place where you
could possibly eat. A couple Of air
force boys, on one of those rare
things, a day off, went fishing and
forgot about chow time. One Of
them figured it might not be bad
idea to 60 back through the nearby
native village and try to mooch a
meal. It was easier than they had
figured. The boss man said: "You
have kaikai," which is one way Of
saying, "Win you hang around and
put the nosebag on with us?" The
meal turned out to be a four-course
dinner, starting out with some stalks
of sweet cane, followed by coconut
meat and bananas, which had been
wrapped in leaves and roasted. For
no good reason at all the latter
tasted like potatoes. The last course
could not be identified. It came out
Of the community pot, but it was re-
ported to be good.
These natives eat only one meal q
day, but it's SO big they spend the
evenings sitting around groaning and
massaging swollen bellies with
coconut oil. Incidentally, natives re-
move the outside husk Of coconut
with sharpened stick in some few
seconds. It takes q soldier Is min
utes If he has an Ak, q screwdriver
and q jungle knife.
japanese wreckage has been put to
some local use. Bayonets have been
cut down to throwing knives for the
popular pastime Of tossing at card
board targets on which is plastered
Tojo's puss. Shell cases have been
cut down to ash trays. Natives use
Jap ammo pouches for handbags.
Husband Is Boss.
Many q sergeant who gives orders
now, but knows that when the war
is over his wife viii give them, looks
with admiration upon the native men
who sit around while the gals do
more work per capita than army
mules. Everybody works but father.
New Guinea has been made habit
able and it probably is az good q
place to fight q war from as any.
But, In the average dogface's opin-
ion. II Manhattan was only worth
$24, New Guinea isn't worth two
cents. It's nice place to visit but
no place to live.