The Lexington advertiser. [volume] (Lexington, Miss.) 1904-1985, 1950-04-27

HAZEL
EYES
by Hozel Brannon Smith
Port Swettenham, Malaga
Delayed

Delayed
The S. S. Monroe made an
unscheduled stop at this tiny but
important rubber port to take on
two tanks of liquid latex which is
natural rubber in liquid form.
To enter Port Swettenham the
ship goes through a narrow chan
mel marked on either side by
thick tropical growth of the
Malayan jungle. The jungle
creeps right down to the water
and makes a beautiful picture in
the bright midi December sun
shine.
There is room for only two
ships to dock at one time at Port
Swettenham. Other ships wait
ing to take on cargo have to
achor and wait their turn. The
dock area is served by a narrow
gauge railroad and the box cars
are much smaller than ours. This
port with its central location
serves as the shipping point for
the huge rubber plantations in
both north and south Malaga.
Liquid latex and natural rubber
in bales are shipped from here to
America. Europe and all over the
world.
The liquid latex is stored in
large watts in the adjacent dock
area and is pumped into the ship
through pipes which line the
wharf. Ammonia vapors are used
to keep the rubber in its liquid
state. The Monroe took on two
large tanks which hold some
600 tons each. We also loaded
natural rubber packed into bales
weighing some $50 pounds each.
1t was amazing to e the native
dock workers who are very small
in stature and weight carrying
these bales on their backs as
though they we're nothing. They
carried the rubber out of the
warehouse along the dock or
from the railroad cars or trucks
to the side of the ship where it
was placed in a rope sling and
brought up by the ships electric
winches and then lowered to the
ships hold in the same way.
Down in the ships hold the
bales of rubber are slowed by a
crew of Malayan women. This is
. very important part of the
operation. Sometimes the layers
Of bales are stacked as many as
IS deep and constitute a great
deal Of weight. Consequently they
could and do easily stick toge-
ther causing extensive damage
and expense.
To prevent this the women stow
the bale and then sprinkle it with
tale before placing another
layer. Because of this part of
their job they have been dubbed
powder girls"
The Malayan women are small
Ter than the average five-foot-two
stature of their men and have
strong, beautifully formed bod
les. The women wear their native
sarong ad the upper portion of
their bodies is covered by a
blouse of some kind. Only in ma
tive villages far in the hinter-
land do the women wear only
the sarong.
1t should be noted here that
the sarong worn by these natives,
both men and women, is quite
different from the Dorothy La
mour-H Hollywood type of thing. 1t
rs a skirt made of a circle of
cloth which you wrap around
your waist like a towel, the sur
plus falling into pleats. The gar
ment permits free movement and
is light and cool, the only prac-
teal dress for the tropics. The
men working here at Port SWEET
tenham wear nothing else, not
even shoes. The women wear the
sarong and a brief blouse. Some
OF them wear turbans to pro-
tect their heads from the hot
sun which beams down the year
round.
Here like everywhere else in
Malaga the predominant foreign
influence is British-and quite a
few are working for American
firms. All of the clubs and social
life available in these parts are
British-but they are al
ways cordial to visiting Ameri-
and most hospitable.
The village of Port Swettenham
is a ~one-street community hous-
only the native workers and
a few small shop keepers most
ly Chinese. For the most part the
in the area live far
Their inland near the cities of
a distance of six miles,
Or Kuala Lumpur, the District of
of Malaga.
Kuala Lumpur is a fair-sized
city with many public buildings
Of unique architecture, some of
which show a Moorish influence.
Here / was captivated by the
startling appearance Of the Asia