Show t V i wi jr ke antana axes i r fat 0 oh n rubber i steeping climate of mal malay aty state swathes hills in densest forests washington american automobile owners unknowingly helped to pay the award of nearly which the malay state of Ke lantan recently gave on court order to an englishman Ke lantan Is waxing financially fat on rubber so the treasury probably found no difficulty in compensating the winner of the case which among other things revealed how english commerce pen penetrated grated Ke lantan back itt in the eighties and how the state was incorporated into the british empire in 1909 Kel antans present prospects and the improvements effected in its ita government are related in a bulletin of the national geographic society from its headquarters in washington D 0 has mountains Flor florida lda lack think of the malay peninsula as an elongated florida tacked on southeast asia singapore shall be key west then the southern boundary of Ke lantan Is approximately in the position of orlando and the northern norther n boundary la Is miles above that Is at jacksonville fla Ke lantan is 00 miles deep which Is a trifle more than half the width of florida since Ke lantan iles five degrees from the equator it would be quite willing to trade mountains for a bit of Flo latitude miami hod had a 14 inch fall of rain recently which seems to put it in the running with Ke lantan where over inches fall annually lit IA the plains districts when the figures tire are all in Flo average will be shown only one third as great Kel antans steeping climate swathes its hills in the densest of tropical forests the jun gle is matted above ground and matted below an ali american surveyor boring for a bridge pier pier cut through feet of crushed and rotting leaves and branches to flattre find the bottom obstructed by a rotting trunk of a forest monarch that may have fallen more inore than a century before green Is a tyrant in Ke Kelon lantan tan A native will cut out a garden plot in the jungle by dint of industry he can keep the jungle back for two years crops of tapioca root two years abandonment results in a growth 10 feet high impenetrable without an ax ar acres of virginia farms abandoned during the civil war support 30 foot pine trees but one can still identify the old corn rows ten years after the Ke Kelni lantan itan garden patch Is surrendered only the practiced eye can distinguish the spot from natural jungle but not all of Kelan fan Is jungle the plain in the alie northeast one of the largest level regions region in the whole peninsula affords views where there are no trees to be seen for miles only rice beds glistening like windows of an all enormous eLor hoti liot louse ouse and grass pastures for cattle liven the disordered jungle Is giving nay ay iy to the ordered rows of rubber trees rubber Is now the most valuable export of Ke lantan T two wo other tree products coconuts and betel nuts figure heavily in its trade betel nuts are a chewing gum substitute of the orient Ke lantan offers a handy example of the east indies iddles before and after european intervention Ke lantan has been made safer for the ordinary native citizen and his family and a greater share of the profits of the citizens t toll 0 11 come to him the native conception of municipal government can be understood best by imagining a parallel political system set up in an american corn belt town in the first place the ahe mayor would rea coutt court in another city since the chief ends of justice Ke Kelan lantan lan style are to support the judges halt the damages and costs together with what terrorism bribery and blackmail could exact would go to these dignitaries once in jail the citizens chance of get tin gout would be small indeed friends mut must feed prisoners it would be necessary to abandon the clean well kept jail of our hypothetical midwest mid west town to approach the old Ke lantan standard in a vacant lot thery there would be erected a high soled blanked planked palisade inside there would be a double row of stout wooden cages about 80 30 inches from the wall and 0 6 inches off the ground it if the jail Is crowded two persons can be put in one cage slats of the cell allow little light and air and there are no sarit santary tary facilities white gard the community sol elyas a source of wealth for himself although he would not live there but instead in ili chicago neither would he take the responsibility for governing the town or collecting the taxes for himself since he could farm out that work to an exacting foreigner in Ke lantan the foreigner would be a chinese anyone in the community who committed a crime would be dialed before men who leave entered such compounds in malay states tell that the istenes is overpowering the jail warden would be permitted by law to feed his prisoners with a half bushel of corn taken from every wagon entering town none of the prisoners would ever get the corn unless relatives and friends fed them a fee being charged for tills this by tile tha warden the prisoners would starve indeed in Ke lantan many did starve to death heavy tax burden continuing the parallel the midwest citizens tax bill would have to hp he greatly prent lv augmented there would be the poll tax to raise a tribute to the capital the mayor in addition woun wool send end it a consignment of goode which the townsmen would hate hat i e to W buy whether they wished the goods foods or not smil and at an exorbitant price at command they would have to leave their cornfields cornfield to the weeds to cut cat umber timber in the wood lots lota float it down the river our nr render it to the authorities and receive no compensation in addition if the farmer should try to resist tyranny by abandoning his farm he would be fined for that british intervention in Ke lantan has wiped away most evils of this medieval system which was for far worse in practice than anything borove ever knew in the blackest centuries of the dark ages agea even the native ruler who Is still nominal lual head of the state reigns in greater luxury because he bo actually gets the taxes lie he levies although the british adviser has slashed the amount he may levy I 1 Ke lantan has railroad service with bangkok and singapore now A branch line came in from the north as far as the capital kota charu another finger line stretched toward it from the south the fingers have joined and Kel antans prosperity Is as for where the railroad goes ID malay peninsula rubber goes |