A breadfruit tree in Java
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The Dutch residents are called "elder brothers." Each resident watches his residency with great care to see that the taxes are collected and paid to the government, and that the natives are treated with justice. He is usually the judge who settles all family quarrels and disputes between neighbors. He is just in his judgments and his decisions are not questioned. Affairs are managed in much the same way as the "School City" or the George Settlement in the United States.

At the same time the Dutch are very careful to impress their authority on the natives. They require the natives to pay great respect to all officers of the colony. A native who comes into the presence of an official must have his head turbaned and his attire in proper form. Under no circumstances is he permitted to smoke, chew betel-nut, or behave carelessly.

The daily work of the natives is very carefully supervised. They are taught where to plant, what to plant, and how to plant their crops. The "elder brothers" also see that the crops are cultivated with care and properly harvested.

Java is ruled by a Governor-General and a council appointed by himself. The officers are selected because of their fitness, and most of the subordinates must pass a civil service examination. Once in the East India service an official is fixed for life, and when he has served his time he retires on a pension. Most of the pensioners prefer to remain in the island the rest of their lives.

The officials and, indeed, all European residents live well. Stone houses with marble or tile floors, wide verandas, and large gardens are the rule. Breakfast at one o'clock is the substantial meal of the day. It marks not the beginning but the end of the day's work. From one to five the intense heat keeps every one indoors. At five, official Java and all other Europeans bathe, dress, and get ready for dinner. After dinner, driving, calling, and gossiping at the clubs is the proper thing, and nowhere are people more ceremonious.

The natives have but little ambition and no desire to do anything for themselves. Now and then there are exceptions, however; and a native may be found pegging away at the studies that will enable him to pass the examinations and hold an official position.

As a whole, the native is gentle and polite and yields ready obedience to those in authority. He is fond of amusement, feasts, and gambling; he, moreover, celebrates every possible event—his marriage, the birth of his children, the building of his home, the rice harvest, a return from a journey, a recovery from illness, and even the filing of his teeth. If he, perchance, has not sufficient money to hold the celebration, he can join with a neighbor, then both will share mutually the expense. On all occasions his deportment is quiet, and whether moved by joy or anger, no loud language or boisterous laughter is ever heard.

The marriageable age of girls is from twelve to fourteen years, and that of boys sixteen. The night preceding the wedding must be spent by the couple in watching, in order to avert subsequent unhappiness, and the next day they repair to a mosque and are married according to Muhammadan rites and customs. To symbolize her total submission to her husband, the wife washes his feet. Unfortunately, a divorce can be obtained by the husband for a trivial cause by the payment of a small fee. A native, on being asked why he got a divorce from his wife, replied, "She ate too much and I could not afford to keep her."

Early in the morning the highways are thronged with people on their way to and from the markets. And the markets?—well, one is certain to find John Chinaman in charge. As a matter of fact, there are more than half a million Chinese in the island, and they have the control of the trade with the natives. But the native Javanese trudges along, balancing two baskets on a long bamboo pole. Women and girls help to make up the throng, and they, too, are laden.