Dartmouth in Java

A letter from Bob Stevens '27 under the letterhead, N. V. General Motors Java, Handel Mij., Tandjong-Priok, Java (N. E. I.) has just arrived, dated April 26. Bob writes: "I arrived down here the last of January and find myself in a different sort of world. Living in the tropics is an interesting experience and one that I would not like to miss. We have no seasons but can always count on the days being hot. It is a hardship for a ski-enthusiast and you can well imagine my feelings when I read the D.A.M. and see pictures of skiers and snow.

"We sleep nights under mosquito netting with as little clothing as possible and in the office work in light clothes and shirt sleeves. All our servants in the house go barefooted at all times and wear little hats. The only language that can be used with them is Malay

"Our territory consists of all of the Netherlands East Indies, plus Malaya and Thailand. If you superimpose a map of this on a map of the United States, one part will stick out into the Pacific Ocean and the rest will go clear across the United States and far into the Atlantic In all there are over seventy million people in the N. E. I.

"We seem far away from the troubled world in Europe but on the other hand, we may be intimately drawn into the mess. The natural wealth of these islands is stupendous and, of course, appeals to any greedy nation, especially the oil, rubber and tin.

"The magazines from home are at least six weeks old and usually two months, which gives you an idea how far behind I am on the news. Mail is very infrequent "