Stories from Deli

Java Bode 11-09-1897

Medan, August 1897

So, the new ministry has been formed, and we welcome our former countryman and old Delian, Mr. J. F. Cremer, as the new Minister of Colonies. This is particularly significant for Deli, as much good is expected for our region from a man who has always been deeply involved in everything concerning Deli. Even if Mr. Cremer does not prioritize the interests of his district, as is typically expected of a member of parliament in Holland, we hope that his presence at the ministerial table will frequently have a favorable influence on proposals and decisions that particularly affect the East Coast.

Should the residents ever present His Excellency with a wish list, perhaps on the occasion of the upcoming St. Nicholas celebration, that list would likely become quite long, and His Excellency would be kept very busy for quite some time, even busier than he already is. The Java-bode newspaper published an editorial on August 10 regarding Mr. Cremer’s appointment, which prompts me to make a few comments. Firstly, the situation in Deli is not as precarious as the writer portrays. While it may be true that Mr. Cremer criticized the regulation 17 years ago in a brochure, which ensured that coolies would be returned to their place of origin after their contract expired, I do not believe that His Excellency will now make an effort to change that provision.

During the crisis three or four years ago, there was no sign of despair in Deli, except perhaps for a few isolated cases caused by a lack of sufficient capital to weather the storm for a year. The general belief here was that the Sumatra market would soon recover, and the facts have brilliantly confirmed that conviction. Both Chinese and Javanese or other indigenous workers are indispensable for the tobacco industry; they complement each other’s work. As for the former, they now mostly come directly from China through the mediation of the immigration bureau, so when they are sent back after their contract expires, they are no longer sent to a neighboring country (the Straits) but can be returned to their homeland.

In 1895, the immigration bureau brought in 7,686 Chinese coolies, and only 2,167 returned that year, taking $204,000 in saved money with them. Of those 2,167 coolies, a large number returned in ’96.

As for the indigenous coolies who arrive here, their situation is as dismal as ever, and it would be desirable for the return provision after the contract expires, especially for non-working coolies, to be enforced more strictly.

Do not think, reader, that after a harvest year, the plantations empty out because of the extensive use of the right to return. Firstly, there is usually an opportunity for gambling on each plantation, and the working coolie often quickly loses the money he saved and signs on again. Then there are those who remain in the country as free coolies, and finally, there are the congsibons, who can no longer or do not wish to sign a contract and settle in the main towns, providing for themselves in some way, which, for example, accounts for Medan’s large number of lepers and other diseased wanderers. It would be much better if all those who did not wish to renew their contract and could not demonstrate another means of livelihood were forced to return to their place of origin.

Only a small number of Chinese are considered unfit, and also a small number of fit coolies take advantage of the free return trip, and the latter usually return soon, often accompanied by young coolies they bring from their homeland to the land where, if work is done, money can be made, and where (oh! paradise for a Chinese) one is not beaten except in rare cases.

The poor quality of the indigenous workers who come to Deli for coolie work must be attributed to bad practices in recruitment and the even worse supervision of it in their countries of origin. Deli would greatly benefit from stricter oversight of this process.

Previously, it was feared that without the provision of free return, unsuitable coolies would remain behind as jungle dwellers and thieves, but that fear has already been realized despite the provision, as these days, in Upper and Lower Langkat, on various plantations, it is extremely unsafe. Robbery and murder continue to occur, reportedly carried out by well-armed Chinese and indigenous people with blackened faces. This has been going on for months now, but the police have been unable to apprehend the culprits. This contradicts the assertion made by the author of the aforementioned editorial that the police in Deli can be considered fully capable of fulfilling their duties, just as occasionally happens with a coolie riot, where the garrison gets involved.

Far from it. These robberies are unending, and many planters barely dare leave their plantations for fear of not being available at a critical moment.

Moreover, the alarming increase in warehouse fires (recently four in succession on the same plantation within two months) suggests that the police are far from being up to the task, as almost all of these fires are acts of malice, which severely harm our agriculture. Indeed, Deli would benefit from a permanent agricultural population.

Creating one from the Chinese is not easy, and given the characteristics of the Chinese, it is also less desirable. A permanent population of good indigenous people would be possible and desirable, but it would only be feasible if immigration were no longer handled by various recruiters, but rather if the government took responsibility for it or at least placed it under much stricter supervision than is currently the case.

I hope I haven’t tested your patience too much by addressing this one point from our imaginary wish list, and I will now move on from this topic. I suspect that the assurance that the birthday of Her Majesty the Queen Regent was celebrated here with the usual parade, salutes, and a ball in “the Witte” will be of little interest, so I would rather tell you something about the races. These races do not promise much; this time, the racing will take place over three days instead of two, as in previous years, and on the third day, a horse show will be held. So, for true horse lovers, these will be blessed days full of gambling and other thrills. As in almost every place, these races bring a lot of activity, and the hotels benefit greatly from them. There will be no participation from the Straits, which may be due to the fact that the outcome of the races depends not only on the speed of the horses but also on various other factors. There are some who remark that, for example, if the resident enters a horse in the race, it always wins, and there is sometimes a difference of opinion as to whether this is due to good training and stabling or to the influence of the president of the association on the course of events. As a layman, it is, of course, very difficult to have an opinion in such a discussion. However, it is a fact that in the upcoming races, mainly horses from B.B. will compete, and for most races, no more than three have been entered.

Fortunately, the “Gezelligheid” association is showing signs of renewed, and I would almost say rejuvenated, life. In January of next year, there will be a grand masquerade ball, already announced now, with an eye on orders from Europe for costumes, etc., and a few days ago, we had another performance that was extremely successful. I will not give a detailed account of it but will briefly mention the delightful custom of performing Deli couplets on such an evening. This is indeed a useful custom, as it allows many an obvious truth, which otherwise would generally remain unspoken, to come to light in the form of bon mots. The latest couplets praised the astonishing speed with which everything here gets done and progresses, and many a witty jab was delivered with good humor, but no less to the point. For example, a year ago, it was decided that Medan would be paved with the hard Penang gravel, and a few months ago, work began on this, with two months of labor resulting in a stretch of road not even 50 paces long. The conclusion that we would all likely be long dead before Medan could enjoy those beautiful, hard streets was indeed not far-fetched. The various couplets were all very clever and were received with applause, but I heard one of the attendees remark that they had forgotten to mention the remarkable speed with which matters are usually handled at our residency office.

However, I have learned that this is not so bad, especially if one can occasionally support one’s interests with some persuasive arguments, and I found the allusion to the slow progress of most land council or somewhat complex police cases much more amusing. There was also a reference to the hasty transfer of our commanding officer. Major Willems was a very popular figure here, and indeed this transfer came at a very inopportune time. He was acting regional commander here for about a year. Finally, he was officially appointed, and just a few months after settling in, the transfer to Aceh came, and it was time to hold another vendue and relocate. Well, that is simply the downside of what might be called the officer’s uniform.

So, every job has its light and shadow sides. Recently, on a coffee plantation in Serdang, an assistant was so severely beaten on the head by a coolie that he died a few days later. Not long ago, on the upstream plantation of Franco-Deli, where a conflict had just taken place, another disturbance occurred, which initially seemed quite serious. However, the arrival of a dozen police officers was enough to maintain the administrator’s authority.

On those higher plantations with hilly terrain, you usually don’t find the best of the coolies, as the work there is much harder, so the good coolies, who can choose where they want to work, are generally not found there.

Finally, our society building is getting a new roof. Well, it’s about time; the building looks very dilapidated and colorless, both inside and out, and is as leaky as a sieve. It’s strange that in a place like Deli, the main building in Medan looks so shabby that one is almost ashamed to introduce a stranger to it. Only the stage, thanks to the good care of “Gezelligheid,” is in good condition and is equipped with a beautiful set of scenery. There was great satisfaction here with the news of our troops’ success at Segli. The brave governor and our valiant Major Van Heutsz seem to be handling things well. Fortunately, under the current ministry, there is a chance that the current system will be maintained for some time.

With just as much or even more interest, we have successively received the telegrams reporting the tobacco sales. The result of the ’96 harvest is very satisfactory, and the ’97 harvest is expected to be excellent.

Despite these good expectations, which, even if realized, will benefit most of the tobacco assistants very little, the “Mutual Aid” association continues to operate steadily, and the membership is growing significantly. Indeed, its establishment will prove to have been a fortunate idea many times over.

Recently, Dr. Breda de Haan gave a public lecture on the death of tobacco plants, mainly in connection with the slime disease. There was a good turnout from the planters, showing a lot of interest. However, we didn’t hear much new, and it was truly a pleasure to wash down that slime story with a cold drink at the buffet.

In a few days, we will celebrate the birthday of our young queen with a dance reception at the residency. I hear that not as much effort will be put into it as last time. I’ll let you know how that party and the races turn out on another occasion.

X.