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Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Date
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1903-2013
Description
An account of the resource
This collection brings together materials donated by Suffolk University faculty, staff, alumni and friends that represent their individual academic pursuits, research, memorabilia, and other personal records. Some of them are small collections of personal papers or single items such as scrapbooks, objects or photo albums.
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Find out more about our collections on <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/explore/24553.php">our website</a>.
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Personal scrapbook of Suffolk University Law School alumnus George C. Kendall
Date
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1903-1944
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Kendall, George C.
Description
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This scrapbook documents aspects of George Christopher Kendall’s early life and career from 1903-1944. Kendall was born on August 22, 1885 in British Guiana, South America. He was employed as a letter carrier for the government post office from 1901 until 1910 and later managed a theatrical group called the Merry Makers. Kendall emigrated to the U.S. in 1911 but after four years left for Canada to work for the Canadian Pacific Railway Co. Between the years of 1915 and 1921, Kendall travelled between Canada and the U.S. to attend Armstrong Tech High School in Washington D.C. and New York Electric School in New York City. During his residency, he studied at the Wheeler Prep School. He then entered Suffolk Law School in 1924 and graduated in 1928 but never practiced law. Kendall spent most of his adult life in Boston and Woburn, MA. The scrapbook includes his Canadian passport, employment papers, handwritten journals, academic certificates, license renewals, wedding invitations, personal photographs, cancelled will, and sheet music written by Kendall.
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Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Series 2: George C. Kendall Scrapbook, 1903-1944 (MS102.04)
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Find out more about our collections on <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/explore/24553.php">our website</a>.
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Mixed Material
Albums
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PDF
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English
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Suffolk University--Law School
Scrapbooks
Emigration and immigration
Guyana
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ms_102_02
Alumni
Campus diversity
Scrapbooks
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. The First National Bank of Chicago
Gaylord A. Freeman, Jr.
This is the last letter
of thi s series.
I hope that you
�Moor ea
The Society Islands
May 4, 1967
Dear Homer:
11
Welcome to Paradise.
11
It didn't seem an exaggeration whe n the slender, hairychested young man in the dirty shorts jumped from the dock and shook
hands with the arriving tourists and returning Mooreans.
would have seemed an understatement.
Anything else
But, unfortunately, it wasn 1t
our stop.
We had left Auckland at midnight and, once a loft, had cock-·tails and an e laborat e dinner which lasted until 2:00 a. m. ,,, We then set
our watches ahead to 4 : 00 a. m. , Tahitian time, and, after a two and a
half hour rest, we r e awakened to see the first rays of the sun pinking
the clouds atop Mount Orohena and slowly lig ht up the ridges and finally
the coastal fringe of Tahiti.
For almost a year Mrs, Freeman has searched for, and found,
articles on all aspects of Tahiti, the larg est of the Society Islands, its
~:~
Though a bit late for dinner, I was delighted,for, hav ing spent all of
the morning wr i.ting my letter from New Zealand, dictating it to a
Maori girl whose English was poor and American terrible , and,
revising it at the stenographer's office, I hadn't gotten back to the
hotel until time to leave and, hence, had not eaten all day.
�-2-
history, its art, its role in literature.
It has be en desc ribed in rapture
by both palette and pen - - but seen in the early dawn it was more beautiful
than I b e lieved possible .
11
colos sal,
11
In an age when the mediocre is described as
it is a surprise to find something lovelier than it has been
describ ed -- but our first glimpse of Tahiti more than justified Captain
Bligh's description as the "finest island in the world.
11
By seven we had landed, were through customs, read the sign
that says there is no tipping in Tahiti, and were driving into t he island's
only town through the morning traffic, already quite heavy, for offices are
open from 7 : 30 until 11: 00 and from 2:00 to 5 :00 .
There is only one road
whic h circles the figure 8-shaped, 47-mile long island, and there were
hundreds of cars and perhaps thousands o f two-wheeled bicycles, one-lunged
Solexes and more elabo rate scooters, all headed one way -- to the pleasant,
small, wat erfront town (population 20,302) of Papeete (pronounced Pappy-ate-tay),
which was accurately described in a recent article as looking
beaten Mexican border town.
11
like a weather-
11
We first saw Honolulu in 1934, but even then it was at least
thir1 y years ahead of today I s Papeete, which has no building over "two-thirds
the height of a c o conut tree.
.,,
-,·
....,.......,..
,. . .. ..
11
I suppose Europeans w ho came here years ago
In 1787 Captain William Bligh sailed into Matavai Bay with his small
ship, the 11 Bo11nty, 11 sent by King GPorge III, to find breadfruit trees
and take them to the We st Inclie s .
Tahiti, 11 HOLIDAY (February, 1967), which went on to say: ' 1There
ct.re parks with 1nagnificent trees, two-story wooden buildings, a
cathedral, and plenty of debris and garbage in the streets . 11
11
�-3-
feel that Tahiti was ruined when the airstrip was opened in 1960 and
further destroyed in 1962 when the French decided to build an atomic
testing site on the Tuamotu-Gamber island group several hundred miles
away and supply it from Tahiti.
tourists a year.
B efore the airstrip, Tahiti had only 500
Now they must have 18,000, but I don't believe that we
saw one in the two hours that we sat in the sidewalk cafe and walked along
the waterfront embankment where lovely yachts from Los Angeles and
small inter-is l and schooners lay side by side, their sterns tied to old
cannons half sunk in the quay, or as we waited for our 9: 30 boat to Moorea,
I feel confident that in a dozen more years there will be at least ten times
as many tourists, for this is a lovely part of the world.
I must not sound as though we had discovered Tahiti.
George
Robertson, sailing the British frigate "Dolphin," did so just 200 years ago
next month.
Unlike the European captains who discovered New Zealand
only to be repulsed with the killing of several sailors, Captain Robertson
found "all sorts of refreshments 11 on his arrival.
sole complaint of successive captains.
Indeed, that became the
With such verdant valleys, such
ampl e breadfruit, bananas, coconuts and fish, ,:, with the girls so inviting
,:,
As James Morrison, one of those who mutinied c1gai11st Captain Bligh
and stayed on Tahiti, said: 1 1Every part of the Is l and produces food
without the he l p of man, it may of this Country be said that the Curse
of Eden has not reached it, no man having his bread to get by the
Sweat of his Brow, ... "
�-4-
and the climate so salubrious -- it proved difficult to reassemble a crew
to sail away.
Captain Cook came later and named this part of Polynesia the
Society Islands out of respect for the British Royal Society which had
financed his trip to study the transit of Venus.
Though the British were
the first ones here, the French took over the government about 100 years
ago and maintain it today, with the result that French is the western
language of the islands.
It was rediscovered by Paul Gauguin who, forsaking his wife
and family and stock brokerage business in Paris, came here in 1891 to
become known to the Tahitians as
11
the man who makes human beings.
11
In his own words:
''All the joys -- animal and human -- of a
free life are mine. I have escaped everything
that is artificial, conventional, customary.
I am entering into the truth, into nature. 11
Though he died without either fortune or fame, the latter came to both
Gaugin and the Tahiti which he painted with such love.
Robert Louis Stevenson was here late in the last century and
"heard the pulse of the besieging sea throb away all night. ... heard the
wind fly crying and convulse tumultuous palms.
11
::~
Rupert Brooke, whose Greek-god appearance
had captured the
Tahitian I s love of beauty in the intervals between his bacchanalian celebrations
::~
In London he was referred to as the "Golde n Apollo.
11
�-5-
in
11
Pupure's Grove,
and "Retrospect,
11
11
had written "The Great Lover,
11
11
Tiare, Tahiti,"
and sung with pleasure:
"Crown the hair, and come away,
Hear the calling of the moon
And the whispering scents that stray
About the idle warm lagoon. 11
Three years later Somerset Maugham, coming by Brooke's
route (which we had unknowingly followed) from New Zealand, discovered
the overwhelming sensual beauty of Tahiti and stayed to write "The Moon
and Sixpence.
11
It must have given that quiet man great pleasure to write
about Gauguin, for, after an unhappy youth (which he recorded in "Of Human
Bondage"), he, too, had fled his profession, medicine, to pursue an artistic
career as a writer -- and like Gauguin, almost starved in the process -- but
-~
,,,
was rewarded by his enjoyment of Tahiti's beauty .
,:,
"Tahiti is a lofty green island, with deep folds of a darker green, in
which you divine silent valleys; there is mystery in their sombre depths,
down which murmur and plash cool streams, and you feel that in those
umbrageous places life from immemorial tirrB s has been led according
to immemorial ways. Even here is something sad and terrible. But
the impression is fleeting, and serves only to give a greater acuteness
to the enjoyment of the moment . It is like the sadness which you may
see in the jester's eyes when a merry company is laughing at his sallies ;
his lips smile and his jokes are gayer because in the communion of
laughter he finds hims elf more intolerably alone. For Tahiti is smiling
and friendly; it is like a lovely woman graciously prodigal of her charm
and beauty; and nothing can be more conciliatory than the entrance into
the harbour at Papeete. The schooners moored to the quay are trim and
neat, the little town along the bay is white and urbane, and the flamboyants,
scarlet against the blue sky, flaunt their colour like a cry of passion. They
are sensual with an unashamed violence that leaves you breathless. And
the crowd that throngs the wharf as the steamer draws alongside is gay
and debonair; it is a noisy, cheerful, gesticulating crowd. It is a sea of
brown faces. You have an impression of coloured movement against the
flaming blue of the sky, Everything is done with a great deal of bustle, the
unloading of the baggage, the examination of the customs; and everyone
seems to smile at you. It is very hot. The colour dazzles you. 11
W. Somerset Maugham, "The Moon and Sixpence" (Bantam Books, 1963),
pages 142-143.
�-6-
Tahiti was discovered some time later by the team of Charles
Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, who brought fortune to themselves and
more fame to these islands with their trilogy,
11
Mutiny on the Bounty
11
and
,,,
,,,
the two companion books
based on the adventures of Captain Bligh and
thos e who mutinied against him.
Ours, then, wasn't the original discovery, but, exhausted as we
were and after another night without sleep, it was an enchanting introduction
to a way of life which I did not think could still exist.
There is no hurry,
no racial tension, no winter , no income tax, and almost no tabus -cent of the parents of newborn children aren 1t married.
11
70 per
11
By nine o'clock, with both the humidity and the temperature
already in the high nineties, an incongruous fat banker in suit, vest and
hard felt hat, and his neatly-girdl ed wife, perspiring freely, walked
through the little groups of barefoot native boys in shorts and their girls
in pareus, to seek the shade of the yacht's canopy and the slight breeze
of the waterfront.
S eated facing the quay, we had a continuous theater as the boys
loaded the ship and the passengers of all colors and costumes, including a
stout, unkempt woman in green who was constantly eating potato chips or
something out of a bag and looked a bit cross , and a nice coupl e who conversed in French but spoke a greeting to us in English and introduced
:::<
,:<>:,
11
Men Against the Sea II and '' Pitcairn's Island.
HOLIDAY (February, 1967).
11
�-7-
Thus, we were entertained until we
themselves as Mr. and Mrs . Ri e.
sailed for Moor ea, which we could see
only a dozen miles from Tahiti.
It appeared, as Maugham had said, "like some high fastness of th e Holy
Grail, guarded its mystery .... like the unsubstantial fabric of a magic
wand.
11
;:,*:
It was, indeed, beautiful and the cloud-shrouded canyons,
cut into the old volcano cones, did present the mystery of the kind that
allows one to imag ine beautiful little coconut groves with dancing waterfalls
or whatever your fancy suggests.
To celebrate the beauty or something, the
proprietoress of the boat served us ice cold beer.
We rounded Moorea,
came t h rough a break in the coral reef against which the surf pounds day
and night, into the still lagoon and up to the dock.
were greeted with the
11
We lcome to Paradise.
11
It was there that we
Actually, it was the Bali Hai
Hotel, the name of which awaken ed in my mind a half-remembered story of
three Los Angeles bach elors who had come here .
But that was not our stop.
the mile-long, narrow Cook Inlet,
11
We went on another few minutes to
the best anchorage in the i slands,"
running in between two volcanic cones and there to another dock where stood
the Hotel
11
X
11
,
,:,
Mr. Rie was in this country during the war. His business of importing shells for buttons having been discontinued, he worked for awhile
as a plastic engineer at Sampsell Time Control and later at Sears here
in Chicago. The two men here he remembered the best were Dick
Burke and Bob Quayle, two of our dear friends.
,:o:,
''The Moon and Sixpence" (Bantam Books, 1963) , page 142 .
�-8-
Sometimes things just seem to go wrong.
organization at the dock .
place else.
There was no
Nobody welcomed us to Paradise or to any
I went into the hotel ("into" is hardly the word, for nothing
is closed, but I went under the largest thatched roof) and sought to register,
but had to wait for the manager who, it turned out, was the woman in
green!
If she had not made a favorable impression on us, I fear that we
had been even less successful with her,
for two nights but no more.
She said that she would take us
When I explained (pleasantly, I thought) that
we had a confirmed reservation, she demanded to see it, though it was
packed in the luggage not yet off the dock.
She requested that we furnish
her with a coupon, but I said that we had none.
"Impossible.
How could you not have a coupon?
whom could I have trusted?
11
11
If you had not come,
The logic of that assault threw me for awhile,
but I pointed out that we were in fact truly here.
but only for two days.
She was indignant.
11
That is the trouble --
I felt that Dale Carnegie would not have given her
a passing grade and we trudged on down the sandy path, past several groups
of dark-skinned people who didn't respond to our greetings or even look up
as we passed.
Paradise,
Somehow, this fell a little short of how I had imagined
But our cottage was clean and cool and, after a swim, a drink,
a delightful lunch, a very pleasant visit with the Ries , and a much needed
nap, life looked up.
The rum punches were good, the dinner excellent.
�-9We were in Paradise.
Every view was sensuous, the water
warm, soft and full of bright-colored fish .
But we were s t rangers m
this Paradise -- the only Americans and, as such,t olerated but perhaps
not wholly welcome.
Another oddity was that we were both of the same
race ,
From the first sailors to arrive two centuries ago until t h is
morning's jet, the visiting male has found the girls here welcoming.
read much about this - - somewhat skepti cally - - but it is true.
I had
At a
d istance this sounds exciting and I am sure it could be at first hand -- but
without becoming missionar ies we could see all around us the disadvantages
that such lia i sons create.
As we sat on the lawn for cocktails, a young man in his late
thirties joined us, at his s u ggestion.
A resident of the other side of the
island, he had come t o the hotel for companionship -- and endless beers
wh ile his wife visited her children in boarding school in Papeet e .
A
Middl ewesterner, raised a good Catholic, educated through high school ,
successful as an accountant, he came to Tahiti five years ago en rou te to
Australia -- and never got beyond.
After six months he went back to the
States, arranged his affairs (he has a moderate income) and returned to
Moor e a, fell in love with a girl from Bora Bora, went through a formal
marriage ceremony, and lives with her.
How had it worked out?
Was he happy?
�-10-
"Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by happy.
"What do you do ?
11
11
"Well, often there is something around the hous e to fix and I
do that .
Here, I have a l ist of the things to do today.
brother, a priest, in the States.
pump up a soft tire .
First, write my
Second, fix a leaky faucet and, third,
I get up a list of things like that every day.
Some-
times I write a letter -- I've kept copies of all of the letters that I have
ever written from here.
Maybe some day I'll write a book.
"Has the marriage worked out well?
"Well, you know how it is,
11
I'd like to go back to the States
for three or four months but my wife is very dark.
I've told her how it is
in the States and she cried, but I think she understands.
in Hawaii.
11
We have friends
I could leave her there for awhile."
"Is she happy?
11
"Well, I guess she would be if it weren't for the kids.
You
may not like me for saying this, but though I have tried I can't really like
th e kids,
I pretend they're mine, but, of course, they aren't.
She had
them b efo r e I came and it just doesn't seem fair to me to have to support
them,
It isn ' t as if s he is promiscuous,
She knows who the fathers are
and both of them ought to help support their own kids,
so and I guess that's what bugs us -- it's thos e kids."
Anyway, I think
�-11-
Others here consider him foolish, not for having married
a native girl (each of the five hotel managers I've met here are "married"
to local girls who, at 40, are grossly overweight, for here, as in so many
primitive societies, a fat wife is prized as a symbol of prosperity and
dignity, and their many cute children dot th e hot e l grounds) , but his mistake
in the eye s of the other white men here is that he is "married-married.
11
If you live with a girl for any period you are "married" and, despite the
virtual certainty of children, the liaison has no legal sanction and lasts
only as long as both desire.
they are "married-married,
But a few go through the formal legal ceremony
11
or legally married.
As I wrote this part of the notes sitting in the shade of the
palms, I could watch the couple next door as they lay on the beach, both
young and aliv e , he French, she from the islands with a touch of Chines e .
They are a happy young couple, but I gather that it is a rare Westerner who
can come here as an adult and find c ontinued companionship with a thickening
woman who can neither read nor write nor work and has no interest in anything she has not knoV'/11 before.
As I was sensing this from the answers to
,,,
,,,
my questions,
Mrs. Freeman read me the end of a story about a French-
man, Z ola, who, sens itive to the artificialities and constraints of modern
wester n society, had come here and settled down w ith a lov ely Polynesian
girl, Toma.
,:,
At this point in the story Toma has made a flower arrangement;
Some day some one may take a punch at that nose which I poke into
their affairs.
�-12-
Zola has separated the flowers and asked her to arrange them differently:
111
Can you do any other arrangements?' Zola asked
Toma without looking at her.
'"No, this is the only arrangement I make, 1 she said.
She smiled. 'They taught us this when we were children.
Mai-tai ! eh. 1
'"Mai-tai,
1
I replied.
11 1
Mai-tai, and every girl on the island can do this
single arrangement, and the girls of the island have been
making this arrangement and no other for over four hundred
years, 1 Zola said. His voic e was empty.
''Zola's face was held in a tight little smile, but his
eyes were suddenly deep and black with a strange expression.
I sensed that he had looked over the edge of the chasm. Between
us hung the knowledge that Toma could make only one flower
arrangement, could cook poa only one way, cook fish only one
way, make l ove in only one way, sing in only one pattern of
songs, dance one kind of dance. Anything outside of the simple
patterns did not interest her. A nd years ago Zola had come
to know all of them.
"Zola and I did not discuss this during the rema1nmg days
I was on his atoll. We walked and talked constantly; but he
never referred to himself. When the PBY returned I rowed the
old rubber boat out to it after saying good-by to Zola and Toma.
The sweat was pouring into my eyes by the time I reached .the
plane . I was tired. Just as I sh ipped my oars and looked again
at Zola's house the salty drops of sweat fogged my vision. Zola
seemed shrunken, small, hunched, almost bleached. He had
stopped waving. Toma seemed life- s iz ed and natural.
"He was a prisoner not of a dream, but of those faded years
in France that had instilled into his nerves and brain and soul
an int erest in questions beyond himself and beyond the day in which
he existed. He had escaped only the real presence of European
life; twisted through his mind like a maze of black jets were a
set of condition ings and experience s that had burned into his
youthful mind. From these he could never escape.
�-13-
"Zola is typical of a whole breed of men, of white
men that live in the South Seas. Sensitive to the rawness
of their native society, they flee to the apparent tranquility
of the South Pacific. But by then the damage has been done.
"To every white man in the South Seas this dread knowledge of thinness, sameness, an endless unrolling of identical
acts, the haunting absence of distinct personality, must some
day be faced , For many it is too much to face. This is one
reason why so many of the white men of the Pacific are the
most quietly desperate alcoholics in the world. They have
burned all their bridges ; there is no path back to Paris or
Dubuque or London. They must, because of pride and sometimes sloth and sometimes poverty, stay in the South Seas .
But the original vision has been cauterized over with the scars
of experience. So they must be sustained by alcohol or gambling or opium or driving economic activity or, as in the case
of Zola, by a frantic search for the fullest knowledge of a
culture that he did not really value.
"There is a lesson . If you want to live in the South Seas
start early. Early, very early, our nerves become civilized,
It is not easy to then slough off the coatings of civilization; they
are more durable and tough than the softer stuff of primitive
.f
II >:,
l1 e .
I would not write of this aspect of life so fully, but at the
Hotel
11
X 11 the managers and all of the guests (except the Ri es and ourselves)
were mixed couples and I felt in large part the strangeness that we felt was
but a reflection of the resultant malaise which affected our hosts and fellow
guests.
It affected the Mooreans who, usually joyous, were, for some
reason, quite withdrawn and unresponsive.
We drove around most of the island and were intrigued.
is only one rough winding dirt road.
>'i<
There
Uncluttered with vehicles, it is an
Eugene Burdick, 11 The Black and the White,
(Corgi Books, 1966), pages 139-140,
11
Best South Sea Stories
�-14-
intimate part of almost every house and yard,
for there is no town in Moor ea .
It goes through no towns
There is no air strip.
except those on the sides of the streams,
There are no banks
There are several schools,
several stores run by Chinese, but these are not clustered in any settlement, just set along the 5 0-mile road that circles the island on the narrow
shelf of palm-covered land between the mountains and the sea.
The peopl e reflect their Eden-like surroundings.
The young
men are lithe, coordinated and, though full of fun amongst themsel.ves, are
fair l y low-voiced and quiet.
They are well muscled with strong, broad
feet and seem to have considerable strength, though they seldom expend it.
The older men, some of whom, when their hair turns white, are quite
patrician, tend to be far too fat - - and have no clothes to hide it, for a
pair of shorts and perhaps a pair of sandals are a complete wardrobe.
The girls are slender, graceful, soft-spoken, and openly friendly, but
few have faces that we would consider beautiful.
They wear the pareu,
a sheet of printed cotton which they may tie around their necks and wrap
around their body, or just wrap it quite tightly around their breasts (perhaps they tuck it into a strapless bra) and let it hang from mid-breast to
mid -thigh.
It is colorful and clean, but
11
doe sn 't do anything for the figure. "
Indeed, hanging straight down in front, it looks a bit like a maternity outfit
but with their love of children this is not an objectionable appearance,
�-15-
Their voices are quite musical, whether they are speaking
Tahitian, French or a few words of English.
I understand their language
contains virtually no words representing intangible concepts.
They are not
contemplative or speculative by nature, but the language contains many
words for a single object .
I think there are twenty for the coconut tree
in different stages or shapes.
Their music is vocal.
accompaniment.
The guitar or ukulele me rely provides
Their voices are pleasant but I could detect only one
part -- there was no harmony.
Occasionally one voice would ring out with
a challenge as in some of our Negro spirituals.
Those that have and keep regular jobs do their assigned chores
with dignity and, if you thank them, with a smile, but without any obvious
enthusiasm.
to do.
And if there is a minute 1 s lull, they do not seek something else
They sit down, strum a guitar or sing or gossip.
the moment 1 s need, is unnecessary.
Work, except for
Planning is incomprehensible.
Coconuts fall from the trees and,though some are occasionally
gathered by the side of the road to wait the copra buyer who must stop and
load them, they lie where they fall.
and grapefruit.
There are bananas, papayas, pineapples
They are gathered for today 1 s food but few are cultivated,
There are cows, but they are not milked.
and why else would one work?
They do not need to work to live
Life is to be lived for pleasure.
The
�-16-
Calvinistic appreciation of discipline is absolute! y incomprehensible.
~:,
On Sunday, sitting by the shore, writing these notes, I could
see, 100 yards down the beach, ten young men alternately playing guitars,
singing and dancing, and kicking a little ball in an informal soccer game ,
Further on were two young, beautifully-formed girls lying on the beach
waiting to be noticed,
Beyond, sitting heavily in the sand were the wives
of the two managers watching their brood, stark naked, swimming and
playing on the beach .
Last night as we sat in the dusk having a pre-dinner
drink, those children were playing in front of us, when a thought seized them
and a little boy, about 5, played a drum in pantomime, and the two girls,
perhaps 4 and 7, danced the hip- swinging dance of the islands.
>:<
Again let me quote from Eugene Burdick. You may remember him for
his "The Ugly American 11 and "Fail-Safe. 11 An Iowa-born Stanford
graduate and Rhodes scholar, he spent part of each year here on
Moorea (until his death two years ago) and knew the people. In the
story that I quote from above, he described the Tahitian girl:
11
I think I understand Toma and through her, the Polynesian personality. She lives literally in the moment. She
loves tiare and her eyes will light up when she sees them,
but she will not plant them. She has started vegetable gardens
five times at my insistence, but each time has allowed the
gardens to wither. She loves radishes, but not e nough to grow
and fertilize and water them. Three times she has agreed to
hire workers to build an outdoor privy next to the bathhouse.
But each time the money has gone for calico or tobacco,
Flowers, radishes, a privy .•. all of these are things of the
future and Toma does not think of the future, Polynes ians
do not know how to calculate future pleasures. I do not know
why this should exasperate me but it does. 11 (page 13 7)
�-17-
To dance and sing and to make love, those are the point of
living.
don't.
The French understand this but (the Mooreans feel) the Americans
They come and want to change everything and make work.
should go home.
They
If it is necessary to let them come to bring their money ,
perhaps we can put up with it, but don't let them stay.
And they don 1t ! The smart Chinese, realizing that an islande·r
would sell anything for enough rum to give a party, were acquiring land
so rapidly that in 1934 the French government felt compelled to pr·ohibit
the purchase of any more land by foreigners (except from foreigners) .
To grant an exception, it is nec essar y for the local administration to get
approval from Paris and that is very rare.
This means that there is little
for sale and, because of its scarcity, that is at very high prices.
I was
told t hat land is sold in strips from the sea to the mountaintop and, as in
most places, there is only about a quarter of a mile nearest the beach
which is level enough to have any utilitarian value.
This makes such land
more expensive than any present use could justify.
On the other hand, the
Tahitians can lease their land and thus some are assured of income in
perpetuity.
After the week end at Hotel
11
X 11 , we moved to Bali Hai for three
days of rest and writing (these notes and a speech for the A. I. B. ).
recollection had been correct.
Don Mc Callum.
My
The young man in the dirty shorts was
A manufacturer's representative in Los Angeles, he,
�-18-
Hugh Kelley (a lawyer with Shera, Mallory and Kelley ), and Jay Carlisle,
a floor trader on the Pacific Coast Exchange, all bachelors and either
bored or discouraged with their lives, had d ec ided in 1960 to chuck it all
and go to Tahiti.
Here on Moorea they bought a vanilla plantation which ,
''<
unfortunately, like most of the plantations here, was a bus t. ·,
So was the Bali Hai Hotel which had not yet had a guest.
So
the three bought the hotel and, after eighteen months of French red tape,
they owned it and received their first guests in June of 1962 .
In the inter -
vening five years they have worked harder to build up the buildings and the
clientele than they ever had in Los Angeles .
They have been successful.
The grounds, right on the ocean, are beautifully kept up.
The
lawns are deeply green around the very comfortable, airy thatch-roofed
cottages set amid the palms, which Maugham described as coming
down to the water's edge, not in rows, but
spaced out with an ordered formality. They
were like a ballet of spinsters, elderly but
flippant, standing in affected attitudes 11
11
looking at their reflections.
the guests American.
:::~
The food is good, the operation organized, and
The three bacheior s have now spread out and have a
In the first place, it is a lot of work. As you may know, vanilla is a
form of orchid, the seed pod of which is used to produce the flavoring
extract. Each plant has to be pollinated individually. Thus, it is hard
work. Secondly, the bugs get it. Thirdly, it isn't the best vanilla, and,
lastly, Madagascar not only produces better vanilla, it produces all that
is really needed . They are now trying to convert the land to pasture
and are bringing in some Charolais cattle.
�-19-
second Bali Hai on Raia tea, about 100 miles west of here, a smaller,
more remote and even more beautiful island -- thus like this but more so.
Nothing is perfect.
The swimming is poor (because of coral)
and when, our first day here, a group of perhaps 100 from the Matson
cruise ship, the "Mariposa," came here for the day to enjoy the "biggest
show in all of Polynesia,
11
we felt momentarily transported to North Miami
Beach -- but that occurs only once each three weeks and by eight o ' clock
the day's guests had gone.
This is a beautiful spot, gaily cheerful, staffed with local girls
who never pass you without a pat.
the guitar or find another and sing .
If one has a free minute, she will play
We have not had to learn the name of
any other guest, but when v::e pass and say good morning, they not only
realize that it isn't an insult, they respond in kind.
If you were in the area, this would be a lovely place to vacation
but you might need to bring some project with you.
For one who needed it,
it would be a great place to rest and recuperate.
The warm humid air at best relaxes and at worst debilitates.
But it can unwind the most tense and I was deeply grateful for that.
The
constant beauty, the lack of exertion by anyone else quiets one 1s temptation
to help or suggest.
With any cooperation on your part, a week here more
than any place I know will
11
knit the raveled sleeve of care ... .
11
�-20-
But it is not a place for you or me to live, not only because
of the humidity or the inaccessibility or the bugs, but because we have
lost our innocenc e.
In one of the articles Mrs . Freeman brought , the author
described his stay -"The days were the summer afternoons
of childhood, 11
and so I hope they were for him .
But for most of us people of the West,
particularly we whose businesses require so much of us, escape is not a
matter of location -- the water can be cool or tepid, but that counts only
for an instant.
A magnificent view can be observed but does not compel
constant observation.
we seek the shade.
The sun can be bright and we are grateful even as
It may still be true as Morrison said in writing of
these islands :
Their Inhabitants . . .. are without doubt the
Happiest on the Face of the Globe."
11
And the islands offer us some of this same beneficence, a completely
salubrious climate without, for the moment, any need of punctuality,
formality or concern.
But for us it is just "for the moment . "
For us,
over fifty years of discipline have closed the door forever on "the summer
days of childhood.
11
Moorea or Tahiti can offer decompression more equable than
Florida and free of retired friends or ambitious borrowers to interrupt
your dreams.
�-21-
The constant rumble of a thousand waves against the coral
reef sounds like distant diesel locomotives to which, were we home, we
would close our ears.
In wondrous clouds which always build up on the
horizon, you see full sailing galleons, castles or a mountain range -- but
the only images you see are those you brought with you.
tests, those billowed shapes do not create.
to what you carry deep inside ,
Like Rorschach
They only open up the door
The thoughts of business and family, of
church and civic responsibilities that have woven strand by strand into our
lives - - like the threads that bound Gulliver to the ground, they by their
number restrain us.
We come too late to Tahiti.
Happiness is no longer for us a
matter of geography -- it is a matter of action, of problems, of decision,
and occasional victory.
I have no envy of the Tahitian 's freedom (a man is
free or enjoys liberty in proportion to which his life is governed by his own
choice).
11
Freedom is not doing as one pleases but doing as one chooses.
11
Our whole education and training is to choose wisely; the Tahitian 1s is to allow hims elf to be pleased.
the Tahitian.
Our concepts are quite foreign to
If we but substitute intellect or even curiosity in place of
soul, we can accept Maugham 1s observation,
11
A soul is a troublesome
passes sion and when man developed it, he lost the Garden of Eden ,
,1,
,,,
11
Ralph Barton Perry, "When is Education Liberal? 11 (Toward the
Liber ally Educated Executive), edited by Robert A. Goldwin and
Charles A. Nelson, The Fund for Adult Education, White Plains,
New York, 1959, page 37-.
,:,
�-22-
We lost our innocence a long time ago.
We don't want to
live in the Garden of Eden - - it has no inside pl um bing and one can't be
certain that a fifty-year -old Eve would look good in slacks.
I am corny enough to love the United States,
I even like to work on its problems.
I love its people.
But I am intensely appreciative of
the chance to see other lands and observe their people.
And so, with that bit of sentimentality, I will end these notes
and pack my bags, for we leave at midnight for a long trip that arrives in
Chicago the following midnight,
Thus, I will close this, the fifth series
of letters from foreign travels.
As we have had the good fortune to see
most parts of the world except Africa and Central America, this may be
the last for some time,
I end with more than thanks -- a deep gratitude to you who,
over the years, have made it possible for us to see the world -- and to
Caterpillar for this particular trip.
Though of limited perception , I have
been grateful for the chance to observe the institutions, the interests and
the aspirations of so many peoples.
I don't know that I will be a better
banker, but I should be a wiser man.
i
With deep respect· arid affection,
c}aLz_
�
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Letter to Homer J. Livingston from Gaylord "Gale" A. Freeman Jr. about his travels in Mo'orea, the Society Islands
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4 May 1967
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Freeman, Gaylord A
Livingston, Homer J
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Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Series 4: Gaylord A. Freeman, Jr. Far East and Oceania Letters Collection, 1967
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Oceania
Moorea (French Polynesia)
--Civilization--20th century.
Moorea (French Polynesia)
--Commerce--United States.
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Asia
Far East Letters
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Text
,,
Auckland, New Zealand
April 28, 1967
Dear Homer:
Mr. Mowbray, General Manager of the National Bank of
New Zealand, summed up his comments with ''We in New Zealand have
only two assets, rain and sunshine." For the first forty-eight hours of
our stay we saw only the first.
Located at the southern end of North Island, Wellington is a
port city on Cook Strait which separates the two main islands (we didn 1t
have time to visit the South Island, with its snow-covered Alps and majestic
fjords).
The almost constant wind and frequent rain which characterize
that city were in full force when our propeller-driven plane completed its
four-hour flight from Sydney and came down on a runway, too short for
jets, almost in the center of town with its two-story control tower surrounded by private homes.
Another characteristic was also apparent.
Australian gag goes,
11
11
An over-worked
! spent the week end in New Zealand.
I don't know, it was closed.
arrival New Zealand was
11
11
11
11
How was it?
11
Never really jumping, on the day of our
clos ed'' for ANZ AC Day and, as a consequence,
there were no porters to help with our six bags from plane to cab (interrupted
�-2-
by a detailed examination of the soles of our packed shoes, because we
had truthfully said
11
ye s
II
when asked if we had been on a farm or ranch in
the past three weeks).
For the moment we were uncertain whether it was worth while
to visit that windy, wet town of 256,000 people.
But, after a night's rest,
in a stout raincoat, with one hand on hat, I set forth to make five bank calls
and was warmed by the very pleasant men who head these banks,
New Zealanders are said (by the Australians) to be more reserved,
Our personal experiences -- and we have had many in the last three days -indicate that the New Zealanders are much friendlier and, indeed, as helpful
as any people we have ever met,
This includes the bankers .
Wellington is only about half as large as Auckland but is the
capital city and each of the l ocal banks has its head office there.
Three
months ago the bankers were primarily concerned with the possibility of
devaluation, but today that threat is deemed to be quite remote and they have
returned to the continuing underlying probl ems of their country.
New Zealand is a primary producer.
and its second dairy products .
Its main product is wool
The export of these is the principal source
There are one, two or three "local II banks, depending on who defines
"local. 11 The Bank of New Zealand, owned 100 per cent by the government, is local but not private. The National Bank of New Zealand is
private, but last year 100 per cent of its stock was acquired by Lloyd's
Bank (in London). The Australia and New Zealand Bank has been here
the longest but its stock is more heavily owned in England and Australia.
The branch of the Bank of New South Wales can't claim to be local -but is very aggressive .
�-3-
of the foreign exchange needed to buy manufactured products from abroad.
But the prices of its wool and butter fluctuate widely and they are down at
the moment.
A cross between the Merino and Lincoln sheep (with some other
blood thrown in), the New Zealand Corriedale is an excellent producer of
wool and a good quality of me at as well.
The country I s beautiful green
pastures (which carry about three sheep to the acre) produce a great quantity
of wool.
This was in great demand during the war and a Wool Commission
was created by statute to market the nation I s crop at that time.
Some of the
large proceeds were withheld, and these funds (which at a later date could
not be distributed because some of the original producers could not be found)
became the Commission's original capital.
Now each year this Commission sets a price floor at which it
will buy all tendered wool.
If, as in 1958, the world price falls below that
level, the Commission buys great quantities.
After the 1958 purchase, wool
pr ices rose steadily and the Commission acquired much more capital.
This
year the world price for coarser grades has fallen below the Commission's
floor price, and again the Commission has acquired a great deal of wool
(about 30 to 40 per cent of the output), some 300,000 bales at a cost of
50 to 60 million dollars.
This may or may not work out well for the growers,
but it has a very unfortunate impact on the country's balance of payments
because it provides the growers with purchasing power with which they can
�-4-
buy imported goods , but, since the Commission is unwilling to sell the
wool on the world market at present prices, the crop is not exported and,
hence, it produces no foreign exchange.
There is a similar problem with butter.
There is a government-
sponsored "Dairy Board" which serves as the sole purchaser and marketing
organization for butt er, cheese, and other dairy products, exc ept whole milk.
Here also there is a "guaranteed" price, presently 3 35 pounds sterling per
ton, but as the world market (in London) is 300 pounds sterling, this product,
too, is being held off the market and stored in New Zealand.
Here, again,
money is going into the hands of farmers for expenditure (for imports as well
as domestic goods) without the necessary foreign exchange being brought into
the country.
Devaluation would not cure this situation for more than a brief
time.
Wages would go up and the farmers would demand higher wool and
butter pr ices; thus, the only gain would be temporary, and the discouragement of foreign investment (which would result from devaluation) would make it
a poor bargain.
Attracting necessary foreign investment is already a troublesome problem.
The Governor of the Reserve Bank thinks the country needs
an inflow of about 5 million
,:,
pounds each year.
'~
They ar e not getting it,
The New Zealand pound is on a parity with the English pound, but later
this year (July) the country will adopt a decimal coinage with the dollar
worth ten shillings ($1 . 40 U.S.) -- "The dearest dollar and the weakest
currency in the world. "
�-5-
however, for the balance of payments problem of England and the United
States (with the consequent "voluntary program" and the Interest Equalization Tax in our case) has cut down this important source of foreign exchange.
In fact, last year, although New Zealand had a trade surplus, there was such
an outflow of capital (excluding reinvestment of local earnings) that the
balance of payments resulted in a net deficit.
So what to do?
The government apparently understands the problem and has
made a great to-do about cutting back its expenses (which, as in every
democracy, only means cutting back from where it might have gone, not
actually cutting back below where it had been) and, as of February, it took off
the subsidy on butter which had kept the local retail price down to two shillings
a pound (about 28~) as against a free-market price of two shillings .six pence
(35~) where it now sells.
It also removed the subsidy on flour and bread,
which thereupon doubled in price.
The government has also cut down on
construction - - a government permit must be obtained before building any
structure costing over 30, 000 pounds.
It also has imposed import controls.
Except for certain necessities (chemicals, petroleum, etc. , which may
amount to about one-third of total imports), it is necessary to obtain a
government license to import goods, and the amount of licenses to be granted
after this coming July will be cut another 20 per cent.
These measures may help, but, when I asked a very important
man m the government what he would do if he were the Chief of State, he
�-6-
said he would eliminate all subsidies and all floor prices (as on wool and
butt e r) and point out to the people that, just as they have to buy imports
at world prices, so must they sell their exports at world prices,
They
could not expect the government to maintain artificially high prices for
goods that have to be sold abroad.
But the government will not do just that.
In fact, this morning's
paper reports that New Zealand is considering pulling out of the
11
Kennedy
Round" of trade talks, now nearing its end, because it cannot get adequately
favorable terms .
There is some feeling that it might do better by negotiating
individual deals with each country separately.
This may be illusory.
North
and South America and continental Europe produce plenty of butter and butter
substitutes,
England has been a great purchaser, but, if it enters the Common
Market, then Dutch butter will be available without trade barriers.
It is said
that New Zealand can produce it at lower cost than other countries, but, if
New Zealand is not willing to meet world prices, it is not going to sell its
butter .
But all is not black.
Pr eduction is increasing and, for the past
three years, growth has averaged between 8 and 9 per cent in real terms.
Consumer prices have been rising only about 2 to 2-1/2 per cent pe r year
(which Governor Wilson of the Reserve Bank considers "a very
good record 11 ) .
�-7-
Prices may rise a bit more this year, in part because of the
removal of the domestic subsidies on flour, br ead and butter, and in part
because of substantial wage demands,
Here , as in Australia, although labor
unions are quite strong, wages are not negotiated between employers and
unions.
If either the Employers Federation or the Federation of Labor asks
for a "general wage order, " a hearing is held and a federal judge sets the
basic or "award" wage.
Last year labor asked for an 8 or 9 per cent
increase, but the judge (who had recently been appointed) held the increase
to a mere 2-1 /2 per cent.
This surprised everyone and infuriated labor
which will make a strenuous effort for a greater increase this year.
A banker is tempted to explain New Zealand 1 s problems as being
the direct result of a "welfare state," It is true that, even prior to this
century, New Zealand I s Parliament enacted labor relations laws to protect
unions and establish minimum wages; it subdivided large properties, financed
the acquisition of small tracts by individual farmers, and passed the first oldage pension act (at l east the first in any English-speaking country).
These
earlier laws were expanded and much other social legislation was enacted
during the depression, and extensive health and medical p lans were undertaken
so that today "the State has become the foster father of all the nation I s people
and a partner of many of its farmers and businessmen.
11
,:,
If they have gone
too far in that direction, they are not very likely to change -- short of some
See LIFE I s World Library, "Australia and New Zealand" ( 1966) page 79.
�-8-
catastrophic experience.
Perhaps the crux of the problem is that on these friendly,
pastoral islands life is so pleasant, so productive and so remote that the
people have lived and continue to want to live well fed, simply, and unconcerned about foreign problems.
But they can't.
They would expect the
United States to help them if their independence were ever threatened,
and they have troops fighting alongside ours in Vietnam and others training
now in Malacca,
Much more significant, they want automobiles which must be
purchased abroad (although B. M. C. , Ford and G. M. now have assembly
plants here); they want gasoline which (despite a very small amount produced
here and a new exploratory lease recently granted by the government to Esso
and others) has to be purchased abroad.
,:c,:c
They want television, radios,
electric razors and towels (those in our hotel bathroom are from Fieldcrest),
etc., all of which have to be purchased abroad.
If they didn't want these things,
,:,
I asked a cab driver if he thought there was too much government ownership and regulation. "Indeed there is. Our cabs are private enterprise.
We have to hustle to make a profit, but the buses are operated by the
government at a great loss which has to be made up in higher taxes on
us working men. The government is weak. It lets people raise prices.
Custard is up 25 per cent in the last two months, and my wife says
everything else is, too. The government should fix prices and not let
that happen." Like far too many of us, without realizing it, he wants freedom for himself but controls on others!
,:o:,
They are, however, building a steel mill to process iron ore sands from
the western shore of North Island.
�-9they could produce whatever products they wanted and sell them back and
forth within the islands at any price which they (or the government) wanted,
But the hard lesson that they (and all of the rest of us) must learn is that,
if you want to buy any goods or services outside your nation, then you must
sell outside your nation -- and sell at the price which outsiders are willing
to pay.
New Zealanders, so comfortable at home, have not yet faced up to
that hard less on,
Is it worth while to come to New Zealand as a tourist?
Yes,
indeed!
First, you can see a variety of the whole world's scenery.
In a 1,500 mile trip from south to north, you can visit Antarctic
glaciers, Norwegian fjords, Swiss Alps, English sheep-covered parks,
the dun hills of California, the vineyards of Italy, the farmlands of central
Unit ed States, and on up to the sub-tropical climate and Polynesian culture
of the extreme North,
Not being a lyricist,
I cannot describe the country except to
say that every direction in w hich you look i s like a beautifully composed
and colored painting .
In the immediate foreground there is a neat fence,
Just beyond, hundreds of large w hit e sheep graze on almost blue-green
pasture that looks as if it had been recently c ut .
B ehind this, the gentle
:::,
When I said to Mrs . Freeman that the distant sheep looked like
"maggots on a mound- of moss, 11 she observed that I was quite
unlikely to win the poetry prize with that imagery.
,:o:<
Good sheep-tight fence with s ix or seven strands of smooth wire
with five to seven substantial stays between posts.
�-10-
hills rise to a cloud-covered mountain in the background.
By the cottage
on the left is a hedge of hydrangeas, bigger than we have ever seen before,
and to the right in the valley a cluster of poplars whose autumn gold reflects
>'<
the sunshine.
Everywhere that you look you see sheep' -- sometimes you see
them grazing in the same field with cattle (as an avid reader of
11
Westerns,
11
I thought some one had to be shot when that occurred).
This country is far more mountainous and far more beautiful
than Australia (which is surprisingly flat), with the result that it has many
fast-flowing rivers that provide substantial hydroelectric power,
Another
source of power which intrigued us was the volcanic faults in the Wairakei
Valley where steam roars out of the ground and sweeps across the highway.
Engineers have now drilled deep in the source and develop e d power to drive
turbines to generate electricity.
Second, the country is unspoiled by tourists .
We were told that New Zealand has more automobiles in relation
to its population than any country other than the United States.
are kept in the garage.
If so, they
Driving from Wellington to Wairakei, we sought in
vain for another car going in the same direction in order that we might follow
its lights, for the road is one constant series of curves.
.,.
J,
The next morning,
Fast shearing of sheep (each grower wants his shorn at the same time)
is so important that Godfrey Bowen, who established the world's
record by shearing 463 in one day, is a national hero.
�-11-
driving from Wairakei to Waitomo, on one stretch of about sixty miles
>
:<
of grave l road we did not pass a car .
If w e were retired and in good health, I would love to take a
month or two to drive leisurely through both islands,
Third, the people are very pleasant.
This is an English- speaking country (it is much easier for an
American to understand and be understood here than in Australia) with a
very pleasant, helpful people.
The Australians had said that we would find
the New Zealanders quite reserved.
much more helpful and warmhearted.
On the contrary, they have proved to be
Our unfortunately inadequate rental
car had among its defects the inability to start.
Thus, each time the engine
died we had to spend at least half an hour in feverish effort, in pushing and
in prayer ,
Each time everyone within hearing distance of the Cortina I s
whining starter dro p ped his own work to come and help -- actively, either
by g e tting in t he seat and sharing the frustration or by gett i ng out and pushing .
In addition to these European New Zealanders, there is an
e arlier race, perhaps descendants of the Polynesian, Kupe, who came here by
canoe over one thousand years ago and returned with sufficiently precise
sailing instructions (by sun and stars) for hundreds of his people to follow
him some 400 years later, in 1350,
These are the Maoris, who, in 1840,
agreed to cede the government to the British Crown.
,:,
These pleasant,
This was all right with me, for, though I understand the concept of
driving on the left, in moments of crisis I swing back to the r i ght and
invariably move the turn indicator when I want to shift gears !
�-12 -
golden-skinned people declined from about a quarter million down to
only 40,000, but have now increased t o about 170,000.
They are no longer
a race apart, but are becoming fully assimilated and are engaged in all
activities and professions .
Fourth , you would see some unusual bird and animal life.
I gather that New Zealand was cut off from other land masses at
a very early date.
but the bat.
Until the Polynesians came, there was no mammal here
T he great bird, the moa, now extinct, stood twelve feet tall.
(I walked right into a replica of one on the stairway of the Central Bank
and got quite a shock.) The odd-looking, flightless kiwi, with its long beak ,
has given New Zealanders their nickname.
Tramping through the jungle -
like growth, it is a comfort to know that New Zealand has no snakes - - indeed,
the only reptile is the iguanalike tuatara, said to be the world's most archaic.
We went considerably out of our way through magnificent forests
to visit the Waitomo Glowworm Grotto where, in a boat, we moved silently
through vaulted caves to see the millions bf tiny lights of the "glowworms,11 *~'
a larva which clings to the ceiling in a sort of hammock and drops 15 to 20
"fishing lines II a foot or more in length which, with a stickiness, catch and,
with acid nodules, paralyze any mosquito or fly that becomes ensnared.
larva then pulls up the line into its mouth and digests the fly.
The
Having no
excretory organs, the larva consumes the fly by a chemical process which
,:,
Virtually all place, county and town names are Maori. We drove
from Lake Taupo to Wairakei, to Atiamuri, to Mangakino on to
Te Kuiti and Waitomo.
Arachnocampa Luminosa
1n case you wondered.
�-13-
creates a substance called "luciferin" that gives off a steady, cold light .
There are also many natural wonders, like the geysers and mud
pools of Wairakei reminiscent of an undeveloped Yellowstone Park.
Fifth, if you have time, you can fish for trout that almost snap
at the end of your fly rod.
They are magnificent in size and great in number.
Sixth, accommodations are quite satisfactory.
There is nothing here to compare with Sydney's Wentworth Hotel,
but the inns which we visited (owned and operated by the government -natch!) provide courteous service, free of guile, and are clean and comfortable.
The food is plentiful, but, in a land which produces great quantities of fruit
and vegetables, there are few of these served (presumably because they
would be too expensive for the small prices charged).
In New Zealand, the
world's greatest producer of lamb, there is little of it offered on the menu
(presumably because the local tourists are fed up with it at home).
cater to the local citizens.
Hotels
Of course, t~ey should, for there are as yet few
~ (
foreign visitors.
In time they will be more sophisticated and offer the
foreigner a better selection, at the higher prices that he is willing to pay,
but the present arrangement is inexpensive, and, after the first day, you
learn to stop at roadside stands to buy fruit and vegetables to be eaten en
route.
As a result, you can tour this part of the world quite inexpensive ly
and, at the same time, comfortably.
>:<
An estimated 20,000 Americans last year.
�-14-
Would this be a good country in which to settle down?
That is a different question .
It might be for an older couple
of mode st means, for the country offers great security and moderate living
costs.
The country is hardly moving forward fast enough to attract
an ambitious United States city man, but it might prove a great place for a
farmer with some capital who liked the quiet, outdoor life.
pick his climate .
He could literally
Here in Auckland, the lowest average temperature is
in July at 54°, the highest in February at 67° {for the North it is warmer,
for the South cooler).
He would virtually be assured of adequate rainfall
and would live in constant beauty.
But he would do well to develop crops
new to this country (not rely on sheep and dairy cows) and would have to be
willing to put up with the all-pervasive government.
Furthermore, he might have a hard time getting in.
New Zealand
has a population of only about 2-1 /2 million (about the same as Sydney) or
about 24 people to the square mile.
The country could support 20 million
but is not expected to reach even 5 million until the end of the century.
There is no program for immigration and the present quotas are small.
Some English and some Dutch come each year but few Americans.,~,:<
>:<
I had to have a tooth filled in Wellington and went to a dental surgeon
re commended by one of the banks . I expected a bill of at least ten or
fifteen dollars . It was 5 shillings, that is, 70 cents.
,:,,:,
Quite a few American Marines stayed here after the end of World War II,
but they married New Zealand girls and have been absorbed into the life
more as New Zealanders than as Americans . The United States Vice
Consul he.re in Auckland could only think of five Americans in this city
of over 500, 000.
�-15-
In my few days here I have seen no exciting business opportunities,
The manufacture of pulp and paper is a substantial activity.
In the depression the government (as its equivalent of our W. P.A.) put
men to work planting trees, having decided that California Monterey pine
would do well here.
It has grown as much in the intervening thirty years
as it does in fifty years in the States and is perhaps the third most
important crop, but I don 1t know whether pulp or paper can be exported
economically.
I believe that the government would be helpful, in the sense
that Prime Minister Holyoake would certainly want to encourage a new
industry (although unemployment is no problem ).
Labor may be a bit
cheaper than in Australia, but, unless the activity offered great promise,
the taxation and regulations might prove discouraging.
This would be the case in tre banking business.
The interest-
rate spread is reasonabl e -- 3 per cent on true savings, 4-1 /2 per cent
on investment accounts of one year.
The prime lending rate is 5- 1 /2 per cent,
but the government limits the maximum average rate to 6 per cent.
There
is considerable demand, and loans run 60 to 65 per cent of deposits, higher
at this time of year when corporate income tax payments increase demand.
But liquidity requirements change every week,
requirements vary from one to 30 per cent.
cent, presently they are one per cent.
On demand deposits reserve
Last year they reached 23. 3 per
To meet these reserves, the banks
have to borrow from the Central Bank at a 7 per cent rate (as against their
maximum average loan rate of 6 per cent).
�-16-
The real trouble experienced by the banks is a steady decline
in their share of the private sector financing, as "fringe banking,
11
finance
companies and inter -company lending take over a larger share of what they
think of as their rightful market,
As i s true 1n so many places, the country's
monetary authorities restrict only the banks, t hus diverting the profitable
opportunities to other types of financial institutions .
I doubt that many American banks will move into New Zealand,
and I doubt that many American business corporations will either, except
to avail themselves of the consumer market.
On the other hand, if one had to be an expatriate, it would be
hard to find a more pl easant place to live ,
Furthermore, despite the short-
range problems of this country, if, as seems likely, the wo rld's population
continues to increase and adequate food becomes the concern of the
11
have 11
as well as the "have - not II nations, New Zealand, able to produce tremendous
quantities of food at low cost, must some day c ome into its own.
I hope so, for, after even so short a visit, I feel real affection
for this b eautiful country.
Sincer elf.;
�Capital: Wellington
t'rlncipal language: English
Population (1965): 2,640,100
Principal religion: Protestantism
Density: 25 per square mile
Political divisions: 121 counties, 143 boroughs
Distribution: Urban: 64 percent
Rural : 36 percent
Currency unit: 1 New Zealand Pound
=
20
Shillings
Area: 103,736 square miles
Nation al holiday: February 6,
New Zealand Day
Elevation : Highest point: 12,349 feet
Lowest point: Sea level
National anthem: God Save the Queen
NEW ZEALAND
ECONOMY
SCALE
100 Miles
ECONOMY
-
HEAVY INDUSTRY
..a.L.
Tronsporto tion
Equipment
LIGHT INDUSTRY
I
•
!
0
~
•
T
OTHERS
Seo port
9
Fishing Areas
Chemicals
Clothing
Dairy Products
Food Processing
leather Products
lumber & Forest Products
Metal Products
mPulp
Wate r Power
Tourists & Resorts
Electrical & Electronic
Products
w,,
MINING
@
& Pape, Pro ducts
Rubber Products
Wool
~Li
lignite
~s
~G
Gold
~M"
Mcngonese
~Sn
Tin
~I
Iron Ore
~SG
Sand & Grovel
~T•
Tungsten
~c Coal
n
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Silver
AGRICULTURE
General Farming
Seasonal Grazing, with
Spam: Agriculture
CJ
,--~
D
Non .Agrlcul!urol Areas
Posture land & Fodd~ r Crops
Forestry with some
Farming ond Posture
© ....~.. • : o.
Copyright by Rand McNally & Co.
and Reproduced with Thelr Permlaaion
�
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Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Date
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1903-2013
Description
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Letter to Homer J. Livingston from Gaylord "Gale" A. Freeman Jr. about his travels in New Zealand
Date
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28 April 1967
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Freeman, Gaylord A
Livingston, Homer J
Description
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This is one letter from a series of letters, generally referred to as the “Far East Letters.” The letters were written by banking executive Gaylord A. Freeman Jr. (ca. 1910-1991) to then CEO and president of First National Bank Homer J. Livingston. Freeman, along with his wife, travelled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, and Moorea from April 23 through May 4, 1967. Often only spending a few days in each location, Freeman described his observations of the economic and cultural climate. Some of the letters also include maps illustrating data such as population, geographical information, and economy. Multiple copies of these letters were forwarded to Freeman’s colleagues and friends. This collection includes the copies sent to John S. Moore.
Source
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Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Gaylord A. Freeman, Jr. Far East and Oceania Letters Collection, 1967 (MS 102.04)
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English
Subject
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Oceania
New Zealand--Civilization--20th century.
New Zealand--Commerce--United States.
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Copyright is retained by the creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.
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Find out more about our collections on <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/explore/24553.php">our website</a>.
Asia
Far East Letters
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/11079/archive/files/289960a319120e1eef66d04e4b239e16.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=j6yUgY7vwDZs68ueEF%7EZoy9PKV-oSIt3BKL21aVCKNKh7ItCnyGZUk-vWPxv%7E0tBaPiGWIiTlCvL9slCcj%7EiNcmF6d3dlMQQ4r37Qc7N3HgHF3lRupjpC9YtiNyQ5LWClDJInj3LPyZx7F%7E28X78ua2f%7E9LAzObbJAGp2WFn7R24GA78lOsUqQVo90EwSIo6Y-Zpes6Ip0c6Xw5pr-wkGmQBr4YgUcjsjNz3ksiaIN1mWlo3brCTP9IqwrEoMF4iULHOrIy28A5DsA8sg1n0fElD5aEaX8Ko5VISE8VKLH6boObFpP96Kt4V-hAQpbtvYPh0BF%7Eq7EbfdIcFnMmaxg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
68385818f726e89fceb19246d2e5be88
PDF Text
Text
Lake Nash, Camooweal
Queensland, Austr a lia
April 23, 1967
Dear Home r:
I shift e d, just half awake, and was about to slip back to sleep
when the cock crowed again and I realized that he was what had awakened
me.
It was still absolutely black outside, but I heard our host making
hims elf a spot of tea and knew that it was time to get up.
The night air
was cool enough for a jacket, the stars were still bright and the moon
almost full.
In a few minutes the e astern sky lightened and the great red
ball of a sun inched over the horizon a bit north of east, for we are just
above the Tropic of Capricorn and in mid-fall.
By s e ven we were dr e ssed and ass e mble d, our hostess, Jil
Paine, 24, had made coffee as well as t e a , arid one of the barefoot aborigines
had brought over from the unmarried men's mess the breakfast steaks and
bacon w hich, with toast and marmalade, was our very filling breakfast.
By eight we were off in the jeep station wagon to look over something I have
long wanted to see, a great Australian cattle ranch.
There are few greater ones than this, to which we flew north
and a little west from Sydney for seven hours -- about 1,100 miles.
Made
up of w hat were once three properties, this one ranch has over five and
a half million acres.
If it is hard for you to think of that many acr e s, imagine
�-2a farm two miles long (north and south} and as wide as from New York
to San Francisco -- a total of 7,600 square miles.
Actually it is roughly
rectangular, about 85 miles north and south and 140 miles wide.
One
paddock (pasture) is 1,000 square miles -- but no cow has to walk more
than five miles to water .
It is not only one of the largest ra~ches in the world, it is one of
the most efficiently operated.
Owned in equal halves by the King Ranch (of
Texas) and I nternational Packers (of Chicago), it is managed by Charles
Paine who has ranched this area all of his sixty-one years .
Quick, dee is ive,
knowledgeabl e, he is a hard dr ive r both of himself and his help -- and
he has consider able help.
There are three headquarters or home steads, of which this is
the main center, a l most a town in itself,
Besides Mr. Paine and his lovely
niece, Jil, an excellent horsewoman and experienced rancher, there are
three white assistants on the entire property, their wives and children, a
combination bookkeeper and storekeeper (the store handles food supplies,
canned goods, simple clothing and hardware -- and serves as a telegraph
and telephone office as well as keeping ranch records) and 145 aborigines.
In addition, because this is the only settlement for many miles, the State
of Northern Territory stations a policeman and his family he re .
There is
also a school teacher who celebrated (if visiting w ith us could be called
celebrating) her twenty-first birthday last evening.
There is a "nursing
�-3-
sister" (the wife of the bookkeeper) who holds a clinic for the aborigines
every morning and tends minor ailments (a doctor comes every five
weeks -- but will fly in if called),
Also here, though only temporary, are
two linguists sent by the State to study the language of the aborigines,
Thus, in the three homesteads (Berkeley Downs, Georgina and here at
Lake Nash) there are about 35 whites (including women and children)
and about 145 aborigines, or a total of 180 people in 7, 600 square miles,
This is a vast empty land .
We had realized this when our
plane, flying down across the Indian Ocean, approached the lights of
Perth, on the west coast of Australia, just a week ago this morning, at
about 2 :00 a, m,
As we waited in the airport for immigration proceedings
and the servicing of our Qantas Airways Boeing 707, I recalled Mrs. Freeman's
observation when we had left Singapore - -
11
! expect that the most noticeable
change will be the lack of pressing millions which so characterizes the
Orient.
11
Now looking down the runways to utter blackness beyond, not
just for a mile, but for 1,000 miles, I knew how right she was,
�-4-
To get a better idea of the size and location of Australia (which
extends about 2, 300 miles north and south and 2, 500 miles east and west)
E
Q U A T
O
R
I
I
1
I
I
I
I
'II
I
I
I
I
A U
S\ T
I
...
~
I
R A \L
I
A
------- ------\
I
I
\
I
\,. ________ ./''-~~'
I
I
t
I
I
t
I
I
it may be helpful to reverse its north and south, so we can see how it
would be if north of the equator:
AUSTRAL
A
(INV'!:RTED. REVERSED)
E Q U
- - - - -- - - ------ - - - -A ---- - - -- - - -- -- - - --T O R
�-5-
which shows us that its shape is not wholly unlike our country.
Ind ee d, they are ve r y similar as we can see if we super i mpose
the two maps:
t--------- -
~-,}
'
..
>
l
r
I
I
t
\
A
\
\
u S T R A L
(INVE RTED• REVERSED )
\
\I
... .....'>..•......,
~
.................
__
But Australia is clo ser to t h e equator:
E
and consequently much warmer.
Q
U
A
T
O
R
A
�-6-
you see Australia is not too unlike the United States in size and shape,
but is a bit closer to the equator, cons iderably warmer and much drier
(with an annual average of 16 . 5 i nches of rain compared to 26 inches for
North America and 53 inche s for South America) .
Sing a pore has about two and a half mi ll ion people in 224 square
miles, or something over 10, 000 people for each square mile.
Australia
has 11 ,5 00, 000 people in almost three million square miles, or less than
four peopl e to one square mile.
But this doesn't begin to tell the full s to ry,
for over half of thep)pulation are in the five State capital cities on the coast
and in Canberra, the national capital, and very few live inland in the great
interior or "outback" as it i s called .
As on this ranch, there is perhaps
less than one-tenth of one person for each square mile.
This is both an advantage and the source of constant concern.
Australia's first settlers were prisoners who were shipped here when our
Revolution prevented England shipping any more to America, but this was
so on supplemented by other immigrants, almost exclusively English, to the
point where the population is composed of almost pure Anglo-Saxon stock.
The people are more homogenous than I have ever seen, far more English in
appearance than are the people of London (with its admixture of Indians
and Caribbeans and, i ndeed, from all around the world).
,:,
Thei r natural good
Atthetimeofthe 1961 census, of the 10,500,000 Australians, 9,985,000
were ''British' ' and, of those, 8,730,000 were born in Australia.
�-7-
looks (by our standards} have been made better by their love of sport
which their California-like climate has encouraged,
The people on the
principal streets of both Melbourne and Sydney are well dressed; some of
the younger men in shorts and many of the girls in mini-skirts so short
that I have had problems avoiding the traffic.
But this great emptiness also poses a threat.
The great Asian
masses, whose lands reach down to within 500 miles of Australia, want to
relieve the pressure of their overflowing populations of more than one and
a half billion by sending some of their millions to this great "uninhabited"
continent,
At the moment there is no Asiatic nation which is prepared to
accomplish this by armed force, but there is already some diplomatic
pres sure and one can anticipate efforts within the United Nations to argue
Australia into opening its borders.
Recognizing this, and the fact that the
country does need additional peopl e to develop its great natural resources,
the nation has for some time been admitting a substantial number of
immigrants, last year 150,000, this year the quota is 165,000 (a total over
2,000,000 since the end of World War II), but they are virtually all white
European (perhaps 500 to 1, 000 Americans) with preference to the English,
Greeks, Germans and Italians.
This is not a tremendous inflow, but even this volume poses
problems of assimilation,
In Caterpillar Tractor's splendid plant just
outside Melbourne, production is handicapped by the fact that there are
�-8-
thirty-one nationalities among the workers, and it is necessary to conduct
daily classes in English in order that the workers can understand directions.
From the little that I have seen, I am impressed with the generally friendly
attitude which the Australians display for these newcomers whom they call
"the new Australians. " Whether this country should open its gates wider
and in more directions is not a simple question . ,:, The Australians are proud
of their homogeneity and the traditions and allegiances which are shared by
the whole population.
;~ :::::
recognize any.
They have no race problem -- or at least they do not
Under these circumstances, if they are not anxious to
,:,
When I asked Mr. Shir l ey, TIME I s Bureau Chief in Sydney, to read this
over for accuracy, he added : "It is a debatable point whether or not the
Asian hordes waht to migrate to Australia. There is no land suitable
for rice paddies and few agricultural or pastoral Asians would be able
to eke out an existence here. The sophisticated Asian knowledgeabl e
in restaurant and small store management does well, but experience
has shown that these people are not attuned for assimilation in the
industrial complex of this country. Any mass Asian immigration would
result in these people for the most part becoming laborers with little
future for at least a generation. The present Australian immigration
policy towards Asians is that they are welcome if they can contribute
in some tangible form to the country's cultural and economic advancement. Australia does not want mere laborers but skilled workers,
Once Asians are admitted, there is no racial discrimination whatsoever. For example, the Mayor of Darwin (who is also the President
of the Legislative Council) is Chinese. There are Asian professors
in the universities and topflight Asian businessmen in the capital
cities . "
*':~
There are 43, 000 full -blood aborigines who are really quite unknown
to the whit e population in the cities, some so untamed, so remote
from modern civilization as to not quite count as people. They pose
much less of a " race II problem than our much more advanced
American Indians.
�-9-
take on such a problem, we should be slow to criticize unless, having
examined ourselves critically, we would conclude that, given a _ ree choice,
f
we would today knowingly create one for ourselves by importing millions
of different color and background.
Furthermore, before we are too quick
to criticize, we should examine those vast reaches of emptiness and ask
whether the Asiatic hordes -- or indeed any immigrant hordes -- are going
to survive there .
Immigrants, wherever they come from, are almost certain
to settle in or adjacent to the principal cities .
Life in Australian cities is very pleasant.
Except for Canberra
(which, as the national capital, was placed more as a compromise than for
any geographic or economic reason inland between Melbourne and Sydney),
all of the significant cities are on the coast, most with fine beaches, many with
excellent harbors, and all (except perhaps those on the north coast) with
splendid weather, mild winters (virtually frost free) and reasonable summers.
All of the cities describe their weather as "just like California. " Sydney's
average temperature drops to 53° in July and climbs to 72° in January .
This
and an average rainfall of ten to fourteen days each month keep everything
beautifully green year round.
,:,
Food is plentiful and so is drink.
vegetables and very pleasant wines .
They produce excellent
The slower pace and the active social
life cause many Americans here on business to hope their employers will
forget them and leave them here forever.
,:,
The per capita consumption of beer is 24 gallons and of spirits .4 gallons.
�-10-
It is likely that more Americans will be sent here for the
great natural resources, which require capital for development plus exceptional political stability (only one change of government since 1945) and the
existence of similar institutions and practices has caused more and more
United States companies to open office s or plants her e.
Indeed, since the
late nineteen fifties, the United States has become a more important investor
than the United Kingdom.
As Caterpillar's Mr. Stranger pointed out, in 1965
the capital inflow of $3 36 million from the United States exc eeded the $280
million from the United Kingdom,
described as
11
The recent mineral discoveries have been
the most exciting industrial stor y of the sixties.
11
For eign sales
of iron, not exported at all prior to 1963, are expected to amount to more than
$220 million by 1970 and the recently discovered nickel deposits and gas reserves
are also exciting.
These are needed for the balance of payments is in a deficit
and reserves are not increasing .
The Gross National Product has almost doubled in the last
decade and is expected to move up considerably this year above the $23. 6 billion
of 1966.
Prices have risen about 2 . 5 per cent a year, but you hear little
complaint on that score, for the people are looking ahead more than they are
backward.
A1:1stralia needs foreign capital, but it would like to keep more
of the ownership in local hands .
To that end the federal government has recently
encouraged the l argerbanks to jointly create a Development Refinance Corporation to marshal domestic (and borrowed foreign) funds to use to finance the
�-11-
development of natural resources in order that they may not have to be
sold to foreign corporations.
But much United States capital will continue to
flow in, particularly after our own balance of payments restrictions are
ended.
With the capital will come more Americans.
Melbourne, our first stop, did not seem like a big city at first.
The streets are broad and the principal ones are lined with old trees, quite
reminiscent of Paris, but the people live in individual homes/' most of them
definitely Victorian in style, many with white-painted gingerbread scrollwork
of iron which, long ago, was brought from England as ballast in the ships
that came here empty to return with wool and meat.
But, if one drives from
one side of Melbourne to the other, the time is so great -- de spite the breakneck speed of the cars -- that one realizes it is a city of two and a quarter
million residents.
Sydney, with its tremendous harbor that takes up so much
of the central area, seems quite a bit bigger (though it is only slightly so - about two and a half million population) and with its many splendid new office
buildings appears much more modern.
Even more than by the architecture, the American is impressed
by the English origin which is evident in its busine ss and government leaders.
The chairmen of many of the larger Australian companies are titled
11
Sir
Henry this 11 or "Sir Robert that " who operate with the self-confidence and
superiority of the British originals whom the y emulate and are characterized
>::;
In 1961, of 10,500,000 Australians, about 9,000,000 lived in
private houses.
�-12-
by the same inability to ask a question lest they disclose a lack of knowledge
(and many have very little knowledge of the actual workings of the businesses
which they nominally head).
In contrast, most general managers have come
up through the ranks, usually without much formal education, but with considerable knowledge of their business.
Workers are much more loyal than
are their British counterparts, but not much more enthusiastic about being
pressed.
I was told that Americans often fail here because of their inability
to accurately gauge the pace at which one can drive an Australian organization.
The people don't work as hard here as in the States, and I believe that this
go es for most of the manage rs as well as for the factory hands.
It is really
a part of the over-all attitude of the people, another facet of which is the amount
of reliance on the government, pervasive of all segments of life.
Welfare
is much more important than in the United States and government controls
reach everywhere,
(Dictating to a public stenographer in Melbourne, who
had brought neither paper nor pencil, I received a call that she could not
be worked for over four hours without a break --
11
it is the law .
11
)
Organized labor is strong here, even the bank employees up
through the managers of smaller branches belong to a union, but wages are
not negotiated by the union and management.
Whenever a dispute arises the
government steps in to arbitrate and ultimately
becomes "the award rate.
11
11
awards II a wage scale which
This, however, merely serves as a base, and
most employers pay (in addition to a series of fringe benefits) a base wage
above the award rate.
There is a good deal of time off for
11
portal to portal 11
�-13-
and for tea breaks, etc.
I visited one large factory in Melbourne and
another in Sydney, both operated by United States corporations.
Despite
excellent management in each, efficiency is definitely lower than it is in
the United States plants. of those same companies (though it is pas sible that
because of a smaller volume of production, automation may not be quite as
complete here as in the States).
On the other hand, labor rates are lower,
yet the net effect is higher costs.
As I began to wonder when I contrasted Singapore with Malaysia,
I have wondered here, does possession of great natural resources cause a
people to place less emphasis on efficiency than in a country without such
natural ass ets? I don 1t know, but a quick appraisal of Australia causes me to
fear that it may be so,
Australia does have overwhelming resources.
Everyone knows
of the great exports of lamb, wool and beef, but in another three to four years
iron ore will be the most important export.
Mount Isa with its great copper deposits.
greatest exporter of lead.
This afternoon we flew over
Next to Russia, Australia is the world1 s
The pilot told us of "miles and miles II of bright red
bauxite deposits visible further north, and the iron ore deposits of almost
inexhaustible amounts lie in mountains of very rich content (I was told over
60 per cent), freE? of overburden and ready to be pushed onto trucks.
indeed, an extraordinarily rich country and quite undeveloped.
This is,
�-14-
Is it a place for young Americans to come to make their
fortune?
It frequently reminds one, especially in the interior, of what
our West must have been like about 1900.
As such it has great appeal.
There are, indeed, opportunities here -- but, as in our old West, they have
to be worked for, sometimes under less than ideal circumstances, and not
under nearly as free conditions as existed on our frontier.
more government regulation than we ever dreamed of.
Here there is
Unlike the Texas
frontiersman who, after driving his cattle to the railhead, would immediately
repair to the dance hall saloon for a day's diversion, the Australian cattleman
would have to sit down and fill out government forms for the first twenty-four
hours.
Australia needs good, ambitious men -- but mostly those with
special skills and capital.
Not all skills are in short supply.
My Caterpillar
friends in Melbourne feel that civil engineers and manufacturers might have
greater opportunity in the United States.
place for mining engineers.
On the other hand, this is a great
It should also offer advantages for men with
new skills, advertising, public relations, management consulting, etc. , that
have been further developed in the United States than here.
Unless he handi-
capped himself by being too abrasive, the American would find that, if he were
willing to continue to work as hard here as he had at home, he would have a
distinct advantage over his local competitors.
The greatest opportunity is for the careful man with capital who
is willing to work in a modest role for a while in order to learn the local
�-15-
attitudes and needs before he invests and manages.
Too many Americans
have been unwilling to wait and have placed their capital with men who,
de spite apparently impeccable connections, know nothing of the activities
in which they invest the American "sucker's" money.
The few businesses
about which I should know the most -- banking, Caterpillar dealerships,
and ranching - - look about as good as anything in sight, but all three require
a great deal of capital.
The banking business is modelled on the English, with only
>~
a dozen principal banks, each with hundreds of branches. '
The rate
structure offers a reasonable spread for they pay 3-1/2 per cent on savings,
4-1 / 2 per cent on six-months' deposits, and charge their best customers
6 per cent with other rates up to 7-1/2 per cent.
Still, it is not all "gravy,
11
for they are required (by convention) to maintain a liquidity ratio (largely
in cash and government securities) of 18 per cent and, in addition, the
eight nationally operated banks must maintain a reserve of 8. 9 per cent of
deposits on which they receive interest at 3/4 of one per cent) .
Furthermore,
though the gross income is great, the expense of such a widespread branch
system (even with modest salaries) is so great that, although net earnings
are good, they do not appear to be extraordinary -- or so I believe -- but,
here again, the Australians follow the British practice and report earnings
,;,
For instance, the Bank of New South Wales has 1,200 branches and
agencies.
�-16-
only after transfers to and from reserves so that their published reports
do not disclose true earnings.
Of course,
if a bank could come here with some funds and
attract some local corporate deposits without an expensive branch system,
it should have excellent earnings, for demand is unlimited and rates a .re
reasonably high.
I am sure that this thought has occurred to some of our
friends, for the Fir st National City Bank, Bank of America and Chase are
here, but the Reserve Bank will not welcome any more United States branches,
The government, though too extensive by our standards, is
excellently led by Harold Holt, the head of the Liberal Party which presently
operates through a coalition with the Country Party (headed by John McEwen),
The opposition Labor Party has been weakened largely by a strong Catholic
anti-communist splinter minority which has become the Democratic Labor
Party and supports the government on most is sues.
The Holt government
reflects the movement away from England which has taken place since the
end of World War II and places great reliance on the American alliance.
As
you know, Australia sent troops to help us in Vietnam in 1965 and there are
now 6,000 Australian troops fighting there.
brought home to Melbourne.
We saw a plane load of them
Mrs. Freeman had asked an older couple why
there were so many people waiting to me et the plane and was told by the lady,
with characteristic reserve, that they had come to meet their son but that he had
not returned,
�-17-
Although devoted to their American friends, to whom they
,•,
would have to look for assistance if they were ever attacked, · the
Australians , after having observed the recent problems in Korea, Malaysia
and now Vietnam, recognize the i dentity of their interests with those of
Asia, and Prime Minister Holt is sometimes referred to as
11
a man of Asia.
11
He is devoted to forging closer ties, both diplomatic and trade, with the
Asian countries which share this great West Pacific.
As a step in this direction, the Australians have just played
host to a Pan-Pacific Conference here in Sydney, which an Asiatic friend
of mine, who was present, felt was very useful in its discussion groups but
quite ineffective in its final conclusion merely to send a small delegation to
Indonesia.
These were the random thoughts in my confused mind as I
hurried from my last b ank appointment to pick up Mrs. Freeman and meet
Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Bassingthwaighte, the Managing Director of International
Packers, Limited, the Australian subsidiary of International Packers, to
whom its Chairman, Tom Taylor, had been good enough to introduce us .
It wa s they who brought us in the King Ranch plane to this great outback
,:, ,:,
station w here we arrived just at sundown.
,:,
,:0 :,
Next week the country celebrates the fifteenth anniversary of the battle
of the Coral Sea, by w hich the Japanese threat was ended . Darwin had
been bombed and Japanese submarines operated in Sydney harbor, but,
after the Coral Sea battle, Australia was safe.
We were lucky not to be an hour later, for all non -commercial planes
must fly VFR and must set down at dark.
�-18-
So back to where we started this letter, at breakfast at
the Lake Nash headquarters of this great ranch.
After we had eaten, the
Bass ingthwaighte s, the ranch manager, Charles Paine, and we set out to
"see a little of the property" and returned ten hours later -- dusty, tired,
and overwhelmed at what we had seen on a 250-mile drive around one
section of the ranch .
We drove across great downs of open grassy spaces,
maybe five or ten miles in diameter, then across a river with perhaps three
or four tree-lined channels, but completely dry, across miles of gravel
soil and stunted trees to other open areas of Mitchell grass (an excellent
form of two-foot tall bunch-grass with a seed head almost like oats) and
Flinders grass (short and red) and on to a dam which has backed up the
runoff from the summer rains for as much as half a mile .
Such sheets of
water (we saw at least a dozen) were surrounded by trees under which stood
herds of Santa Gertrudis cattle (or Santa Gertrudis crossed on Shorthorns),
In the trees were thousands of white corellas, a form of white cockatoo,
which would fly up at our approach and complain with crow - like voices until
we departed.
As we went through a succession of such varying types of
country, we would be constantly interested in the birds.
ground life.
There is very little
We saw no m i ce nor gophers nor rabbits (though I was told that
there are rabbits) .
We did come across several iguanas, two to four feet
long, and some black snakes.
There are also tiger snakes and deaf adders,
but we were most attracted by the birds ,
There were many galahs, a heavy
pigeon , grey on top and pink underneath .
We saw hundreds of budgerigars,
�-19-
apple green on top and lemon green underneath, which flew in formations
in which each bird changed direction simultaneously as though the whole
group was controlled by some inaudible radio.
In the water holes were cranes
and blue herons and ibis (both white and grey) which seem to come in great
numbers during the seasons when there are grasshoppers.
dead from overeating the insects.)
unlike our Thanksgiving dish,
(Many are found
We also saw plains turkeys -- quite
The strangest were the "native companions,
which, we were told, are the largest land birds to fly.
11
Perhaps five or six
feet tall, on long thin legs, they walk with the help of a wing movement that
appears to be a dance.
I can well imagine that a rancher or prospector,
camped alone on these e ndless plains, might well find them diverting
co mp anions.
Driving through a wooded, grassy area, we came across a
kangaroo, a male, at least six feet tall, which was almost as interested in us
as we were in him.
He would look at us with head tilted, then, quite erect,
hop along on his hind legs, each hop perhaps six feet, with his tail moving up
and down to help him keep his balance, the tail never quite touching the ground
(as does the tail of the wallaby).
I believe the kangaroo lives on vegetation and
does not attack other animals, but , when he is attacked by a dingo, he tries to
escape by running.
hour.
feet.
With ten or twelve-foot hops, he can go thirty miles an
If cornered, he fights with his arms and with a short kick with his hind
If near water, he goes into it up to his waist and, as the dingo swims
close, holds the dingo under water till it drowns.
We were told that the wallaby
�-20-
kills the dingo by grabbing it and squeezing it to death.
kangaroo's most deadly enemy is man .
Of course, the
Over 11, 000 were shot on one
section of this ranch.
As we drove by one group of cattle resting in the shade by a
dammed lake, Mr. Paine noticed one cow run a few steps and concluded
a dingo must be nearby.
a "wild dog,
11
We drove over and there, 100 yards away, was
taller and more erect than our coyote, with large wide-set
ears .
He retreated when he saw us, watched for a moment, and then slunk
away .
These are serious predators attacking calves and, instead of killing
them first and then eating, they merely charge the calf, take a larbe bite,
then withdraw to eat and return for another mouthful until the calf bleeds to
death .
We were distressed that Jil had not come with us, for she is an
excellent marksman and would have killed the dingo -- not for the bounty
which the State pays for its scalp, but to reduce the threat to the calves,
Calves are, of course, the business here, but not quite in the same
way they are in the United States, for here ranchers do not sell the calves for
roughing out and then corn fattening, but carry the steers (bullocks) to
"maturity,
11
which used to be four to five years.
The bulls are run with the
herd all year, only the bullocks are cut out (as they are building up their
herd and retain their heifers) and at two to three years of age, when they
weigh
1,000 to 1,100 pounds, the steers are shipped some 700 miles to
the abattoir for slaughtering.
�-21-
Fed only on grass, their beef is no match for United States
corn-fattened steers (whose steaks the Australians say are "mushy"}, but
it is plentiful and cheap, about half the price of ours delivered at the packing
plant (and in a downtown Sydney market T-bone steaks sell for 69~ a pound).~~
This is why our ranchers resent importation of Australian beef, largely in the
form of corned beef and hamburger.
The Australians who import so much
in the way of manufactured goods from the United States ($700,000,000 per
year) and have had so little to export to our country (about $265,000,000)
are affronted that we have cut down the amount of their beef which can be
brought into our country.
When I asked whether they would admit United
States beef into Australia (they don't), they felt the question quite irrelevant,
as perhaps it is, though I believe the better hotels might be able to sell some
of our mare expensive, but much more tender, steaks.
Our ranchers should
be grateful that Australia has so little country fit for raising corn.
If they
fattened their beef (a very little is fattened on barley), their competition
would pose an even more serious threat, for the quality of their beef, grassfed, is excellent.
*
The Australian dollar, a new currency,for they used to use pounds,
shillings and pence (and still quote many prices in pounds, w}:i.ich
equal two ·of the new dollars), is worth about $1. 12 U, S. Conversely,
when we cash a $100 traveler I s check, we get only $88 Australian.
�-22-
On this great ranch, the rainfall varies from area to area
and year to year but averages about 13 inches per year.
That is not very
much, less than most of Oklahoma and Texas and no more than vast semiarid areas in Arizona and New Mexico, but the cattle here are in the best
shape that I have ever seen grass-raised beef.
I think it may be due in part
to the soil but even more to the flatness of the land.
does not run off, but rather soaks in.
Here a mode st rain
A hard rain drains for miles (with a
slope of only one foot or two to the mile) into rivers which are easily dammed.
In most of our steeply mountainous southwest there is a gulley or an arroyo
every 100 yards or so and, hence, not nearly enough drainage area to collect
a substantial body of water even though the runoff is rapid.
other reasons.
There may be
It is hard for Mr. Paine, who (like me) is a Hereford man at
,:c
heart, to admit that it could be the Santa Gertrudis stock.
Many of my
rancher friends in our southwest consider the Santa Gertrudis unsatisfactory,
for, at eight months of age, when weaned and put into a feed lot, they continue
to grow bigger instead of just growing fatter.
But h ere, where cattle are kept
on grass until they are two to three years of age, that may be an advantage
instead of a liability .
,:,
Mr. Paine will only agree to wait and see.
As you know, the Santa Gertrudis breed was developed by the Ki:og Ranch
in Texas (three-eighths Brahma andfive -eighths Shorthorn) . Two hundred
bulls and five hundred cows were brought h ere in 1951; further importation has been prohibited since 1958.
�-23-
It is hard to compare land prices for most of Australia's
cattle country is owned by the state governments and not sol d, but rather
leased, on long terms (35 years in some states and 5 0 in others, and
generally renewed) ,
The nearest I could get to a land price is about $100 per
animal unit (the land needed to support one cow and her calf) .
This would
compare to $300 to $500 in our northern states (where hay farming is necessary to carry the cattle through the winter) to $1,000 in Arizona and New
Mexico for flat land and $2, 000 or more in the prettier parts of those states.
Thus, friends of mine in Arizona and New Mexico hear of this Australian
ranch land at a cost of 10 per cent or less of what they have to pay and
immediately imagine the unalloyed joy of having ten times as l arge a ranch
here as the spread they can afford in the States,
This is great cattle country.
easy to work, but there are drawbacks.
*~
It is cheap, it is flat, and it is
Mr. Bassingthwaighte mentioned
two, labor and drought.
Labor is scarce.
There is virtually no unemployment in
Australia (less than 2 per cent), and both industry and mining are looking
for men in the cities and the mining towns -- at good wages.
Who, then,
wants to work on a ranch, perhaps hundreds of miles from town, beyond
television coverage, with very few other white men -- or women -- and no
place of amusement?
There are some who come from the city, either
,:, There are about twice as many cattle here as people, 19,000, 000
(of which about 3,000,000 are dairy cows) to about 11,500,000 people.
�-24-
attracted by the romance of the "cowboy" life
not make the grade in the city.
,:c
or because they could
Mr, Paine quoted another experienced ranch
manager who said that only 3 per_ cent of these turned out to be satisfactory
hands,
There are, of course, some young men who were raised in the
ranch country~*but there are not many available,
Many ranchers here, as
in the United States, lost the too-small places or were forced out by drought,
and their children do not have sufficiently pleasant memories of ranch life
to want to go back.
Then there are the aborigines,
and only partially civilized people,
These are a black-skinned
At each station we visited there were
small tin houses provided, but none was occupied, for these essentially
nomadic people prefer to live in the open - - on the ground with occasionally
a piece of tin to keep off the sun or, more commonly, they sit, eat and sleep
just in the leeward side of a bush, against which they may have placed some
extra branches to serve as a windbreak,
At Lake Nash and Berkely Downs
there are 140, including perhaps 100 children and 16
(only 25 work for the ranch),
older ones 11 on relief
11
These employed hands used to be paid $10 a
week plus rations, but now the gove rnment requires that they be paid $24 per
,:c
There really isn't as much romance to the cattle work here -- all done
in land rovers rather than on horseback, or in the riding on the flat land
rather than ·in mountains.
,:c*
We met several such couples, handsome, gracious young people, modestly
paid in cash but living in a pleasant Wisconsin or Michigan summerresort-type frame house, with a · cook and sitter and all rations provided,
They could save much more than if they were paid five times as much in
the city.
�-25-
week without rations -- actually a reduction in their compensation.
The
school teacher here is terribly serious about her job, as she should be.
In her one-room school she has 41 aborigines and four white children {ages
6 to 14) who, upon arrival each morning, must take a shower and put on their
uniforms.
Classes are conducted until ten, at which time they are inspected
by the nursing sister (the bookkeeper-storekeeper's wife) and given milk.
Unfortunately, though the State provided a cup for each child, the State locked
up the cups and the key is now lost, so all 45 must be fed from three cups.
They
go back out into the field to their families at noon, then back to their State built school house (about as tight as a sieve, with no heat for winter and no
insulation against the summer heat) _
for the afternoon,
teacher has taught them to march and to sing.
The 21 - year-old
Her predecessor, a man,
taught a few of them to swim, but their "three R I s" are very rudimentary.
Once through school, the great majority :revert to their earlier state,
Perhaps
if they were sent away to boarding school near a city, where they might be
motivated to aspire to a city job, they might want to achieve a degree of
civilization, but very few seem to here on the station.
A few of the men are
good horsemen, some of the women are capable of babysitting or washing
clothes, but none is used for cooking here at Lake Nash.
Each day, year
after year, thei~ master or mistress (no matter how kind, sensitive and
helpful) must start as on the first day and give instructions on each step of
�-26-
the job,
>'<
Nothing is remembered. '
So there are some help problems,
The second difficulty is drought.
The average annual
rainfall may be 13 inches but, until the summer just ended, there had not
be en a normal year in the last three or four,
cattle, some lost their ranches ,
Many ranchers lost their
General retail and automobile sales
declined and Australian economy turned down.
But drought is always a
possibility in any ranch country (which, by economic definition,
is country
with too little regular rainfall to raise crops).
There are other conditions which Mr. Bassingthwaighte did
not mention, but which might bother some American ranchers.
alluded to) is the government.
One (already
During the two and one-half days here the
State airport inspectors came to inspect the landing strip at Georgina, where
they had to stay for two days because they had run out of fuel and whiled away
the time writing out a two-foot long list of things that had to be changed.
Yesterday they were here and made a similar list, although these are both
private strips (which are not regulated at all in the United States).
Ths phone
rang last night at midnight, again at three in the morning, agin at six and,
,:,
According to "Australia and New Zealand II of LIFE 1 s World Library,
"Thousands still live in conditions of a Stone Age culture, 11 However,
they no longer eat humans which is especially applauded by the Chinese,
who, because they lived on rice, were prized as the most tasty humans.
See THE REMARKABLE AUSTRALIANS by Frederick C, Folkard.
,:":'
Just since this summer I s rains, has business turned upward to where
the problem is now becoming one of too-rapid expansion,
�- 27-
indeed, every three hours day and night, year in and year out -- the
government calling to ask how the weather is here and reporting how it
,,,
,,,
is elsewhere .
The State has a linguist (actually two, for his wife is also
a professional) staying here, and yesterday was a gala day for them because
they discovered a new sound.
Peachy!
The policeman is being assigned to
a new post in Darwin and a new policeman with his wife and two children will
arrive here next month .
The bookkeeper - storekeeper also tends the
government-controlled telegraph and telephone .
The school teacher i s leav -
ing for a conference in Darwin, despite the fact that there have been so many
changes in this school that classes have been held only five weeks in the last
five months (but you could hardly begrudge her the trip as the nearest other
school teacher in this State is 300 miles away) .
If you want to listen to the
radio you have to have a Broadcast Listener 1 s License and to watch T. V. you
need a Television Viewer's License.
There is an excess of government.
It
is not all bad, of course, but the government plays a much more significant
role, even in this remote station, than would be the case at home.
Another consideration is the heat.
This twenty-third of April
is equivalent to the twenty-third of October i n the Northern Hemisphere, yet
the w eat her is like our late September Indian Summer, but much warmer - over 90 in the shade.
>:<
Melbourne, on the south coast, was too warm to permit
It pays ($900 a year) to the wife of one of the ranch employees to
take these calls .
�-28-
walking fast without perspiring.
central area is even hotter.
Sydney was warmer, and this great
In the summer it is 110° or higher in the
shade for weeks on end (and through vast areas of this country there is no
shade) .
Each summer takes its toll of those whose cars break down and
wl+o die of thirst before the next traveller comes by.
Lastly, one would have to be willing to put up with more (if
smaller) flies than we have ever seen any other place in the world.
Unless
one is very active (they call swatting the fly the "Australian salute 11 ) , he
will have not two or three but a dozen on his face at any one time .
Freeman photographed my back, and the re were hundreds.
Mrs.
They get in
yol\r nose, your mouth, and you soon give up trying to keep them off the
food (you just pretend you are eating raisin bread).
One could wear a
mosquito net over a broad-brimmed hat, but I did not see anyone who did
so.
More likely you would Just have to get used to them .
Mrs. Freeman
tried to convince herself that everything is so healthy in these vast reaches
tra t the flies could not possibly be carrying many germs (I am not that good
a Christian Scientist!).
To my surprise, they do not seem to bother the
cattle or the horses as much as our flies do.
I am not even sure that they
bite, but they would be a negative in the over-all equation.
To my American rancher friends who would like to come here,
I can only say that to get an economically viable property, to make the
necessary improvements, and to have the capital that would last through a
�-29-
year or two of drought might take upwards of one million dollars .
is cheaper here than at home, but so are cattle.
Land
A three-year-old steer
at 1, 100 pounds sells in a good year for about $100 compared to about
two and a half to three times that for a fat steer of the same weight in the
States,
In short, I don't believe that it is the "promised land'' for the
discouraged American rancher with modest capital.
The King Ranch, with almost unlimited capital and a willingness to wait ten years before taking out any dividends, is doing very well.
In this particular ranch they and International Packers have a very satisfactory
investment.
When they get it up to full production (which means 80, 000 to
100,000 head), they will sell each year 20,000 steers averaging 1,100 pounds
and net an excellent return on their investment.
But t}):;y bought the property
very well and have put a great deal of thought and planning as well as money
into their bores (wells with 30-foot diameter windmills), dozens of expensive
qams, earth tanks 25 feet deep and ''steel yards 11 (the most elaborately constructed corrals used for "mustering" fround-up] that I have ever seen).
They have undertaken a program of herd improvement, and that involves
hundreds of thousands of dollars.
They have excellent management, both on
the property and in the city, and they are willing to wait for years before
taking any money out of the project.
are prepared to do the same.
Not very many individual ranchers
�-30-
We leave early this afternoon for a short fl ight to Mount
Isa where we will get a four-hour commercial flight to Brisbane.
After
a short layover, we will have a two-hour flight to Sydney for a day in the
city before moving on to New Zealand -- which is
Australians,
to o remote.
.,,
-·-
11
who consider that it is
11
11
terra incognita 11 to the
too socialistic, too undeveloped and
I can imagine an American saying the same about Australia,
but he would be wrong on at least two counts.
We will leave Australia with some reluctance.
Its size,
its riches, the climate of its coastal cities, its handsome people and the
opportunities in the banking business make us hope that we may someday
return.
,:,
The pilot says he has been every place in the world except C zechos loval<.ia ,
Russia and New Zealand. Even our most travelled acquaintances have
never been there.
�Capital: Can berra
Area : 2,967,909 square miles
Percent of World Area : 5 p e rcent
Population (1965) : 11,359,500
Density: 4 p er square mile
Percent of World Population: 0.3 percent
Elevation Highest Point: Mt. Kosciusko (7,3 16 feet)
Lowest Point: Lake Eyre (39 fe et below sea level}
Coast Line: 12,446 statute miles includ ing Tasmania
Northernmost Point: Cape York
Southernmost Point: Southeast Cape
Easternmost Point: Cape Byron
Westernmost Point: Dirk Hartog
Political divisions
(contine ntal Australia): 6 states, p lus 2 territories
Natio na l Ho liday: January 26, Australia Day
National Anthem: God Save The Queen
ECON OMY
HEA INDUSTRY
VY
AUSTRALIA
Tronspo rtotion
~ Equipme nt Aircraft
Machinery
ECONOMY
Tronsport otion
Metal Processing ..a,. Equipment Automobile s
1•
~~~ol
~
Processing
i~~i;~~~tt°~~ilrood
-....... Transportation Equipment Ship
LIGHT INDUSTRY
Ele ctrlcol &
I
lumber & Fo r~sl
Electronic Product s
•
Products
•
IJ
Chemicals
T Metal Producfs
Clothing
OJ
Pulp & Pop er
Products
0
Dairy Products
@
Rubber Products
~
Food Process ing
0
Stone Cloy &
Gloss Produc ts
~
Furniture
~ Te xtiles
w!J, Wool
OTHERS
<l
9
F
ishing
~
D
Seaport
Tou ri sts &
Resorts
fishing
Areas
MININ
G
¢Jc
¢;M Manganese
,
Cool
¢J,m
¢Js
~c. Copper
~
G
~
.
¢;,
SCALE
¢Ju
200 Miles
Gold
¢;,,,
¢;,,
¢Ju
Iron Ore
lead
lignite
~z
Pe troleum
Silve r
Tin
Tungsten
Uranium
Zinc
AGRICULTURE
D
Plantation Agriculrure
D
Forest wilh live st ock.
D
D
General fa rming flrrigotedl
forestry with some Farming
and Posture
LJ
D
D
General Farming
Collection of Tropical
Forest Producls
D
D
Seasonal Gro zlog w ith Sparse
Agriculture
Sea son al G ra zing with
Nomadic He rding
Non.Agricultural Areas
Cop y right b y Rand Mc Nally & C o .
and Re i;rod u ced with Their Permiaaion
�
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Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Date
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1903-2013
Description
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ms102_04_02_01
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Letter to Homer J. Livingston from Gaylord "Gale" A. Freeman Jr. about his travels in Australia
Date
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23 April 1967
Creator
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Freeman, Gaylord A
Livingston, Homer J
Description
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This is one letter from a series of letters, generally referred to as the “Far East Letters.” The letters were written by banking executive Gaylord A. Freeman Jr. (ca. 1910-1991) to then CEO and president of First National Bank Homer J. Livingston. Freeman, along with his wife, travelled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, and Moorea from April 23 through May 4, 1967. Often only spending a few days in each location, Freeman described his observations of the economic and cultural climate. Some of the letters also include maps illustrating data such as population, geographical information, and economy. Multiple copies of these letters were forwarded to Freeman’s colleagues and friends. This collection includes the copies sent to John S. Moore.
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Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Series 4: Gaylord A. Freeman, Jr. Far East and Oceania Letters Collection, 1967
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PDF
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English
Subject
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Oceania
Australia--Civilization--20th century.
Australia--Commerce--United States.
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Copyright is retained by the creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.
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Find out more about our collections on <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/explore/24553.php">our website</a>.
Asia
Far East Letters
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/11079/archive/files/2a2a836ffa03096b98b6b55bbc3be63d.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=VDs13AsWqe-K6p5ITWFl-exPU-oPCxQBTgYKb-5n-S7yRy3DboICkm0oqpylMTZMhh-zI85GYUilvbMwRciz5iT8nrs77xIBi2YLqvWQRhUK%7E-UAksm8c63624x39TrQnTf-LsYofwpHN3%7E15vUCwhdaryVkfsQSf02fKGk21m-58cFq-NnYvGrofrrDLVvp5KTE48KC1C7arbLQS2%7E6i5T8NSvjc39jtT8rUBBUbqF76OQo4IT2RMqWyUzV9i5ZzMYMU4oO61Tf9GvtBW43kN4SVwd3KZgZAkIUCBtq4RVAU%7E1kIBIPid4HWqZBMpZSUml58N9Y6OemJrHqblVcIg__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
8072921ade46e373f2f1bfcea324602c
PDF Text
Text
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
April 15, 1967
Dear Homer :
First impressions are not always right -- nor are second.
Last evening, when our Malaysia Airlines Comet jet dropped
down out of the towering cumulus clouds onto the rainswept runway, we
were awed by the beauty and magnificence of the $15,000,000 airport
building, far more elaborate than that of any city of equal size (about
400,000} in the United States .
Designed by an Australian, it must have
been strongly influenced by Yamasaki 's airport in Saudi Arabia.
After we suffered our way through Passport Control, we were
greeted by a representative of Interline (of which I had never heard} who
told us that our stay here, hotel and meals, were to be at their expense
(apparently a courtesy of Qantas).
We were driven along a fine divided
highway past a large industrial estate with plants of Mercedes, Peugot,
Caterpillar, I. C, I., and several other international companies, past
many handsome new buildings, the postal headquarters, the social
security headquarters and others (all government buildings) into the outskirts of the city and on to our modern hotel.
We were graciously received
and taken to our room where there was a refrigerator full of beer and soft
drinks and a quiet word that all of our laundry was free and would take
only six hours.
�-2-
Thus, the first impression was that this was obviously a
great place.
This morning, as I looked a t a too familiar, tired face in the
mirror, running the water to drown the bugs before using the washbowl,
all too awar e that even a $1 . 50 tip to the electrician had not caused the
e lect r icity to run my razor,,:, and thinking back over the irritation of
arrival (when at Pas sport Control I waited for ten minutes in Line No. 1
to reach the counter, was told to go back to the end of Line No. 2, where
after another ten minutes of shuffling progress I was told to go back to
the end of Line No. 1, whereupon there was one instant ugly American
declaring that we were going through the line then and ther e and they could
stamp our passports or not as they wished) and now realizing that the cold
be er was not a gift but a sales gimmick, the second impression was somewhat mare re served ,
In the rationa l appraisal of a third impression, this is a most
interesting city and the capital of a struggling new nation which has much
to offer.
The Federation of Malaysia consists of West Malaysia (the
Malaysian Peninsula south of Thailand), Sarawak and Sabah (which latter
two make up most of the northern half of Borneo, now called Kalimantan).
,:, Apparently I am not the first to experience t his problem as Mrs. Freeman
has read me from the Fan American book that 11 Electric current may be a
problem for the traveller, as both alternatin g and direct currents are
supplied at 230 volts. Depending upon the area and the whims of the contractor there are no fewer than 18 differ ent types of plugs in use . 11
�-3-
Kuala Lumpur, the capital city, which we "old China hands 11
(we have been he re twenty-three hours) call "K. L . ,
11
is about one-half
way down the southwest coast of West Malaysia.
This Malay Tuninsula is probably what the Gr eek geographer
Ptolemy referred to as the
11
land of gold.
11
It was engaged in trade with
India, directly to the west, at least a millennium and a half ago .
It has
been successively dominated by Sumatra (and the Buddhists), Java (and the
Hindus), and the Thais.
The Portuguese took over in 1511, the Dutch in 1641,
and the British in 1 795, although it was almost a century later before the
British really dominated the country.
The separate states (Johore, S.elangor,
etc.) were run, and are still administered by hereditary sultans .
During
the British rule, many Chinese and Indians and some middle easterners
immigrated.
The P e ninsula was conquered by the Japanese in World War II
and at the war 1 s end th e communist guerillas maintained a rebellion that
was not fully quieted for fifteen years .
In the meantime (1957) the British
granted independence ( 11 Merdeka 11) within the Commonwealth.
The present
Federation was created in 1963 and included Singapore until the summer of
1963 when it seceded.
Malaysia has an e lected king, His Majesty Tuanku Sultan Ismail
Nasiruddin Shah ibni Al-Mar hum Sultan Zainal Abidin ( 60), and a parliame ntary
government.
�-4-
The Singaporeans say that the Malaysian government discriminates against the Chinese (who, though they constitute 75 per cent
of Singapore I s population, are only about 40 per cent of total Malaysians).
This discrimination is a fact, for the constitution provides that three out
of four government offices must be held by Malays, but, as the Malays
point out, the Chinese, especially the Singaporeans, are far better educated'~
and, without such a constitutional preference, the government would employ
a disproportionately large percentage of the Chinese minority.
>:c*
The Singaporeans claim that the Malaysian bureaucracy is
incompetent and today's STRAITS TIMES headlines a statement by a former
detainee that
11
40 per cent of Malaysia's civil servants are bright, 20 per
cent are mediocre, and 40 per cent can be sacked on the spot without any
loss to the Malaysian government.
11
The Singaporeans claim that the Malays are lazy, that they are
content to eat and sleep and are not spurred by ambition to achieve more than
a full belly.
I cannot judge this, but I am told that those Malays who have
had the benefit of an education are able and aggressive.
,:,
Education in past generations has been largely confined to the cities,
and the Chinese, who are the traders, constitute the majority of the
population in the cities and thus have had the opportunity for an education, whereas the Malays, who are rural people, had no access to schools.
,;<>;,
In practice, the government cannot find enough adequately educated
Malays to maintain the required preference so the Chinese do in fact
exert a disproportionate influence.
�-5-
The Singaporeans claim that the Malaysian government is
corrupt.
That charge is repeated here,
But our Ambassador Bell says
that he has investigated many such charges and can find no evidence of a
:::c
single bribe ever having been asked of any American firm here.
Mrs. Freeman has surveyed the city while I have called on the
Central and Commercial Banks and reports that the market was fascinating.
Situtated in the Chinese area near the river, the streets and sidewalks were
filled with tiny booths and teeming with people .
She was a bit frightened as
there were no other tourists, but was assured that no one would molest her
and that, if they resented her, they would only turn their backs.
The booths contained fish of all kinds, fresh and smoked, but only
one booth had i ce over the fish.
other booths .
Meat {pork only) hung in large chunks from
Fresh vegetables were in abundance -- onions, cabbage,
many varieties of cucumber, sweet potatoes, spinach , and all the root
vegetables .
They had been cleaned and were nicely displayed .
However,
the most fascinating booth was the one that had fresh python meat, turtle,
iguana, rabbit and wild cat.
The fruits looked most appetizing.
Oranges
from Israel, apples from Australia and our State of Washington, and lovely
looking large peaches,
,:,
She asked the guide if he e ve r ate anything from the
I am sure that must be so, but I was also told that the Singapore nominee
on the Board of Malaysian Airlines {two-thirds of which is owned by
the governments of Singapore and Malays ia), when accused of having
done something improper, was immediately replaced by the Singapore
government while his Malaysian counterpart was not even criticized,
�-6market, and he looked really shocked and said "Never!
terrible stomach ache,
11
I would get
(Needless to say, we are still on Entero.lfioform.)
Mrs. Freeman was impressed with the exciting and elaborate
architecture of the mosques.
Perhaps slightly feminine by our standards,
each remains a beautiful reminder of the time when labor was cheap enough
to permit an ornateness that our present life does not permit.
She reports
that the National Museum of Art is indeed a treasure house.
She also had a very interesting visit to a rubber plantation.
The
first rubber trees were brought here in 1896 from those grown in the Kew
Gardens in London (to which, in turn, they had been brought from Brazil).
The trees produce from about five years of age to thirty years and are tapped
early each morning by a diagonal cut about two feet above the ground.
sap runs down this cut to a spigot and into a cup.
The
These cups are collected
shortly after dawn (to avoid the coagulation which would occur in the heat
of the day).
This juice is then mixed with water and acid and placed in
shallow trays where it is allowed to harden into sheets of about the size of
a hand towel.
These yellow sheets are then smoked and bound into bales
for export.
She also saw the tin mines which, in most instances, look like
lar ge lagoons from which the wet earth is either pumped through large tubes
and the various elements separated out, or is scooped up by large (and
expensive) dredges pulled slowly {about twenty feet a day) across the lagoons
while the floating machinery grinds and separates the ore into a black
sand-like material for subsequent refining.
�-7-
Mrs. Freema n was not able to evaluate the quality of the
farming but found in the newspaper references to the effect that, although
Malaysia presently produces only 70 per cent of its rice requirements, some
of its leaders feel that by devoting their attention to agricultural development,
rather than dabbling in international politics, their country will be selfsufficient in a few years.
They are also attempting to develop more modern
methods of fishing to obtain the protein so badly needed to supplement their
rice diet .
Are the people reasonably satisfied with their lot?
of any opposition party might so suggest.
cause trouble again?
The absence
Are the communists likely to
After twenty-three hours I can hardly claim to be an
authority, but I have the impression that the government is certainly determined not to let this occur .
As the universities offer a particularly fertile
ground for communist agitation, the government now examines every university
applicant as to his "political reliability" and will not admit those as to whose
loyalty it entertains any doubt.
We drove through the campus of one university of some 3,000
students, with colleges of engineering, art and education, and were much
impressed with its campus and attractive buildings .
The total university
enrollment in Malaysia is approxi mately 7 , 500 and, of those, only 500 are
Malays, the rest Chinese.
and economics are Chinese .
Almost all graduates in e ngineering, the scienc e s
The Malays study the liberal arts and agricul ture .
�-8-
In the university which we visited all classes are taught in
English, which language is familiar to most middle and all upper-class
groups, but the Malays are now putting great emphasis on their own language.
Perhaps, in part, this is intended to assert a superiority over the Chinese,
the great majority of whom have never bothered to learn Malay.
This
question of language may become as crucial here as it is in India, and some
students see in England's failure to develop the native language its greatest
failure as a colonial power. ,:c
In my one day in this country, I have been impressed by two
contrary reactions: First, the Malaysians are not doing anywhere nearly
as well as they should be with such great natural resources.
They produce
about one-third of the world I s supply of both rubber and tin.
They export
almost 900,000 tons ($500,000,000 U.S.) of rubber.
They have produced
tin for more than one thousand years and have been the world's largest
producer for the past seventy-seven years, last year's exports amounting to
$280,000,000 (U, S, ).
They export $150,000,000 (U, S.) of timber.
also export significant amounts of iron and some bauxite.
They
Of course, the
price of rubber declined as a result of the development of artificial rubber,
but in recent years this decline in price has been off set by greater efficiency
,:c
One recent forward step has been the adoption of the Roman alphabet
in preference to Chinese and Arabic which were previously prevalent.
�-9and increased production. ,:,
Both tin and rubber have also suffered price
declines as a result of the release by the United States government of some
of its surplus stockpile, but this amounts to only about 5 per cent of the
world's consumption each year.
The Malaysians still grouse about this,
but they do not mention that from 1960 to 1962, when we first became
involved in Vietnam, the price of rubber quintupled,
Just consider what the Japanese or the Koreans or the Taiwanese
would do with such a God-given source of exchange -- yet Malaysia has a
deficit in its balance of payments .
Second, the Malaysian government has done quite well in several
respects .
Although officially headed by the elected king, the government is
actually run by Prime Minister Yang Teramat Mulia Tunku Abdul Rahman
Putra Al-Haj (60), usually referred to as "the Tengku.
11
A graduate of the
English school in Singapore and Cambridge University, a determined anticommunist, he strongly supports our position in Vietnam.
The seventh
son of the Sultan of Kedah (a northern state of West Malaysia on the Thai
border), he is the head of the leading political party, a confederation of
Malaysian, Chinese and Indian ethnic groups.
He is genuinely concerned
about achieving a true unity of the various groups and, himself a Malay
aristocrat, is married to an Arab girl and has adopted two Chinese children
J.
,,,
Last month they exported 126,683 tons of rubber at an average price
of 56. 675 cents (Malaysian) a pound .
�-10-
(one of them the daughter of leper parents) .
There is no opposition party,
and the people here that I have
talked to believe that the Tengku will be in power for years to come,
Apparently he deserves to be .
difficulties created by the
11
He has pulled his country through the
confrontation 1 1 by Indonesia.
Sukarno inspired
several commando-type raids, both on West Malaysia and North Borneo,
there by creating the necessity for substantial increases in Malaysia I s military
expenditures and discouraging foreign investment .
The T:engku has now
achieved an accord with Suharto, with full diplomatic relations to be established at the end of this month,
The Tengku and his seven-year-old central bank can claim a
satisfactory accord and some quite excellent results:
1.
2.
Dollar and sterling reserves of almost $900,000,000
(U.S.), enough for nine months I requirements .
3.
A government debt of one billion (U.S.) dollars, of which
only about $150,000,000 is external.
4,
,:,
An increase in consumer prices of only 2 or 3 per cent
over a period of five years. Last year, prices rose
slightly more, but only about one per cent.
A growing industrialization -- Dunlop Tyre has a plant here
and a few small companies are making sneakers. B. M. C,
and both a Japanese and a Swedish company have started,
or are soon to start, automotive assembly plants here.
There is none in Singapore either, which makes it harder to overcome
the break between the two countries.
�-11-
5.
A remarkably stable currency, presently linked to
sterling (the dollar equal to 2/4d). After June 12, when
it is necessary to issue a new currency (because of
Singapore I s resignation from the joint currency board),
it will have the same value, but will be linked to gold
rather than sterling. Their dollar is equal to one-third
of ours.
6.
Malaysia, next to Singapore, has the highest per capita
annual income in Southeast Asia, somewhere between
$350 and $400.
On the other hand, Malaysia has three economic problems:
(a)
Unemployment is high, probably about 12 per cent over -all,
up to 20 or 25 per cent among those below twenty years of
age, and almost that high in the twenty to twenty-five-year
bracket.
(b)
Wages are low by our standards, but at $1. 50 to $2. 00 per
day (U.S.) plus medical, maternity, sick leave and compulsory
provident fund fringes, labor is not competitive with that rn
Korea, Taiwan or Thailand. Thus, the country exports
its valuable raw materials to be processed elsewhere.
(c)
Perhaps the most pressing economic proble m at the moment
is the failure to attract foreign capital. The present fiveyear development plan is based on the assumption of substantial and continuing foreign investment, but, despite a World
Bank conference on the subject , a Japanese offer of
$50,000,000 (U . S.), smaller loans from France and other
nations and such United States investments as that of Esso
(some $50,000,000), foreign investment just isn't flowing in.
Indeed, last year, although Malaysia had a surplus in its
trade account, it had a balance of payments deficit because
of a net capital outflow. Was this due to Malaysians sending
their money abroad or foreign corporations withdrawing some
of their earlier investment? The Deputy Governor of the
Central Bank (a very bright Chine se) d i d not know, but hoped
it might prove to b e j ust a temporary aberration. I hope so, too.
There are quite adequate banking facil itie s .
Indeed, the banks are
extremely liquid and are seeking good borrowers -- but only on short term .
�-12-
The banks pay 3 per cent on savings, 5 per cent on six - month deposits,
and 4-1 /2 per cent to 5 per cent on overnight funds .
7-1 /2 per cent, but they average 9. 6 p e r cent.
Their prime rate is
Banks are subject to the
40 per cent corporate income tax plus an additional 5 per cent " development
tax. "
What probably discourages investment is the troubled past, the
communist threat, the confrontation, the secession of Singapore, all of
which created fears which considerably reduced the inflow of capital.
Further-
more, there is not yet any substantial domest i c market, so the foreign
investor must either be satisfied with this limited Malaysian market or manufacture for shipment abroad in competition with lower-cost labor (of equal
or better productivity) in other Pacific nati ons .
It might seem reasonable to use local labor to process Malaysia's
raw materials, but perhaps most finished rubber products and also those of
tin would be more bulky and expensive to ship to distant markets than is the
raw material.
Our Ambassador expressed great hope for increased United States
investment, primarily for production and loca l marketing of consumer goods,
pointing out that bringing Malaysian-made goods back to the United States
not only aggravates our balance of payment s pr o bl e m, but also creates
resistance among both our manufacture r s and labor groups (who have already
joined together to cause Congress to set quot as fo r the importation of t extiles
�-13-
from other Asian countries, though not yet for Malaysia).
It is the
Ambassador's job to try to be helpful, but I fear that substantial fore i gn
investment will come more slowly than the Malaysians hope.
Kuala Lumpur is located at the juncture of two narrow, muddy
rivers which give the place its name.
A colorful mosque has been built
at the confluence of these rivers, and the city has spread out from that point .
The rivers, which were the first arteries of transportation, are now supplemented by perhaps the best system of roads of any country in Southeast
Asia, a benefit from England I s benevolent colonial rule .
We arrived here with the Singaporean propaganda in our ears.
We
leave one day later certain that, despite the superiority of Singapore I s government, we would, if faced with a choice, prefer to live h e re.
has little of the squalor of Singapore.
The city itself
Palac e s, British office buildings,
many Moorish-style government buildings side by side with excellent modern
buildings, most of which have decorative facades of metal or stone screening
to filter the intense sunlight, make
K . L. very interesting architecturally.
Yet it is still Asian and, between the arcaded sidewalks and the street, there
is an open (but stagnant) sewer which adds the odor of its decaying garbage to
that of the overflowing cans on the street.
For those representatives of United States companies who live here,
life can be quite pleasant.
The city has a siz e adequate to provide good
supplies, rents are fairly high (though perhaps only one-third of those in
�-14-
Tokyo).
Most European-style food is imported, much of it by air freight,
at considerable cost.
The weather is hot and humid.
Criticism of the
government, a national pastime at home, is not encouraged and, in a country
where a foreigner has to renew his work permit 'each six months, a word
of caution is not ignored.
But the surrounding country is absolutely beautiful.
Forested
mountains reach right down to the city and offer the opportunity for frequent
excursions .
The pace is leisurely and social life pleasant.
There is a sub-
stantial western community (of English, Dutch and Australians * ) with a small
group of Americans.
Mrs. Freeman saw many middle and upper-class homes that
were attractively d es igned and beautifully ke p t up.
She reports that there
is a magnificent country club, and I was told by a few westerners that I met
that they consider this an e xcellent post.
Some say it is the most desirable
in all of Asia.
Mrs. Freeman, who three years ago visited James Thompson's
house in Bangkok, has been terribly concerned about his disappearance three
weeks ago (from a fri e nd's home a bout 70 miles north of here in the Cameron
The Australians exert quite an influenc e her e. Radio Australia
is on the air nineteen hours a day, and Australians have set up
and, until just recently, run the central bank.
l
j
�-15-
highlands).
We explored that subject -- to the extent that we could.
The
Malaysian government had over 100 of their police * on the job for eight
days without finding a trace.
They do not believe that he was killed by a
tiger (though tigers do roam that area) for nothing was found, and a tiger
would not eat shoes, bones and everything.
It does not seem likely that
as experienced a man as he would have allowed himself to become lost,
though it is very rough and he might have slipped off the trail into a leaffilled canyon.
There are no communists known to be in the Cameron high-
lands area (such as there are left are further north along the Thai border).
His assistant in the Thai silk business flew over and for several days was
questioned as to Mr. Thompson's personal affairs, but these gave no indication of any difficulties.
If he was kidnapped, one would think that a ransom
note would have been delivered.
If it has, it has not been made public.
He was once lost for four weeks in the Himalayas and finally
wandered out, tired but smiling .
We certainly hope he will repeat, but, if
he is gone, his loss is a real one, not only to his close friends, but also to
Thailand where he helped so much in creating a world-famous industry,
providing employment for thousands.
~:,
His loss also would be a blow to our
This is a good force. Their l e aders have been well trained at
both Scotland Yard and our F. B. I. school. They effectively crushed
the communist guerillas in the forests several years ago .
�-16country whose interests he served by being so much the opposite of
11
the ugly American.
11
It is now 5 :00 p . m.
In a few minutes we leave for a long
flight -- first to Singapore, then the length of Sumatra across the western
Pacific, past Christmas Island into Perth, then completely across
Australia to Sydney and back down to Melbourne, w here we should arrive
tomorrow a little after noon, unkempt and sleepy.
En route, though already
tired, I will write this, the fourth letter in five days, but, if even for an
instant I felt over-burdened, I need only look up at the thousands of dark
faces on the "waving gallery" of the K. L. airport, all staring down at us
few fortunate travellers able to leave here for a r icher and more modern
world.
We end this Asian leg of our trip feeling, as we have so many
times in prior years, reverently thankful that we are Americans .
Since-.ely,
/
�MALAYSIA and SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE
MALAYSIA
c,,1101: Kuala Lumpur
C1plt1I: Sing a pore
Aru: 128,430 square miles
Ar11: 224 square miles
ro,,l,tin {1965): 9,429,000
D1111ty: 7 4 per square mile
,.,,1,1111: 1,840,000
D111lty: 8,2U per square mile
llnotin: Hi9hst Polit: 13,455 feet
lowest Poi1t: Seo Ieve I
EltHIIH: H1,~ .., Pel1t: 581 feet
Prl1d,ol l119H9t: Maloy
Prl1dp1l lH9119e:Chinese, Malay
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Prhul,el l11f9l11:Chinese, Islam
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Copllright by Rand McNally & Co,
and Reproduced with Their PermlHion
�
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Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Date
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1903-2013
Description
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This collection brings together materials donated by Suffolk University faculty, staff, alumni and friends that represent their individual academic pursuits, research, memorabilia, and other personal records. Some of them are small collections of personal papers or single items such as scrapbooks, objects or photo albums.
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Copyright is retained by the creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.
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ms102_04_01_05
Title
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Letter to Homer J. Livingston from Gaylord "Gale" A. Freeman Jr. about his travels in Malaysia
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
15 April 1967
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Freeman, Gaylord A
Livingston, Homer J
Description
An account of the resource
This is one letter from a series of letters, generally referred to as the “Far East Letters.” The letters were written by banking executive Gaylord A. Freeman Jr. (ca. 1910-1991) to then CEO and president of First National Bank Homer J. Livingston. Freeman, along with his wife, travelled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, and Moorea from April 23 through May 4, 1967. Often only spending a few days in each location, Freeman described his observations of the economic and cultural climate. Some of the letters also include maps illustrating data such as population, geographical information, and economy. Multiple copies of these letters were forwarded to Freeman’s colleagues and friends. This collection includes the copies sent to John S. Moore.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Series 4: Gaylord A. Freeman, Jr. Far East and Oceania Letters Collection, 1967
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Documents
Format
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PDF
Language
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English
Subject
The topic of the resource
Southeast Asia
Malaysia--Civilization--20th century.
Malaysia--Commerce--United States.
Rights
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Copyright is retained by the creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.
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Find out more about our collections on <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/explore/24553.php">our website</a>.
Asia
Far East Letters
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/11079/archive/files/f166517fa19456dde8b6045a31397886.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=k2FDBPAAS2%7EP9M2PjUyE2CUMCacBb9pwl-X%7EUHQ1UXzVD27T%7E7HZRxzq-7AxAcGYogvRNu-pswoW-RQFaSd6-wSG9t1OjHftwiUY7L8Ug2XwXTqB-wqmDdnNRa730TFFQIQJ1fRgV0AD4GUppW--j4hrkYW%7EbwG8KGkIyMHghyJ90jn0heepEOKTWgoSjztJkUOHTPLeAInfv3WMyjbjXHUWW6CPbBE73C8zjRLCFrzvaChEVBDVoVPKs3L6XOEPqTBI5H5uJ8CLuQsPR7zm2eZYMa4pJbHaEAbS-vSV1BP1FLOvfSKWzScgqxJftcfsQATeTdw1ZEej1nbrOw1uwA__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
54dcd89f0b60a07648d5deaf7b7e7c35
PDF Text
Text
,
Singapore
April 14, 1967
Dear Homer:
Geographically, Singapore is as integral a part of the
Malay Peninsula as New York City is a part of New York State.
A flat
island of 224 square miles (compared to 22 square miles for the island
of Manhattan), it is a part of the same land mass, separated by the
straits, not nearly so wide or deep as the Hudson River.
To further
the analogy, western Malaysia (the Malay Peninsula) is just about the
size of the State of New York.
But, in any other than geographic terms, the separation of
Singapore and Malaysia is far wider.
The beginning _ this separation dates back to 1819 when
of
Sir Stamford Raffles, impressed with the possibility of its great natural
harbor (just 80 miles north of the equator) as a trading base to serve all
of Asia and the east coast of India, moved into what had been largely
uninhabitated (except for a few Chinese fishermen), since the earlier
villages had been destroyed by the Javanese in the fourteenth century,
and founded the
11
City of Lions.
11
�-2-
In 1867 the Straits Settlements were incorporated with
Singapore as a Crown Colony (comparable to Hong Kong).
The British
gradually cleared away the semi-tropical forest (except for some twelve
square miles that are preserved as a park) and built a great colonial city
(expanded by thousands of Chinese immigrants) and settled down to a
delightful colonial life, prospering on the tin and rubber trade and fortifying the island to the point that it was impregnable against attack fr om
the sea.
But early in 1942 the Japanese marched down the Malay
Peninsula and were able to fly, shoot and ultimately wade
across the
narrow straits and conquer the guns that pointed in the other direction .
We are told that in the first week they killed thousands of young men of
fighting age (17 to 40 years).
In all, some 50,000 Singaporeans were
murdered.
Upon the bombing of Hiroshima, the Japanese surrendered
to the British, who again administered the government and continued to
raise the living standard even as they planned independence.
Straits Settlements were dissolved.
In 1946 the
Penang and Malacca were incor-
porated into the Malayan Union and Singapore became a separate Crown
Colony.
In 1959 it became self-governing.
In 1963 it joined with its
geographical parent, Malaya, and with it, Sarawak and Sabah became
Malaysia,
�-3-
But the non-geographic differences became increasingly
obvious.
The British were still present with their great naval and
military base which provides one-quarter of Singapore's very substantial
~:,
per capita income of $450,
itself a second distinguishing characteristic.
Thirdly, Singapore is primarily (75 per cent) Chinese with perhaps
eight per cent Malays -- in contrast with a more heavily Malay ancestry
on the Peninsula.
Fourthly, Singapore is primarily Buddhist, whereas
Malay is primarily Muslim,
These differences led to unlike attitudes and aims.
The
Malaysian constitution frankly disting uished b etwee n citizens of different
origin and gave preferenc e to the Malays.
tion of Singapore.
This irked the Chinese popula-
The Singapor eans claim that the Malaysian government
was corrupt, its officials lazy, and that the public funds were spent for
show rather than for useful service.
On the other hand, the Malay govern-
ment felt that the Singaporeans play too close to the communists.
Thus,
on August 9, 1965, Lee Kuan Yew, a Cambridge-educated lawyer, later
communist trained, aggressive head of the P eople's Action Party, and
head of Singapor e I s provincial government since 1953, pulled his country
out of Malaysia to go it alone.
~:, According to John Scott, it is East Asia 1 s most prosperous
community.
�-4-
This frightened our government, for we feared a communist
takeover.
Some of Lee I s statements were not reassuring.
"We are non-communist. We like Mr . Nehru's
attitude. We believe in working with communists
as long as they play by the rules. If they begin
to play in order to abolish the rules, then they
musf be suppressed. This is the situation in the
Federation, But not here in Singapore. The suppression of the communist party here was
unnecessary."
Lee, who at one time may have been a communist and initially
felt that he could work with them, reacted to their pressure and, resent-
ful of their attempt to dominate him, elected to pursue an independent
and more central course,
This morning, when I asked our Ambassador Galbraith if he
thought the Singapore economy could achieve viability alone, he replied,
11
It is viable,
11
and apparently it is.
Of course, it derives great income
(though less direct employment) as a port, the fifth most active in the world.
Not only Malaysian, but also Indonesian, rubber and tin pass through
Singapore and the hands of the commercial firms established there.
Lee I s .economic advisors recognize, and he accepts, the fact
that, without Malaysia's agricultural and industrial production, Singapore
would be at a disadvantage .
Unlike Sukarno and some other oriental rulers,
Lee operates his government as a team and, having attracted good men, he
listens to their advice and encourages them to carry out thei r recommendations -with excellent results.
�-5 -
Sing a pore has a balanced budget.
It has continued to
maintain a pleasant arrangement with the British, who have recently
stated their intention to keep their military base here as long as
conditions continue as they are,
Lee I s government has stimulated foreign investment by
legislative encouragements:
l. Bank accounts of non-residents are taxed
at only one-quarter of the rate on residents I accounts.
2. Interest paid on overseas loans for approved
capital equipment is tax-exempt.
3. Export sales (if over 20 per cent of the total)
are taxed at only one-tenth the regular rate (of 40 per cent).
4. Property taxes are substantially reduced for
urban renewal and waived entirely during construction
(six months plus one additional month for each story
of the building).
The budget, taxes and prices have all been kept quite stable.
After the "confrontation" between Indonesia and Malaysia,
which threatened Singapore with a tragic loss of all of Indonesia's rubber
and tin shipments, such trade is now back to almost pre-confrontation levels.
Indeed, the relationship between Singapore and Indonesia is now very satisfactory.
With Indonesia desirous of having Singapore as the official trading
base for traffic between Indonesia and Hong Kong, and with China and East
::~ Today 1 s STRAITS TIMES reports that Indonesia and Malaysia will
resume full diplomatic ties by the end of this month.
�-6-
Europe, which find its political climate neutral, its activity is rising
rapidly.
But Lee's interest in business is not to benefit his friends
(his is by all odds the most honest in the Orient - - the slightest suspicion
of corruption causes immediate dismissal).
His purpose is to improve the
lot of his people.
Ten per cent are unemployed
They badly need income,
and, though he has family planning centers in every part of the island
and is achieving a real reduction in births, young people (previously
conceived) are entering the labor market at the rate of about 1,000 per
week.
Lee, anxious to provide them all with jobs , is strongly pushing
to expand industry.
A newly-built area, the Jurong Industrial Estate,
has been developed about fifteen miles outside the city and already has a
steel plant, a sugar refinery, a textile mill, Mobii's oil refinery, and
a cement plant.
Labor rates run from about $1 to $2 (U.S.) per day (low by
our standards, but above those in Taiwan and Korea), but Lee does not
s e e this wage level as a deterrent to industry .
His present disappointment
is that the banks, which are used to self-liquidating commercial bills,
hav e not been willing to provide the long-term loans which his economic
advisors tell him are needed for industrial expansion.
The banks, mostly quite small (even though they may have a
dozen or more branches), are quite liquid and have reasonable ratios of
�-7-
loans to capital funds.
They have been and are still regulated by the
Central Bank of Malaysia which is soon to be superseded as the regulatory
agency by the Accountant General of Singapore .
It is likely that he in
turn will delegate the supervision to a Commissioner of Banking, though
as yet no such legislative provision has been introduced.
Present regu-
lations call for 20 per cent liquidity and a reserve requirement of 3-1 /2 per
cent.
The prime rate is 7-1/2 per cent, but with other loans rising above
10 per cent, the average rate is around 9 per cent .
The banks pay 5 per cent
on time deposits and 3 per cent on savings -- a nice spread.
The government i.s deeply committed to public housing (over
70, 000 units have been built} and to social welfare.
Social services amount
to $275,000,000 (Malaysian dollars, or one-third of that in U. S. dollars)
out of a budget of $560,000,000.
attendance is not compulsory.
Schools have also been expanded, but
Literacy is about 60 per cent.
That is enough economics.
If one came here directly from the United States, Singapore
would be overwhelming, but the visitor who comes here from Hong Kong
finds little that is bigger or more colorful.
Singapore, a city of more than 2,000,000, is literally teeming
with people, at least 80 per cent of whom are Chinese.
They -- and, when
you speak of Chinese, you unconsciously include their business - - spill
out over the sidewalks and onto the streets.
People, food, charcoal braziers,
�-8-
cooking pots, displays of shoes, a box of dark glasses, bicycles, children
running back and forth, old men sitting in the sun, so crowd the walks that
one has to move slowly just to avoid bumping into hundreds, or walk in the
street where one is likely to be bumped into by hundreds of bicyclists and
dozens of cars.
Once you get off the more important streets, you are
so pressed on all sides that it reminds you of coming out of a football
stadium at the end of a game, except that here the people are going in many
different directions or just standing still.
Alone and unsure of directions
(I manage to get lost for a little time each day). one can even experience
a moment of uneasiness.
Yet, though I experienced cans iderable scrutiny
(I think it is my heavy felt hat on this tropical island), there was not one
gesture of r udeness .
Perhaps because they live every minute in a crowd,
they have learned to avoid giving offense.
It is hot (about 98 today) and humid.
The national costume
for men is slacks and a short-sleeved shirt, but many of the Chinese wear
only a pair of cotton shorts.
Yet I have not been conscious of body odors,
but that may be because of the over-riding stench of food - - food cooking
all around you in the narrow open-front restaurants and on the sidewalks,
old food rotting in the gutters or in the open garbage cans in the street.
The odors, the crowds, the street-side shops, the disintegration of plaster
walls (due to excess humidity), and the presence of numerous Indians along
�-9-
with the Chinese reminded both Mrs. Freeman and me of our arrival
m Calcutta four years ago.
Also like Calcutta or Hong Kong, Singapore has what
John Scott referred to as "stodgy Victorian buildings and the fauna of
the stubbornly vigorous British Colony, the careful lawns and clubs of a
comfortable suburbia.
11
The hoards of people and the signs in Chinese are not unlike
Hong Kong, but Singapore is not nearly so much of a tourist center.
In the
central area there are few new buildings and those only up to four or five
floors.
The traffic is more pedestrian and l ess hurried.
It is closer to
the equator -- and much further from home .
Singapore Harbor, with berths for 25 ocean vessels, is more
significant than Hong Kong 1 s,but you don't see it from the city (unless, as
Horace Sutton suggests, you climb Mount Taber, "the local Alps -- a
dizzying 350 feet above the sea.
11
Singapore would like to become (as it claims it is) Hong Kong I s
equal as a shopping center, but it does not have the luxurious shops that
cause the Westerner to believe that the gems are genuine or the gold is
18 carat.
Its watches are Chinese rather than Japanese and, more important,
it does not have the tourists.
Mrs. Freeman reports that Singapore 1 s antique shops have
many beautiful old porcelains, exquisite screens and lovely ol d sculptured
�-10-
figures, but the United States will not allow any of this to be brought
into our country unless it can be proved to have been outside of China
since before the Korean war.
The certificate of a shopkeeper is not
satisfactory proof.
Mrs. Freeman found the Chinese market most fascinating,
with thousands of items, most of them food, haggled over with great
excitement.
Chickens are sold live and carried out by the feet.
Turtles
are sold live, but, if the buyer doesn 1t want the entrails, they are killed
and gutted on the spot.
Lodging and food are good.
hotel,
11
There is an Intercontinental
The Singapura," with a cabana-ringed pool, and a Hilton is being
built next door.
Most of the restaurants specialize in such delicacies
as spiced squid, pigs I tripe and gizzard, fish heads in a bowl, stewed
ducks I feet, and sea slugs with rice (which I can get along without), but
at the Raffles Hotel I had a "Singapore S1ing 11 and curried prawns which,
washed down with a decent local beer, were much more satisfying than
Mrs. Freeman 1 s finger sandwiches.
We took a short drive through the country, past banana trees,
palms (for palm oil) and pineapples.
We saw a beautifully kept orchid
farm and such flowers flourish in this high temperature and humidity.
�-11-
There are some minor aggravations for the tourist.
In
Japan everything is expensive, but prices are fixed and ther e is little
tipping.
The Chinese are not so simple.
All prices are subject to
negotiation (and it's imperative to undertake this in advance), tipping
is unavoidable and constant , but, with the Malay5i.an dollar worth only
one-third of ours , generosity is not too painful.
As we leave Singapore (after less than 24 hours) for the
45-minute flight to Kuala Lumpur , we are grateful for the opportunity
to have been here, but quite content to move on.
With very best regards,
�MALAYSIA and SINGAPORE
SINGAPORE
MALAYSIA
(1pi11I: Singapore
c,,1111: Kuala Lumpur
A111: 128,430 square miles
Ar11: 224 square miles
,.,,1,1111 (1965): 9,429,000
Doultr: 74 per square mile
,.,,1,1111: 1,840,000
Dtullr:8,214 per square mile
lln1tio1: Hi1•u1 Poli t: 13,455 feet
lowtsl Polit: Seo level
U1nf111: H11•os1 Polit: 581 feet
lawost Ptl1t: Seo level
Prl11ip1l l119H91: Maloy
Prl1dp1l lntHtt:Chinese, Maloy
& English
Prl1dp1I Rtlltl11: Islam
Polltlcol Diw1slo11: 13 States
1
Gulf of Siam
Prlul,1l ltlitl11:Chinese, Islam
& Christianity
I
SOUTH
VIETNAM
115°
I
MALAYSIA
100
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M1l l!S
@ Natio nal Capital
'I>. Capital
----- Railroad
SOUTH
CHINA.
SEA
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NA TUNA
ISL ANDS
(JNDON.J
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TAMB£LAN
I SLANDS
IJND~N.)
-00
Pontlana
Copytlght by Rand McNally & Co,
and Reproduced with Their Permiaalcm
�
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Title
A name given to the resource
Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1903-2013
Description
An account of the resource
This collection brings together materials donated by Suffolk University faculty, staff, alumni and friends that represent their individual academic pursuits, research, memorabilia, and other personal records. Some of them are small collections of personal papers or single items such as scrapbooks, objects or photo albums.
Relation
A related resource
Find out more about our collections on <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/explore/24553.php">our website</a>.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright is retained by the creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.
Document
A resource containing textual data. Note that facsimiles or images of texts are still of the genre text.
Dublin Core
The Dublin Core metadata element set is common to all Omeka records, including items, files, and collections. For more information see, http://dublincore.org/documents/dces/.
Identifier
An unambiguous reference to the resource within a given context
ms102_04_01_04
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter to Homer J. Livingston from Gaylord "Gale" A. Freeman Jr. about his travels in Singapore
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
14 April 1967
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Freeman, Gaylord A
Livingston, Homer J
Description
An account of the resource
This is one letter from a series of letters, generally referred to as the “Far East Letters.” The letters were written by banking executive Gaylord A. Freeman Jr. (ca. 1910-1991) to then CEO and president of First National Bank Homer J. Livingston. Freeman, along with his wife, travelled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, and Moorea from April 23 through May 4, 1967. Often only spending a few days in each location, Freeman described his observations of the economic and cultural climate. Some of the letters also include maps illustrating data such as population, geographical information, and economy. Multiple copies of these letters were forwarded to Freeman’s colleagues and friends. This collection includes the copies sent to John S. Moore.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Series 4: Gaylord A. Freeman, Jr. Far East and Oceania Letters Collection, 1967
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Documents
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
PDF
Language
A language of the resource
English
Subject
The topic of the resource
Southeast Asia
Singapore--Civilization--20th century.
Singapore--Commerce--United States.
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Asia
Far East Letters
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.,
Seoul, Korea
April 4, 1967
Dear Homer:
"Kor ea, that is, South Korea, the Republic of Korea, has
very little.
11
It has no forests -- the Japanese destroyed them.
11
lt has no hydroelectric power -- that's in the north.
''It does not produce enough food to feed its peopl e.
lt has almost no factories,
11
11
Ambassador Winthrop Brown
It has no oil.
11
continued.
11
It has no gas.
1
'lt has only one ass et - - and that is its people.
11
The Korean people have a great capacity to learn, both the
rural farms and the city people.
11
They are able to laugh at themselves -- and the Koreans
are not afraid to say ' thank you.
1 11
They have said "thank you,
11
and said it very well .
The dis-
tinguished business leaders who met Dick Thomas, Olof Lindstedt,
Mrs. Freeman and me at the plane expressed it in the patois picked up
from our service men :
11
Stateside send son when we have war.
State side have war and we send son.
11
Now
�-2-
And they said it without
11
ifs 11 or "buts.
11
Our Ambassador
recalled his visit to President Chung Hee Park to ask for a division of their
troops to go to South Vietnam.
Park 1 s reply was simple:
11
Certainly, see
my Chief of Staff and tell him when and where you need them,
11
Last year
when we asked for a second division, it, too, was provided -- for a total
of 45,000 Korean troops now in Vietnam.
Of course, the Koreans were heavily indebted to us.
But so
are many other countries which have not sent so much as a squad to Vietnam.
We have supplied most of the military equipment, not only for the two divisions in Vietnam, but also for their very large army at home ,
Nevertheless,
this small country (approximately thirty million people in a land the size of
}~
Minnesota) spends 80 to 85 per cent of its national budget
to maintain its
military force, the fourth largest in the world, whereas so much of the world
avoids such expense, preferring to rely on the United States.
Yes, the Koreans are not afraid to say "thank you.
11
Although it
took only a few words for President Park to agree to send us his troops, it
,:,
Its total budget is up from less than thirty billion won in 19 64 to over
seventy billion in 1966, Half of this is raised in direct and half in indirect
taxes, Personal income taxes account for about 50 per cent more than
corporate income taxes . Much income still escapes taxation and it may
be that some corporations and individuals keep several separate earnings
statements. (At present no American accounting firm has a branch in
Korea,) Despite this problem, the government is rapidly increasing
tax collections -- this year to one hundred billion won.
�-3-
took great political courage, for his country is poor and, through 1964,
with rampant inflation raising prices as much as 20 or 30 per cent a year,
the average man 1 s purchasing power was not rising but, in fact, declining
a little each year .
Why should he help the rich United States with its war?
As President Park anticipated, the opposition party made great capital of
this and condemned Park for his subservience to the United States.
As eve n
President Park could not have anticipated, but as the missionaries and the
local village officials soon began to report, the people in the remote villages
tending their tiny tea paddies, when they h eard the news, were not in fact
resentful -- they were proud.
Their country was so st rong that the United
States needed their help and they were paying back their debt.
Once again the soldier turned politician, President Park, had
outwitted the opposition and done so with what would have seemed an unpopular
act.
The opposition had to back down and now merely grouses that certainly
the country shouldn't send any more troops.
The presidential election coming up on May 3 will offer the
people the choice of Park or 71-year old former President Po-Sun Yun who,
campaigning on Saturday, called for ''an end to the present government's
,,,
,,,
autocratic rule, corruption and subjugation of the nation to foreign hands.
11
Although it is arrogant to express any opinions about so comp lex
a society after a visit of only two days, it seems to me that in a sense the
oppos ition's points are valid.
,:,
As reported in the KOREA HERALD for Sunday, April 2, 1967.
�-4-
1.
The present government is autocratic.
2.
There is widespread corruption.
3.
The nation is dependent on foreign influence.
But unless I have completely misread the people I s attitude,
President Park has little to fear -- in 1967.
His real test may come four
years from now in the spring of 1971.
The government is autocratic in the sense that it is run by an
extraordinarily courageous, forceful, indefatigable, determined revolutionary
army officer who seized power by a coup d'etat on May 16, 1961, and has
since run the country on the bas is of what is good for it in the long run,
whether it is popular or not.
Thus, to reduce crime and a possibility of
insurrection, the country is subjected to an absolute curfew from midnight
to 4:00 a. m., and, though we are driven in a car with a CIA sticker that
allows us to go through any roadblock and avoid any detention, if we were
to be out fifteen minutes past twelve o'clock, we would be locked up.
His determined autocracy takes many other forms.
Earlier a
novice in this field, he has learned a great deal about economics and is
determined to pr event inflation and to encourage i nvestment in capital as sets
in a country heretofore almost devoid of productive machinery.
To do this
he has held wages at a low level, offered relatively little in the way of
consumer goods and has directed production toward investment (primarily
investment in the production of goods for export), thus providing both jobs
and foreign exchange,
�-5-
Park I s government has accomplished near miracles.
which were 120 million in 1964 will exceed 350 million this year.
e xpectancy has doubled in the last thirteen years.
in an over-populated country) is down.
Exports
Life
The birth rate (so important
In the past two years gross national
product has risen 12 per cent each year in real terms and, though by our
standards inflation is rampant, the consumer price rise last year was limited
to 14 per cent.
Wages have risen more rapidly so that for the past two years
the ordinary man has improved his purchasing powe r .
People are dressing
better, going to the movies more (some 170 million paid admissions last year).
There are 150 thousand television sets as against none five years ago.
Pilferage
from U. S. supplies is down by one-half and, as we hear almost every place else
in the world,
11
You just can 1t find a maid her e.
11
This is not to say that Korea is a land of milk and honey.
It cannot
be compared to Japan even fifty years ago, but it stands today about where
Ta iwan was seven years ago.
These are great accomplishments, but until 1965 they were at
the temporary expense of the average man.
I can't imagine a political leader
in any other free democratic country having the courage to adopt the stern
measures which Park has enforced and I am overwhelmed both by the people 1 s
approval of his severe disciplines; at the sa~ t ime one would have to acknowledge that Korea is not quite as free as we might expect.
But the next five-
year plan calls for a 31 per cent increase in per capita income and, though
the people don 1t love tough General Park, they believe he will achieve this
and they are not sure anyone e ls e could.
�-6-
The government is also corrupt, as the opposition complains.
Businessmen report that in dealing with the government at lower levels
(and the government is all-pervasive -- just to walk out of the Seoul Airport
requires inspection and stamps by five separate officials), it is necessary
in every .i nstance to bribe petty officials or at l east to pay them something
(
11
bribe" seemed too harsh a word to the Koreans, who look on this as a
normal form of compensating the government bureaucrats who are woefully
uncle rpaid).
In our limited stay we had no direct contact with corruption.
On the other hand, we did see a great many of the higher officials from the
Deputy Prime Minister,:, on down and, though it is possible they may have
risen through the lower ranks of corruption, these senior men were as
bright, knowledgeable, aggressive and confident as any government officials
I have ever had the pleasure of meeting.
It may be that we were directed
primarily to those who speak English, but we saw the head of the Economic
P l anning Board and his assistant, the Minister of Finance and his assistant,
and the heads of the two largest commercial banks.
Each of these men spoke
English fluently and most of the government officials to whom we talked had
been educated in the United States.
,:,
They were knowledgeable, incisive, and
Chang Key-Young, 51 years old, ex-banker and newspaper publisher,
is referred to with awe as "the big bulldozer, 11 an apt description
of his overwhelming drive and aggressiveness. Dick, Olof and I met
with him twice and were worn out after ten minutes of his "Will you
help us? Thirty million for fifteen years? Ten? Ten million for three
to five years? We will help you -- what will you do? 11
�-7-
hard working.
One assistant told us that he had had no Saturdays and only
one Sunday off i n the last six months .
I accept the fact that there is corruption, but I am impressed
with the fact that the governmental leaders are extraordinarily able and
overwhelmingly confident of the future of their country.
The opposition is right in its contention that the government is
subject to great foreign influence.
obvious,
It is, indeed .
Our presence is most
Of the two newest office buildings -- of equal size and side by side
one houses the Korean Government financial offices (the Economic Planning
Board and the Ministry of Finance) .
The other is occupied by the U, S. 0. M.,
our Economic Aid Mission,
Many store fronts and advertisements are in
English as well as Korean .
The streets are full of jeeps, both n ew military
models and older ' 'surplu s" models now painted black and used as everything
from taxis to "limousines" (but never as trucks - - they are much too fine
for that!).
The R . 0. K. soldiers wear U. S. Army uniforms and our military
installations and U.S. 0, M, compound with its golf course are prominent .
Many American firms are moving in and the Korean businessman speaks
frequently about his "golfa game . "
In addition to our economic and military
aid we are buying about ten or twe lve million dollars of goods each year for
Vietnam and R. 0. K. soldiers and workers tre re are remitting another fifty
million dollars.
�-8-
Our presence is obvious.
Our aid and military influence may
decline in the days ahead; our business influence is almost certain to
increase,
President Park,in his determination to advance the economy, has
caused the legislature to adopt the Foreign Capital Introduction Law to lure
capital into Korea, in part by offering the inducement of a five-year tax holiday
to any company that has at least 25 per cent of its equity invested by foreigners.
At a time when most other economies (notably the Japanese) seek to discourage foreign investment, Korea is extraordinary a.nd, though it offers
a limited domestic market, it provides cheap, high-quality labor that should
be extremely attractive to many of our manufacturers.
The Japanese are making strenuous efforts to take advantage of
Korea I s cheap labor, but the Koreans still harbor intense resentment against
the Japanese.
One large employer told me that he had recently employed a
very able young man who, after six months, resigned because there was so
much Korean exchange of business with Japanese firms.
Syngman Rhee,
who was deposed by Park's coup in 1961 (and has since died), is earning
renewed admiration for his having had the strength to accept a slower rate
of economic growth as a price for excluding the Japanese during his regime .
,,,
......
But the Japanese are out to overcome this if possible.
,:,
Today, even the
The "normalization agreement " (re-establishing diplomatic relations)
signed in 1965 re-established relations between the two countries -- an
act of grave political significance to both governments - - theretofore
quite hostile. It also provided something less than a billion dollars
($800 million), some in gifts, some in loans.
�-9French are coming in and are about to begin local assembly of the Renault
for sale throughout Asia.
Thus, the opposition is right in pointing to the fact that the
present government is autocratic, there is widespread corruption and the
nation is subject to foreign influence, but (on the bas is of my very superficial
know ledge) I would guess that on May 3 President Park will do very well.
What kind of people are these that willingly accept these burdens?
In the first place, they are of Tungusic and Mongolian origin (as
a result of invasions beginning in the third millennium B. C.) and this is reflected
in their appearance,
Dede asked some of our Korean friends to describe what
they felt were the physical differences between themselves and other Asiatics .
They felt that they are a bit taller than the Japanese and have rounder and
flatt er faces.
Their eyes are less slanted than the Chinese and their color
somewhat lighter,
In the second place, they are much more cheerful, from the
dancer in the kieseng house to the workers in the city and the villagers on
their tiny farms, they are smiling.
Even when our driver speeds into a crowded
street with his rude horn honking, the people scamper out of the way without
a gesture or a curse, very nimble but unperturbed .
In the third place, they are hard workers.
Driving through the
countryside on Sunday, we were quite impressed with the industry; girls
sitting by the side of the road breaking rocks into gravel with hammers,
�-10-
farmers working on their mud dikes which hold the precious water to
irrigate their room-size paddies, the constant stream of bicycles carrying
everything from a supply of tinware utensils to twenty-foot trees (the
Koreans are replanting every place), the bullock carts loaded with black
cylinders of coal dust and clay which virtually every home burns in its
stove.
They work all of the time and they work very effectively.
Joel
Bernstein (a graduate of the University of Chicago), the head of our Aid
Mission here, reports that the Fairchild Company has found the Korean women
not only as adept as their American counterparts in assembling semiconductors, but able to keep up a rapid work rate for longer hours.
This is
at wage rates less than half of that in Japan, and much less than one-tenth
:{::
of ours -- about 501 a day.
Lastly , they are enthusiastically optimistic.
I can only under -
stand this confidence in the face of the extraordinarily low living standards
that they have suffered in the past.
Today, with an average annual income
of about $105, they are still very poor, but compared to what they were ten
or twenty years ago, they are better off and, though their real purchasing
power declined from 1960 through 1964, there has been an increase in the last
two years. They are confident it will increase rapidly in the future.
,:,
Of course in time these wage rates will increase. There are labor
unions, but with unemployment still at 7 or 8 per cent there is no
great upward push .
�-11-
Long the thin slice of ham between the thick slices of bread -China 120 miles (across the Yellow Sea) to the west and Japan 120 miles
(across the Korean and Tsushima Straits) to the east, arrl with the U.S. S . R .
just north of them across the Yalu and the Tumen Rivers -- Korea has been
repeatedly invaded from all three directions.
There are few Koreans now alive who had any mature experience
before the Japanese invaded their country in 1910 and began a harsh domination (as contrasted with quite a sensitive rule in Taiwan),
The Japanese
set out to destroy Korean institutions and names (they even changed the name
of the country to
11
Chosen").
They humbled the people (who feel that, culture
having come to Japan from China via Korea, they, the Koreans, are superior
to the Japanese).
This domination continued until the end of World War II.
At that time, President Roosevelt with a generous gesture gave
the north half of the country - - all of that lying above the Thirty-eighth
Parallel of Latitude (about the latitude of San Francisco) - - to the Russians
as a reward for their belated and modest help against Japan, and under the
supervision of the United Nations an election in the south half was held on
May 10, 1948, and the Republic of Korea was created.
This division was
a bum bargain for the free world, as the Japanese had built all of their
heavy industry and 85 per cent of their hydroelectric plants in the north.
The south, cut off from its electrical energy and raw materials,
was industrially weak with virtually no minerals or natural resources .
A
mountainous, undeveloped, overpopulated, agrarian country whose only raw
mate r ial, its forests, had been decimated by the Japanese, unable even to
�-12-
feed its elf, South Korea was obviously weak.
This naturally suggested
to the rulers of the richer, more industrially developed north that, if they
were to move down and take over the southern half, no one would seriously
resist.
The South Korean Government was obviously too weak and there had
been some statement from the United States that was interpreted to indicate
that it would not interfere.
But when the Communists did invade in 1950, the southerners
fought furiously and a decisive President Truman induced the United Nations
to come in (with the United States bearing most of the burden} and to engage in
a long, hard war .
We paid a high price.
suffered 158, 000 casualties.
We may recall that U.S. troops
We are more likely to have forgotten that the
South Koreans suffered 1,313,000, including women and children.
Our government must have been sorely tempted to allow MacArthur
to pursue the invaders above the Thirty-eighth Parallel and to take over the
more productive northe rn half of the country.
Perhaps if we and the ROK had
been acting alone we could have done so, but for the United Nations defense
was one thing, invasion quite another.
Thus, in July of 195 3, an armistice was achieved at the Thirtyeighth Parallel, which remains probably the most festering border between the
Communists and the free world today .
As was stated in the SATURDAY
REVIEW (October 8, 1966) ;
Nowhere else in the world where people of different
ideologies meet is there the same open contempt.
Nowher e else does the boiling point appear to simmer
so constantly and ominously. 11
11
Officially the two halves are still at war.
A cease fire was
negotiated fourteen years ago, but still no peace treaty has been signed.
�-13-
Just last week, in advance of a scheduled meeting between the north
and south at the border, word was received that the head newsman cover ing the meeting for the north (their top newsman with rank equal to a
deputy minister) would like to defect .
At the end of the meeting, as the
North Koreans entered the ir cars, the newsman ra,n for one of ours.
Just
as two North Korean armed guards reached him, a Captain Bair ~ho had
once played with the Chicago Bears) dove i nto them.
The newsman reached
our car and escaped to freedom.
As the border is only about forty miles north of Seoul, we had
planned to drive up there early this morning (25, 000 people visited our side
last year) but a change in our appointments made that impossible.
*
Thus, at the war's end in 1953, South Korea was destitute and
our government, having helped to achieve its freedom, stepped in to aid
its economy.
In the intervening years we have given over six billion dollars
in economic and military aid which has enabled them to remain independent
(but at a far lower cost than we would have incurred had we used our own
more expensive soldiers) .
The economic (as distinguished from military) aid,which at one
time was as high as $230 million per year, is now down to an annual rate
of $45 million dollars and is decreasing at the rate of about ten million
dollars per year.
:::,
Thus, it is anticipated that it will phase out entirely in
This may have been fortunate, as the following day "one of the most
serious gun fights since the armistice 11 was fought in the truce zone
with four North Koreans shot to death and two wounded. See the
JAPAN TIMES, Friday, April 7.
�-14-
four or five years (as it did a few years ago in Taiwan).
Although my observations were very brief, it seemed to
me that the Korean village is very poor .
was two or three years ago, but poor,
Perhaps not as poor as it
The houses are made of mud bricks
(about the same as the adobe bricks used in our Southwest) with rice straw
roofs.
There are no houses on the farms; they are crowded close together
in the small villages, each surrounding a small mound or open field.
houses have one or two rooms, with windows of paper.
Most
The more affluent
villagers (and many city families) have cement tile roofs with three or
four rooms, generally in an
11
L
11
shape with a wall around the other two
sides to enclose a yard or garden .
Through the kindness of International Minerals and Chemicals,
we met a Mr. K. K. Kim.
A wealthy, cultured gentleman who was reared
in North Korea (as were a great many of the business and government
leaders and some ten million refugees who have stolen south since the end
of the war), one of the country's leading poets, who led the way from the
traditional stylized three or four line poem to freer verse, Mr. Kim came
south for freedom and has achieved both business and cultural importance.
The leading manufacturer of grass cloth, a movie producer, trader, and in
,:,
Almost half of the population are named Kim, Pak (which we generally
pronounce Park), and Yi (which we generally pronounce Lee) , Other
very common surnames a re Cho i, Cho, Chung, Han, Kang and Yoon.
A person generally has three names and the surname may either be used
as the first, middle or last name, but since there are so few family
name s, the Korean knows immediately which of the several names is
the f am il y name.
�-15-
shipping, an excellent dancer, he has collected pottery (one bowl is
valued at more than $30,000) and art to the point where, when Mrs. Freeman
was disappointed that she could not visit the National Museum (because the
wife of the Prime Minister of Thailand was there), Mr. Kim's daughter
said,
11
Never mind, we 111 go to Father 1 s house; he has a better collection.
It was a lovely house,
11
Mrs. Freeman reports that it was sur-
rounded by high-rise apartments and office buildings, protected by a high
wall with barbed wire on top, and was one of the few lovely old homes in the
city.
With the typical dull gray tile roof, the exterior was partly plastered
and partly highly polished wood,
Some of the windows were of paper, some
of glass with etched flower designs in the center.
The homes were heated
in the traditional Korean manner with an ondol floor .
The round cylinders of
coal dust and clay are burned in small ovens and the smoke and heat are
carried from these through ducts in the clay or cement floor .
(Thus, in the
typical house the oven serves the dual purpose of cooking and heating.)
The
rooms are separated by walls or shoji screens and the house surrounded by a
narrow, wooden balcony which is the principal means of getting from one room
to another.
The Kims 1 home had a modern bath with running cold water and, to
Mrs . Freeman's delight, a crocheted toilet seat cover,
The furniture was
upholstered and covered in heavy linen slip covers of the kind that were more
common in our nicer homes years ago and which remain a fixture in the
Japanese offices today.
There were lovely fresh spring flowers casually
placed in bowls (the Koreans think the Japanese flower arrangements far too
�-16formal and stylized).
Mrs. Freeman and the family sat on colorful silken
pillows on the floor around a black lacquered dining table inlaid with mother
,I,
of pearl and ate with silver chopsticks ..,,
Mrs. Freeman reports that their luncheon was of a clear soup
followed by a dish of boiled fish and beef put together so closely that it
looked like a striped whole.
This was followed with pressed egg yolks and
vegetables, tiny stuffed green peppers and a bowl of rice.
It was ended
with a glass of tepid rice water (the water that the rice had been cooked in),
followed by citron tea -- which is made without tea by pouring boiling water
over very thinly sliced lemon, previously heavily sugared and stored underground for a year before serving - - with little pine nuts floating on top.
Although Mrs. Kim does not speak English, her three daughters
all speak fluently.
The one with whom we had become best acquainted,
Mrs. Huh, graduated from the University of Seoul with a major in English
literature and then went to Northwestern University and obtained her graduate
degree in speech.
The girls were much more outgoing than Japanese women,
The ladies talked about clothes.
Historically, the Koreans wore
mostly white, and were known as the "white-clad race" in distinction from the
Chinese and Japanese who wore much more color to reduce the necessity
for cleaning.
Even today in the villages you see many men and women dressed
in white -- apparently clean even though the wearer may be repairing mud
~:~
These are heavier but much thinner than the bamboo chopsticks used
more generally in Japan and, in fact, are much more difficult for us .
�- 17-
dikes around his paddy.
The woman's han-po (1'kimono" is a hated Japanese
word) is an ankle -length fully gathered skirt with an overblouse (chogori)
tied in a bow in front with ribbons.
Although many of the younger women
now wear western clothes in the summer, the traditional costume, now made
in beautiful silks and brocaded satins, is very popular in the winter, "for we
can wear much more underwear underneath without its showing.
11
The ladies also talked about religion and, though we had seen a
number of churches, this is apparently due more to diversity than intensity
of religion.
Shamanism, an animistic nature worship, was the original
religion and remains important in the rural areas .
Buddhism reached its
peak in the eleventh century and has d eclined steadily, though there has been
some revival of interest in the last few years ,
Confucianism, really more a
code of ethics than a religion , is the strongest influence,
of the people are Christians ,
About 8 per cent
In the Kim family, Mr, Kim and Mr, Huh have
no religion, but accept the precepts of Confucianism.
Mrs. Kim is a Buddhist
and Mrs. Huh is a Methodist .
They also spoke of marriage.
In older days all marriages were
arranged and this remains the practic e in some of the rural areas.
Among
the more e ducated city families the decision is apparently about fifty-fifty.
For instance, when Miss Kim returned to Seoul from Northwestern, her
parents discussed with her the kind of a man she might like to marry.
Clearly
he should be educated and have some foreign experience in order that they
would have this common ground ,
The father urged that she pick a professor,
�-18 -
as she herself teaches, and because professors have much more time to
be with their families than do businessmen.
He said,
11
If you marry a
businessman, you can only expect him home one day a week, on Sunday.
11
After considerable discussion, she voted for a businessman and her father
set out to find those he felt were the most eligible.
She picked Mr. Huh,
who himself had graduated from the University of North Carolina
family are people of considerable importance in Seoul.
and whose
It appears to have
been an excellent match for both except that (as a seven handicap player)
Mr . Huh spends Sunday on the golf course.
The Kims are grateful for their girls but put more emphasis on
their eldest son (who is traditionally accorded considerable respect even in
his youth) and they sincerely hope that their daughters I marriages will result
in numerous grandsons.
For a poor country it is surprising the emphasis that has been
placed on education.
Virtually every village, no matter how small, has one
building w h ich,by its size and the orderliness of its yard, indicates that it is
a school.
Lit eracy is something over 85 per cent , there is great emphasis
on vocational training, and many go on to higher education .
There are several
universities in Seoul with an enrollment in excess of 30,000 students .
If I have been impressed with any one thing on our trip so far,
it is that it is of the greatest import ance tha t we in the United States take
advantage of these low-cost labor pools and do not abandon them exclusivel y
to the Japanese .
There is no large domestic market in Korea.
It is not a
�-19-
place for us to produce radios or televisions for local sale, but it is
certainly a place to produce goods for sale throughout Asia and for return
to the United States.
The Koreans produce magnificent textiles, their silks
are beautiful (it's either the woof or the warp of all Thai silk that comes
from Korea),
Korean-made shirts sell at $1. 40 in Tokyo in competition with
Japanese - made shirts selling for $4. 00 and up .
Though they import their
wool from Australia, they are now making first-rate woolen cloth and, with
patterns and styles from our country, I would think Korea would be an
excellent source of manufacture of men's suits and coats.
For some products, such as automobiles, which require a very
large local market in order to achieve the mass production necessary to
become competitive, Korea, despite its far lower labor costs, may not offer
as gr eat an inducement as Japan, for Japan has the large tariff-protected
market ,
But for the one thousand and one products that can be distributed
throughout the world, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand all offer the tremendous
advantage of low labor costs and, of these three, Korea probably offers the
best, most willing and deft workman . .
This labor market, combined with the government's enthusiastic
welcome of foreign capital (other than Japanese) and especially American
investment , is most attractive.
market knowledge.
The Kbreans need capital, technology and
They prefer to get it from the United States, for they
have gotten to know us as comrades in arms, they know we have no colonial
ambitions, and they feel that we are aggressive enough to counterbalance
the Japanese.
�-20-
Thus, this welcome, plus low-cost labor and the tax inducements, offers a combination of advantages which many of our companies
should seriously explore.
To date we have not done so to the extent that
we should, and the passage of time will make it more difficult to do so.
For instance, we were told that within four years all central telephone
equipment will be German (Siemens); no U. S . company competed for
the business.
In making a substantial capital investment in any foreign
country one is naturally concerned about the continuation of those qualities
which make it initially attractive.
An invasion from the north would com-
pletely change all present conditions, but our Ambassador and the Korean
business people think this risk is negligible .
A very severe drought
for
a year or two might bring about a change in government, as might extremely
severe reverses in Vietnam.
Inexperienced in democracy, Korea has no
record of political stability.
Our Ambassador says that on his arrival the
l argest group of men he met were ex-ministers, but a change in government
would probably not mean a change in underlying philosophy .
With almost
every South Korean family having relatives in the north, their preference for
democracy is so strong that it is certainly unlikely that they would in any
::=:t
event become socialistic or communistic .
,:c
There are lesser risks, a change
There are some Communist influences . A year or tv.o ago there were
seve ral disruptive student protests, which in the past hav e been of major
political influence. President Park, believing that the students w e re being
led by a few Communist professors, closed every university and declared
they would stay closed until the named professors were dropped from the
faculties . This "interference with academic freedom'' gave our government
representatives a cold chill -- but it worked and "the myth of student
invincibility was destroyed. 11
�-21-
in the tax laws (which are extremely intricate), a devaluation of the
currency (which has been stable since March of 1965 at 270 won to the
dollar), or other changes,
Though such risks are present, I would think
that for many foreign investors the inducements would outweigh such fears.
The one business that does not appear extremely attractive is
banking.
While seeking to attract foreign capital (about $170 million will
come in this year), the government is anxious to hold inflationary pressures
within some limits by discouraging domestic consumption.
To that end, it
requires the banks to pay 30 per cent on savings deposits (which will go up
about $15 million this year) and at the same time they have fixed the maximum
inter est rate to be charged on loans at 26 per cent .
In addition, the Bank
of Korea requires reserves of 45 per cent of time deposits and 55 per cent
of demand deposits, on only a part of which does it pay interest, and that
at only 5 per cent.
Thus, the banks would be suffering dis as tr ously except
that the government guarantees the banks an income adequate to pay a
dividend of 13 per cent.
This is obviously an inadequate rate (in competition
with a 3 0 per cent savings interest rate) to attract any additional capital
into the banks (and they need it).
But with the government owning about
one-half of the bank stocks, this is not considered a severe handicap.
Despite
the discouraging immediate prospects, several Japanese and .American banks
have applied for the privilege of opening branches.
It appears that the Chase
(which is to open in June), the First National City and the Bank of America
will be allowed to open this year, and that two Japanese banks may also be
�-22-
permitted to open .
One problem they won't have is finding help .
.
University graduates are happy to start at $50 per month .
For the American businessman, Seoul is not a bad place to
visit or even to be stationed for some length of time.
spot.
It is not a garden
The countryside is mountainous without the beauty of forests.
The city itself is bleak and it is cold about six months out of the year.
The tourist finds adequate hotels,
Walker Hill Resort, built
by army labor and named after one of our general s killed there in the nineteen
fifties, is large (263 rooms) and quite comfortable, with good food and a
large and well-run night club, much more elaborate than any in Chicago and
with many available hostesses .
It also has a skeet range, archery, bowling,
tennis, swimming and horseback riding.
The downtown hotels are comparable
to medium-class, commercial hotels in the United States, but there is a
new one being built and it is said that Hilton intends to start one later
this year.
Korean food, based on rice and kimchi (cabbage, red pepper,
ginger, salted fish and onion) tends to be quite highly spiced with garlic.
Even the Pulgoki, or "fire meat,
rubbed in .
11
broiled beef, has a good deal of garlic
(Indeed, there is a pervasive air of fat and garlic in many of the
villages and I noticed several of the westernized Koreans frequently taking
S en- Sen or its equivalent, apparently to ameliorate their garlic breath . )
Their fish is good and they have plenty of rice {although they do not produc e
enough soybeans or wheat).
�-23-
Their local beer is good and they have many places of enter tainment.
Instead of geisha houses, they have kieseng houses.
guests of Mr. Kim, we visited one -- Sun Woon Gak -Supreme Paradise.
11
As the
11
the Orient 1 s
Located outside of the city at the base of the mountains,
an extraordinarily elaborate and beautiful restaurant with very pretty girls,
:;::::
good food and more cheerful entertainment than is common in Japan .
There are several golf courses in the city and I believe there is good fishing in the streams and fairly good boar hunting in the mountains.
For the ladies there is shopping for beautiful silks and satins,
amethysts and topaz and some antique art.
Travelling seldom makes one chauvinistic.
Knowing ourselves
and our political leaders, we tend to look on our nation 1s policies a little bit
cynically, but one cannot visit Taiwan or Korea (or contemplate what will
probably be our role after a truce is ultimately attained in Vietnam) without
feeling a real sense of pride.
discipline.
::::
We, too, have been willing to accept a
We, too, have been willing to postpone some immediate
I had a very pretty girl as my companion. A graduate of Seoul
University, she majored in music and hopes to become a concert
pianist. As she had been on the job only three days, she was anxious
to do the right thing. At one point she asked if I had any hobby. When
I asked her the same question, she said, 11 0h, yes, kissing. 11 When I
said I didn't think of that as a hobby, she replied, 11 But I do it every
day. 11 After some more conversation, it developed that she meant
kieseng -- the art of entertaining.
�-24-
enjoyments, in order that our government could do what it felt was right,
and we have supported it in spe nding tremendous sums to enable these
oriental societies, to whom initially we owed nothing, to survive and
maintain their freedom and to build economies that provide employment
and the prospect of a better life for millions of Asiatics,
I have never completed a vis it to a country for which I felt
as much hope as I feel now on leaving the Republic of Korea.
With appreciation for the opportunity to take this trip, I am
�Capita I: Pyongyong
Popuiation (1964): 11 ,800,000
Density: 254 per square mil e
Area:
Capital: Seoul
Population (1965), 28,353,000
Den~ity: 746 per ,quo re mile
Distribution (HI. 1955):
Urban: 38 percent, Rurol: 62 percent
Area: 38,004 square mile.s
Elevation: Highest point: 6, 398 feet
Lowest point: Sea level
Prlnclpol language: Koreon
Principal religions: Buddhism; Confucianism,
Chondokyo; Chrl,tianity
Political divi sio ns: 9 provinces and special
Municipality of Seoul
Currency unit: 1 Won= 100 Chong
National holiday: August 15, Independence Day
National anthem: A.e-Gukka
46 1540 square miles
Elevation: HlghHI point: 9,003 feet
Lowest point: Seo level
Principal language: Korean
Principal rel19ion1: Buddhism; Confucianism;
Chondokyo; Christianity
Political divi1ion1: 9 provinces
Currency unit: 1 Won = 100 Chong
KOREA
ECONOMY
Sea
of
ECONOMY
HEAVY INDUSTRY
LIGHT INDUSTRY
Chemicals
m
f ood Processing
leather Produ cts
Pulp & Poper Pro duc ts
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Te x tiles
SCALE
75 Miles
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c:t, Cotton
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Silk
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Tobacc o Products
OTHERS
J
Fishing
&,
Seaport
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Wa te r Pow er
D
Fis hing Arecs
MINING
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~ G , Gra phite
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Cool
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Copper
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Gold
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Plantation
Ag riculture
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Forestry with so me forming and Po sture
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Magnesium
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AGRICULTURE
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General farming
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Seasonal Grazing with
Sparse AgricultUre
Non-Agricultural Areas
Cop~!ght by Rend McNelly & Co.
end R e produced with Their Permission
�
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Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Date
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1903-2013
Description
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This collection brings together materials donated by Suffolk University faculty, staff, alumni and friends that represent their individual academic pursuits, research, memorabilia, and other personal records. Some of them are small collections of personal papers or single items such as scrapbooks, objects or photo albums.
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Copyright is retained by the creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.
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ms102_04_01_03
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Letter to Homer J. Livingston from Gaylord "Gale" A. Freeman Jr. about his travels in South Korea
Date
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4 April 1967
Creator
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Freeman, Gaylord A
Livingston, Homer J
Description
An account of the resource
This is one letter from a series of letters, generally referred to as the “Far East Letters.” The letters were written by banking executive Gaylord A. Freeman Jr. (ca. 1910-1991) to then CEO and president of First National Bank Homer J. Livingston. Freeman, along with his wife, travelled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, and Moorea from April 23 through May 4, 1967. Often only spending a few days in each location, Freeman described his observations of the economic and cultural climate. Some of the letters also include maps illustrating data such as population, geographical information, and economy. Multiple copies of these letters were forwarded to Freeman’s colleagues and friends. This collection includes the copies sent to John S. Moore.
Source
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Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Series 4: Gaylord A. Freeman, Jr. Far East and Oceania Letters Collection, 1967
Type
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Text
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Format
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PDF
Language
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English
Subject
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East Asia
South Korea--Civilization--20th century.
South Korea--Commerce--United States.
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Copyright is retained by the creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.
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Find out more about our collections on <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/explore/24553.php">our website</a>.
Asia
Far East Letters
-
https://d1y502jg6fpugt.cloudfront.net/11079/archive/files/15e61becff7b7fb0dfaceaf60ba77eb3.pdf?Expires=1712793600&Signature=rS-WyZFeoSQqIZ0FC9MMb%7EJ%7EI8xaiRIC5ceDZFHvVuQTkwvGP7wzHcBQdPH-B5V6qgfccU4wnOL8f9NLT457q5G4DKK4CjZYhHcuyeq%7E3eCYNzHbPt9weSprnz2GbDIL-gnT885cMtrzQw6d0Js8%7EPThFwBFzevPY8xuBJjyEr9FGv%7Ed-FR5Rf9mw1kkKbGpbUL%7ECgeFqdmwad7lp6fZ4coVylvsfwrKozvMskIEBE8qXjRScn9bOwEI4YvcEdXgbahzSRwTIbmgNccQ6LrU8yM6iJB3QJyyFghmVNYGNlNCzu3tppi3%7EyXuRw8ezVU1ZSNDhBQhHOSH0Plf%7EoiUaw__&Key-Pair-Id=K6UGZS9ZTDSZM
8d95f7e11c3b671f3559125590e4cd0d
PDF Text
Text
Thoughts en route from
Hong Kong to Singapore
April 13, 1967
Dear Homer:
Leaving Tokyo, Pan American Flight No. l was bulletined
for
11
Hong Kong, Bangkok, and A . T. W.
11
--
11
the next generation can read that with ennui.
Around the World.
Maybe
But, having ridden in a
horse and buggy as a boy, I am still excited by those words,
the World,
11
11
and Around
11
Our magic carpet came in through a typhoon-created fog,
onto the air strip built out into the beautiful harbor of Hong Kong.
I have
previously written from there and will not repeat, but there have been
significant changes since 1963.
The great building boom collapsed in
1965 and several of the Chinese banks, heavily invested in new apartment
buildings and other real estate, failed or had to be taken over by British
banks.
Business is good, but the air of enthusiasm is not nearly as
strong as it was four years ago.
What is happening in China has great
influence on what is happening in Hong Kong .
And what is happening in China?
I have read a folder full
of material that Mrs. Freeman has collected (perhaps the best of these is
,,,
an article by Hugo Portish''' ).
::::
"China: Behind the Upheaval,
11
Saturday Review, December, 1966.
�-2-
Messrs . Thomas, Lindstedt and I have talked to our Consul
General, to our good friend Welles Hangen (the N. B. C. Correspondent in
Hong Kong), to TIME's Karsten Prager, and, of course, to the bankers,
a few British, mostly Chinese.
None felt confident that he understood
more than a fragment of the whole.
Fully realizing my incompetence, I
will try to put together some of the pieces that seem to fit.
Mao , the ruthless revolutionist, but also idealist ( "Think
not of yourself but of your neighbor''), has an almost religious faith in the
power of determination.
His was the plan for "the great leap forward"
that was to advance the country twenty years in one, a plan that many of
his associates felt was far more idealistic than practical.
When it became
obvious that "the leap" was a failure in 1960 and a disaster in 1961, Mao
felt that those associates, never having had any confidence in it, had not
really tried to make it work.
His associates, still loyal, felt the plan
had been poorly conceived, and, although Mao remained the uncontested
leade r in foreign relations, they took much of his economic power away
from him.
Apparently he withdrew for a period of contemplation and,
during this period, his associates, to stimulate food production, allowed
the peasants some "private" land.
Although this amounted to only 5 per
cent of the total, the great spur of personal incentive resulted in its
producing 15 to 20 per cent of the foodstuffs and 80 per cent of the pi.gs .
Using the same spur, the government provided bonuses for factory workers
who exceeded their production quotas.
This, too, proved effective.
�-3-
When Mao returned to a more active role last year, he
was distressed by this "revisionism.
11
He fea red that a continuation of
this trend would corrupt the true spirit of communism.
It appeared to him
the diabolical work of self-important bureaucrats, inimical to the interests
of the common man who had been and should remain the basis of the
revolution.
It had to be stopped.
The children of the bureaucrats should
not be given preference in education.
peasants.
This, too, should be given to the
At this stage, there was not so much a personal fight as an
ideological conflict.
But the critic i sm was not all in one direction .
The government
administrators were critical of Mao's foreign policy which was not going
well at all.
The Summit Meeting of the Afro-Asian countries scheduled for
1965, at which Mao had hoped to take the leadership role away from Russia,
had to be called off.
The Chinese-supported rebels in the Congo were defeated.
On the very day that President Nkrumah of Ghana arrived in Peking to pay
his respects, he was ousted by a military coup.
Kenya.
The same happened in
More important, Mao had attacked India and then induced Pakistan
to carry on the battle, but the Indians and Pakistanis had finally reached a
peace, and, worst of all, this was achieved unde r the aegis of the hated
Russians.
Indonesia, with the third strongest communist party in the
world, had pulled out o f the U . N. at Mao's urging and was moving toward
�-4-
a communist takeover when this was not only thwarted, but resulted in
a coup by the conservative General Suharto and the demotion of Sukarno.
'~
Mao's attempt to embroil Malaysia in a conflict with
Indonesia also failed.
Worst of all, the growing commitment of the United States
rn Vietnam created the possibility of a confrontation between the United
States and China -- with the Russians delighted to stand by and pick up the
pieces.
When his associates urged caution in view of the superior military
power of the United States, Mao 1 s reply was that China's manpower, space and
patience could overcome America's technology.
top command did not agree.
Most of the others in the
They undoubtedly pointed out that it was
Russian arms and support which had supported them in Korea and these
were not available in Vietnam.
Thus, China, which had repeatedly made
promises to Hanoi, had to back down -- it was, in fact, a
' 1 paper tiger.
11
If China had had a parliamentary government, it would have fallen in the
face of this criticism.
But, not only was Mao dictator, he was the founder
of the State and remained in power .
But he saw the risk of subsequent defeat and began an attack
on those of his associates who took the contrary view which he first launched
through a Shanghai newspaper and later through the communications syst e m
,:,
We met Sukarno's wife in Tokyo to which she had returned to deliver
a baby. She had been a nightclub hostess there b efo re her marriage
and remains a most attractive, poised young lady reduced to writing
home for money -- without much luck.
�-5-
of the army.
He gradually stepped up this criticism, now no long er
merely ideological, but both personal and acrimonious.
Uncertain of
the support of the army commanders (many of whom are party chairmen
in their own districts), some indebted and loyal to other political leaders
who are now his antagonists, Mao began to agitate among the students
and organized the Red Guard cadres,
He then closed the schools and
brought the Red Guard to P e king to harass his opponents.
Last August the Central Committee held a full meeting.
For the first time Mao opened the meeting to the public -- and packed the
galleries with Red Guards, thus inhibiting any opposition, for it was
unthinkable that any leader w ould publicly attack Mao, the national hero,
Thus, his policies, as set out in the sixteen-point "Decisions of the
Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party concerning the
Great Proletarian Cultural Revision," received the apparently unanimous
a ppr oval of the Committee,
Included in Chapter 5 of the "Decis ions" was a description
of
11
the main targets of the present movement" as "the authorities within
the party who are taking the capitalist road.
11
These included
11
the
reactionary bourgeois scholar despots 11 (virtually all of the academic community>:<) and "those in authority who have wormed their way into the party
,:,
As the Portish article points out, of the 58 professors at Teachers 1
College in Peking, every one had been teaching at that same college before
the communist takeover.
�-6and are taking the capitalist road" (meaning practically all t hose in power
other than Mao),
In short, Mao was condemning all of the teachers and
all of the administrators in the country.
With what appeared to be universal support, Mao pressed
his advantage by encouraging the Red Guard to become more aggressive
to denounce and even to humiliate national leaders.
"Cast out fear. Do not be afraid of
disorder. Chairman Mao has often
told us that revolution cannot be so
very refined, so gentle, so temper ate,
kind, courteous, ,,. restrained and
magnanimous. 11 ''
Some of those attacked retaliated,
Back in the provinces
where they had their political support, they organized their own groups,
and there were frequent clashes to control the local post office, the
telegraph office, the railway station or the newspaper ,
At Mao's urging,
not only the local offi cials, but even the school teachers were marched
through the streets wearing gun caps.
Mao called on the army for support,
but many commanders, uncertain of the outcome of the conflict, hesitated
to take sides.
For the moment this appears to have quieted down.
,;o;,
Large agricultural and industrial production has been lost,
transportation and communication offset, and, back in the villages, not
,:,
Point 4 of the Decisions.
>:<>:,
Today's STRAITS TIMES reports that in Canton the Red Guards
have announced that Liu Shao - Chi has been removed as President
of China -- as the "top party person in authority taking the
Capitalist Road II and replaced by Prime Minister Chou En-Lai.
�-7-
only local leaders, but also school teachers -- humiliated in front of
their students and constituents -- have quit their jobs and gone back to
the farms "where I can get the same bowl of rice and avoid the insults.
11
The country has divided.
Can revolutionary slog ans or political exhortations long
take the place of economic planning and government administration?
Will
a people with the personal acquisitiveness of the Chinese give up their
precious little private plots, the bonus es for extra production, without
output declining?
Many observers think not.
They feel that Mao may have
won this battle, but that he will inevitably lose the war, for a bureaucracy
is a necessity in a socialist state and, as those powerful elite begin to
enjoy their power and prestige, they will lose their fervor for the doctrine
of
11
from each in accordance with his ability, to each in accordance with
his need.
11
They feel obviously superior to the peasant and believe them -
selves entitled to live better - - reward should be related to contribution,
not just to need.
What does this mean to the United States?
at the moment.
Perhaps not much
Those who disagree with Mao are no less dedicated to
nationalism or socialism ,
They would only take a different course -- and
perhaps a more effective one.
They do not love us any more, but they may
be more likely to emulate our methods.
They are not as likely to become
embroiled in a war w ith us while unprepared, but they may be more likely
to become prepared through the development of nuclear weapons and
�-8-
sophisticated delivery systems (although the latter may be some
years away).
But the effect on Hong Kong may b e more immediate .
The
domestic Chinese in othe r Asian areas, heretofore fairly quiet, are
becoming more aggressive.
In Macao, a Portuguese colony just 45 miles
from H ong Kong, the local Chinese asked for another school.
The govern-
ment demurred, the people demonstrated, a policeman reacted with
excess zeal, and there was an incident.
The local Chinese, now backed
up by the government of China, demanded the school and an apology -- and
got both.
A Dutch sea captain, feeling an incipient mut iny among his
Chinese crew, shot one or two,
As the sh ip neared Hong Kong, the British
spirited the captain off the ship, but the communist-inspired Chinese seamen
and stevedores demonstrated to the poi nt where the Dutch ship-line officials
had to apologize (a matter of great significance in a land where
important).
11
face" is so
Presently, the l eftist union (there are both a leftist, communist-
inspired, and a right is t union in many fields) has struck against the cab
companies.
The leftist union of tailors is also on strike.
More important ,
the le ftist union of the textile workers is demanding that the employers
recognize them only -- not t he rightist group.
I do not believe the Chinese government wants seriously to
disarrange Hong Kong .
They could destroy it quickly by stopping the flow
of water which is pip e d from China - - at a price -- or by stopping the
�-9-
movement of China-grown food, on which the Colony lives.
China does
not want to do this, for this water and food is earning China enough hard
currency to pay for the needed wheat which they import from Canada -and they are not about to give that up.
Still, it gives a Chinese additional
face to create problems for Hong Kong and other free communities, and
they may feel the need to do deeds of this kind in order to offset the jibes
of the Russians who continuously point out that, while they, the Russians,
are supplying arms to Hanoi, the Chinese are feeding and providing the
water for the U. S. military and naval forces in Hong Kong.
These pressures embarrass the Colony, and wage rates have
risen to the point where manufacturing costs are higher than in Taiwan
or Korea -- and are rising rapidly.
Some United States and British firms
already in Hong Kong are expanding , but not many new investors are moving
in .
The new territories which make up most of the Colony are not
owned by the Crown, but are merely leased from China, and that lease
runs out in 1997.
It is not likely that the communists would renew this
lease on a part of their sovereign t erritory to the hated British "imperialists.
Thirty years is still a long time, but in another decade that deadline may
seem much shorter.
Further investment is likely to decline.
Hong Kong
may remain the most pleasant of all Red Chinese ports in which a foreigner
might live -- but it is unlikely that as many will elect to do so under the
11
�-10-
Chinese gove rnme nt as under the excell ent administration of
Great Britain.
These problems are more seriously considere d today
t h an they were four years ago .
Perhaps they are not the exclusive c once rn of the small
Colony of Hong Kong.
Sinc erel y,
�
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Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1903-2013
Description
An account of the resource
This collection brings together materials donated by Suffolk University faculty, staff, alumni and friends that represent their individual academic pursuits, research, memorabilia, and other personal records. Some of them are small collections of personal papers or single items such as scrapbooks, objects or photo albums.
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Find out more about our collections on <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/explore/24553.php">our website</a>.
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Copyright is retained by the creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.
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ms102_04_01_02
Title
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Letter to Homer J. Livingston from Gaylord "Gale" A. Freeman Jr. about his travels in Hong Kong
Date
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13 April 1967
Creator
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Freeman, Gaylord A
Livingston, Homer J
Description
An account of the resource
This is one letter from a series of letters, generally referred to as the “Far East Letters.” The letters were written by banking executive Gaylord A. Freeman Jr. (ca. 1910-1991) to then CEO and president of First National Bank Homer J. Livingston. Freeman, along with his wife, travelled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, and Moorea from April 23 through May 4, 1967. Often only spending a few days in each location, Freeman described his observations of the economic and cultural climate. Some of the letters also include maps illustrating data such as population, geographical information, and economy. Multiple copies of these letters were forwarded to Freeman’s colleagues and friends. This collection includes the copies sent to John S. Moore.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Series 4: Gaylord A. Freeman, Jr. Far East and Oceania Letters Collection, 1967
Type
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Text
Documents
Format
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PDF
Language
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English
Subject
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East Asia
Hong Kong (China)--Civilization--20th century.
Hong Kong (China)--Commerce--United States.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright is retained by the creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.
Relation
A related resource
Find out more about our collections on <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/explore/24553.php">our website</a>.
Asia
China
Far East Letters
-
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345a1524313ad9ed9a6b6ff24ad8a0f2
PDF Text
Text
Thoughts en route from
Japan to Hong Kong
April 11, 1967
Dear Homer:
As I wrote from Japan in 1963, I will not write
about that exciting country again except to say that I am even
more impressed than before with its ene rgy and its unique
achievement of an effectively working accord between government and business with the unexpressed partnership of labor,
i n which the energies of the nation are directed in channels
intended to inur e to the benefit of the countr y as a whole -without 11 wasteful" competition at home but w ith effectiveness
abroad.
It seems to be working remarkably well, and I
would expect it to continue for the immediate future. Wage rates
are rising and in another generation, when the awesome r espect
for the employer dims a bit, they may rise to heights more
comparable to those of the West. If and when that develops,
there will occur a more d ecis i ve test of the advantage of the
Japanese co-operative society and the rel a tively more freely
competitive systems of the West.
To present this from the Japanese point of view, not
necessarily my own, I have set forth what I believe to be essentially thei r posit ion in the form of a letter fr om a Japanese worker
to his counterpart in our country. It is attached.
With b est regards,
�Tokyo, Japan
April 6, 1967
Dear American Friend,
How glad I am to be young !
My parents have sacrificed to send me to school.
have that much confidence in - - and fear of -- the future ,
They
But they
will stay in the village and continue to raise rice, for the city is too
overwhelming.
The city has frightened me, too,
Today's city is not mine; it is run by people here long before
me,
They don't think they need me, for I am too poor to buy their
expensive cars and clothes and televi s i on sets. But tomorrow's city
will be mine .
The y don't know that, but I do .
are sleeping, I am studying .
After work, while they
I have no degree today, but tomorrow I will
be a foreman and soon I will be an engineer ,
Still, this isn't a lonely battle,
Try as hard as I can, I am
only one of millions - - twelve million here in Tokyo -- the biggest city in
th e world.
Let me shout that again -- THE BIGGEST CITY IN THE WORLD!
London was great, it ruled the world, but weakly and foolishly
wit hdr e w so that today its fame rests on the Beatles and miniskirts .
�-2-
New York, with its earthquakeproof skyscrapers, has been
the exc iting center with its ''decadent 11 riches (which I envy) and our
great United Nations.
But Tokyo, a desolate hovel of two million when
I was born in 1946, is now the greatest city in the world -- over eleven
million people.
Before I am married our country will be the third most
productive in the world.
Each day at work I say,
we've passed Germany, we're passing England. "
11
We 1 ve passed Italy,
When I say,
11
We will
soon pass the U, S.S. R. and even the United States," some of my friends
gigg le - - but we will.
We will be cause we work harder.
What does that me an?
We
work longer hours and we ask for less today, confident that, if we allow a
part of our share to go into new machinery, we can produce more and cheaper
and, hence, both have more and sell more tomorrow .
The Englishman won't work.
self.
The American works only for him-
He still thinks he is alone on a frontier.
But h ere each of us knows
he i s only one of many and that, no matter how well he does, it is only in
r e lation to the group -- and a group is more important than I.
The American thinks that in a million selfishnesses more is
achie ved than in a group loyalty of the same number .
But we have both,
and the real secret is that, although w e, too, are selfish, we ar e willing to
wait.
H e only thinks of a bigger share of the pie.
of a bigg e r pie .
We'll take a smaller share
�-3-
What the American doesn't yet realize is that our pie will
keep getting bigger every year if we workers are willing to take only a
modest share of it.
If I don't get a color television this year and let my
shafe go into new factories, I can have two televisions five years from
now.
The American won't wait.
He eats steak while I have rice and fish.
I envy him today, but he will envy me tomorrow.
You don't believe that, do you?
It's true.
You Americans are rich inside your country.
You use up almost
all that you produce and you drive Chevrolets and Chryslers to your factory
job,
I ride a bicycle seven miles to my job, but you don't turn out any more
work in a day than I do and l ess than I will next year .
Yet to support your
car and TV , you ask enough more money so that your company's production
costs much more than mine.
A friend of mine that works in the accounting
department of an American company's plant here tells me that the hourly
cost in the States is $3. 22 direct and $1. 17 fringe, for a total of $4 . 39 an
hour compared to 50¢ of direct and 36¢ fringe benefits, or a total of 86~ an
hour here.
It must be nice to get five times as much, but you are not going
to be able to sell in competition with our companies.
any more than you do.
I don't love my boss
I want more pay, but the company will never fire me
as long as it is successful, and so I want it to be successful.
I know it has
to make money and invest in more machinery if it is going to succeed.
does the government.
So
�-4-
Your government is always fussing with your business.
Our government tells business what to do - - but not to punish them,
rather for their joint advantage -- and that means mine, too.
Your govern-
ment thinks it has to punish the company in order to please you.
that is.
How naive
Your workers are more sophisticated than we, but even we know
that we can't prosper unless the company does .
Where we are smarter
than you is that we also know that we can't progress unless our country
does well -- and our bosses know that, too.
If we demand the money that
would go into new machinery, we will live better for a little while, until
someone else, with that new machinery, gets the order and we lose our job.
Maybe you think I should not talk up so big, for I have a
bicycle and a radio while you have a car and a TV.
We are only just
getting to be the third biggest country, but we climbed up there from the
bottom because we worked harder and asked for less .
You see that we
are gradually getting more now and you think that , like in Western Europe,
as we workers get more, our costs will go up and we will lose our markets .
You are almost right.
higher
Our costs will go up in Japan, but we will offset these
costs at home by exporting our capital and employing labor
in Korea, Taiwan, Thailand and the Philippines.
The wo rkers in those
countries will wait even longer -- not forever, but much longer - - for
their fair share.
The companies that build plants there and use the cheap
workers will capture more markets.
�-5-
That, too, will be us.
know them.
Those countries are our neighbors.
You don't really know where Korea is .
We
You don't know which
is the country and which is the city -- Taipei or Taiwan -- and you think
Anna is still running Siam (it's Thailand now).
Stay that way, please ,
Talk to yourself and to the English.
Spend your production in higher wages and in welfare and super highways.
Be hesitant to "exploit" the cheap labor areas that are too proud to admit
that they are crying for your capital, your technical skill, and your market
knowledge,
Stay home and let politics raise your costs.
keep it up very long.
You don't need to
Already we have most of your technology .
We'll
take it and our capital and our mer chandizing and technical skills (who has
the small TV business, G . E. or Sony?) and our willingness to work and
wait -- and we 111 use all the cheap labor wherever we can find it,
With all
other costs about equal and our labor costs one-tenth of yours, we 111 outsell
you every place in the world -- even in the United States,
We'll be third by the time I marry.
We'll be first by the time
my son does,
Some say I shouldn't tell you this, but I don't worry.
You
won't listen.
You want a second car today and because you have been taught
to be mad at your boss, you want your government to limit his freedom to
grow bigger,
Hold him down to make you feel important .
We'll get your customers.
Please keep it up.
�-6-
Your country had been very important, even generous.
That's great for your satisfaction.
your important history.
I am happy you can think back on
Enjoy it!
Ours is ahead of us.
I guess that's the difference.
Sincerely,
�
Dublin Core
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Title
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Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
1903-2013
Description
An account of the resource
This collection brings together materials donated by Suffolk University faculty, staff, alumni and friends that represent their individual academic pursuits, research, memorabilia, and other personal records. Some of them are small collections of personal papers or single items such as scrapbooks, objects or photo albums.
Relation
A related resource
Find out more about our collections on <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/explore/24553.php">our website</a>.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright is retained by the creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.
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Dublin Core
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Identifier
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ms102_04_01_01
Title
A name given to the resource
Letter to Homer J. Livingston from Gaylord "Gale" A. Freeman Jr. about his travels in Japan and to transmit a letter from an unnamed Japanese worker to an American colleague.
Date
A point or period of time associated with an event in the lifecycle of the resource
11 April 1967
Creator
An entity primarily responsible for making the resource
Freeman, Gaylord A
Livingston, Homer J
Description
An account of the resource
This is one letter from a series of letters, generally referred to as the “Far East Letters.” The letters were written by banking executive Gaylord A. Freeman Jr. (ca. 1910-1991) to then CEO and president of First National Bank Homer J. Livingston. Freeman, along with his wife, travelled to Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Australia, and Moorea from April 23 through May 4, 1967. Often only spending a few days in each location, Freeman described his observations of the economic and cultural climate. Some of the letters also include maps illustrating data such as population, geographical information, and economy. Multiple copies of these letters were forwarded to Freeman’s colleagues and friends. This collection includes the copies sent to John S. Moore.
Source
A related resource from which the described resource is derived
Suffolk University Faculty and Alumni Manuscript Collection, (MS102), 1903-2013
Series 4: Gaylord A. Freeman, Jr. Far East and Oceania Letters Collection, 1967
Type
The nature or genre of the resource
Text
Documents
Format
The file format, physical medium, or dimensions of the resource
PDF
Language
A language of the resource
English
Subject
The topic of the resource
East Asia
Japan--Civilization--20th century.
Japan--Commerce--United States.
Rights
Information about rights held in and over the resource
Copyright is retained by the creators of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law. This item is made available for research and educational purposes by the Moakley Archive & Institute. Prior permission is required for any commercial use.
Relation
A related resource
Find out more about our collections on <a href="http://www.suffolk.edu/explore/24553.php">our website</a>.
Asia
Far East Letters