Kankakee Valley Post, Volume 9, Number 42, DeMotte, Jasper County, 7 September 1939 — Burma, Important British Colony, Provides ‘Back Door’ to China [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Burma, Important British Colony, Provides ‘Back Door’ to China

“BACK DOOR" OPt\. Map shows the route of the recently completed highway running from Rangoon, Burma, to Chungking, capital of war-torn China. Because many of China's eastern seaports are blockaded by the Japanese this route has become an important life line for the forces of Chiang Kai-Shek.

Recently Completed Highway Used for Shipping \A ar Supplies. Prepared by National Geographic Society. Washington, D. C,— VVNU Service. Burma, where demands for independence are reported to be growing steadily more in sistent, is an important link in the British Empire chain. East of India, Burma touches on the north the border of Tibet; on the east that of China proper, French In-do-China, and Siam. With fingers of land thrust into the Bay of Bengal. Burma stretches south far down the west coast of the Malay peninsula, to share with Siam the narrow and strategic land bar to the China sea which culminates in the Malay States and England’s naval base of Singapore. From Burma runs the recently completed highway that is China's vital back door entrance for supplies, now that many of her eastern ports are closed by Japanese occupation. Connecting Rangoon-half-way down the long coast of Burma —with the Chinese provisional capital of Chungking, in the heart of that war-torn country, this route covers in all more than 2,000 miles, twisting a tortuous motor path over China’s high western plateaus, dipping deep into rugged gorges and rising high over mountain passes. Burma Route by Rail. B The Burma section of the route, about one-third of the entire distance to Chungking, is mostly by rail, which provides communication between Rangoon and Lashio, near the western border of China. On the way the railway passes the town of Mandalay, of Kipling romance. Through Rangoon, as capital and chief port of Burma, flows most of the country’s foreign trade, now reported to include incoming trucks, gasoline, machinery, and munitions destined for the Burma-China road as a result of the war in China. Alltogether. Burma's import-export business was estimated for the last fiscal year at more than $278,000,000. Rangoon, accessible to river navigation 900 miles inland, is also known in the international transport field for its excellent airport, where three major lines converge. So many 'round-the-world aviators and air-minded travelers come this way that it has been predicted that Rangoon will become to the air lanes what Singapore is to sea lanes—a “crossroads of the East.” Burma is strictly agricultural country with rich soil and plenty ol rainfall. It is more fortunate than many of its oriental neighbors; for with little more than 14Vs million people to support in an area ot about 201,610 square miles, there is an adequate food supply of the East's chief staple—rice. More than two-thirds of all cultivated land in Burma is devoted to rice production, which provides a large exportable surplus sent rot only to populous India and other Far Eastern coun tries but also to Europe. A largely one-crop economy, however (of secondary importance are other products such as peanuts, cotton, millet, sesame seeds), presents problems of its own. There is need for new industries to provide more diversity and help solve the unemployment problem. Of Burma's millions, less than 90,000 now are employed in industry. After farming, the famous teak industry is Burma’s next'best means of livelihood. Without Caste System. The Burmese have developed into a group different from either Indian or Chinese, yet with traces of the influence of both. They are without the caste system and their women go unveiled. Although their main religion came from India, their dialects are related to those of the IndoChinese. Most travelers agree that the people of Burma are easier to understand than other Orientals; for while their manners are those of the East, they have also a frankness and direct sense of humor akin to that of the Westerner. Yet despite geographic, racial and other differences that set it apart irom India, politically Burma was divorced from the larger country

only two years ago. Today this country, as a crown colony of Great Britain, has its own senate and house of representatives, although the legislation of these bodies is subject to veto by the English governor who also controls national defense and foreign relations.