Life in The Netherlands Indies is abundant. Dutch colonials grow rich on oil and rubber, fat on Bols gin and rijsttafel ("rice-table," a huge meal which requires a dozen natives to serve). Their activities at clubs are so serious as to be nearer worship than relaxation. The social hierarchy is solid and rigid as a marble staircase. After a party at the Harmonic Club in Batavia, Java, chauffeurs must line cars up according to their masters' standing, so that 20,000-guilders-a-year may drive off before 15,000-guilders-a-year.
During World War I, club life in Batavia and Surabaya was trying. Since The Netherlands...
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