FROM YOUTH TO PROFESSOR 



Lutsenburg Maas were married in The Hague. Following a brief 

 honeymoon in Holland - it was war time - they embarked early in 

 August for a much longer voyage. During those war years the trip 

 East was not so simple and took a very long time. England forced the 

 Dutch steamers to sail around Scotland, and to dock at both Kirkwall 

 and Falmouth for a careful scrutiny of passengers and cargo. Subse- 

 quently the ships sailed, via the Canary Islands and Capetown, around 

 Africa. This provided an opportunity to visit his brother-in-law, 

 Pijper, who was then a physician in South Africa, and later became 

 professor of Bacteriology. The trip took more than two months, and 

 not until October 10 did the Kluyvers land in Tandjong Priok. After 

 a brief sojourn in Batavia they continued on to Buitenzorg, the resi- 

 dence of the new industrial consultant. 



THE TROPICAL PERIOD 



1 91 6-1 92 1 



Kluyver spent three wonderful years (1916-1919) in Buitenzorg. His 

 numerous letters written during that time give a clear picture of this 

 period that was of such importance to him. He learned much from his 

 contacts with various functionaries, both in his department and in 

 other institutions; he became familiar with the bureaucratic and 

 political atmosphere in Buitenzorg which, to be sure, disappointed 

 him in many respects, but nevertheless increased his worldly wisdom. 

 He was glad not to have missed this experience. 



He was disappointed with his field of activities, because he found 

 neither a concrete plan, nor guidance as to definite lines of action. 

 There was uncertainty and conflict. Initially, the Netherlands' Govern- 

 ment had intended that the consultant-to-be should devote himself to 

 the study, promotion, and development of native industries. This was 

 opposed by those who wanted to involve the consultant in the promo- 

 tion of European enterprises. Throughout the years of Kluyver's civil 

 service (1916-1919) it thus remained in doubt for whom he should 

 work, and the young consultant received too little support from his 

 superiors in his difficulties. Furthermore, such plans as the creation ol 

 an independent department of industry, with an adequate laboratory 

 in Bandung, did not materialize; the responsible officials had neg- 

 lected to place the necessary funds on the 19 19 budget. 



