Workmen's advocate. (New Haven, Conn.) 1883-1891, 1888-08-11


the coast upon the interior, of ex-
peditions of all kinds and sizes, and
he will begin to realize that the
ciyihzing" of Africa is by no
means a very remote contingency.
Given Trans Continental railway
from the Congo to Zanzibar, and
the end of Barbaric Africa is only a
question of a few years. This rail
way it Is true is not talked of vet,
but one into the Congo territory is,
and If unhappily Mr.. Stanley and
his expedition should ever come
safely to hand, there is little doubt
that it will be begun before long,
and from this to the Zanzibar Rail
way spoken of and to the complete
reduction of Central Africa under
the sway Of modern capitalistic eX-
ploitation is very measurable dis
tance indeed.
Few people probably realize what
the opening up Of Africa means, 1t
means this; uut0M mineral, vegeta-
BILE, and animal wealth placed at the
disposal of the modern commercial
system a new world Of markets
2jmjheSS cheap labor practically
b0undJeSs territories for emigration ;
ETC., etc. Russia has just completed
the conditions Of the opening up of
Central Asia. But Central Asia is a
poor region, sparsely populated, in
hospitable and worthless, compared
to Central Africa understanding by
this term the whole Of the interior
of the African continent,
1.-The problem presents itself,
What influence will the new terri
tories now beginning to be tapped
first and foremost among which
stands that new world in itself,
AfriCa-have on the course Of econo-
mic development: This is IN
dOubtedly one Of the crucial ques-
tions in all speculations as to the
immediate future Of the human race.
1t is all very well to talk about the
modern system of production and
distribution breaking down by Its
own weight. This would be true
enough if it could not gather
strength from anywhere, but m-
fortunately it can do so, and its
yotaries are actively preparing the
conditions by which, as far as may
be, it shall do so. 1t is hardly going
too far to say that the hope of the
present commercial system lies in
africa. There are parts OF Asia,
extensive territories i'll some cases,
parts of America, and islands in the
southern seas, all OF which may and
probably will be, sucked in ; but the
mainstay of capitalistic hopes is
Africa, | do not wish to be pesSi-
mistic or to dash the hopes of
enthusiasts, still less to dogmatize
in matters economic, when | confess
the dread possibility does present
itself to me occasionally of the capi-
talistic world taking a new lease of
life out of the exploitation Of Africa,
How long or how short that lease
may be, if it obtains at all, none can
say. We know the Social Revolu-
ton is written in history in terms
which are hidden in no cryptogram.
But the time when the change shall
come is not within the bounds of
human science to foresee. This is
that secret which the day shall re-
veal when it comes. and which no
genius can make known beforehand.
We must beware Of confounding the
l0gical with the real sequence of
things. Logically the principle of
Individualism has reached its cx-
treme limits IN the nineteenth cen
tury-is played out, in fact. The
next def"ite stage in human evO-
luton must be the beginning of
Socialism. But it is quite conceiva-
bic, to say the least, that the present
stage should be prolonged in a
slightly changed form even for
another century by means such as
those indicated IN the present arti-
Gle"