The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-01-19
YOUNG MAN, GO TO AFRICA.
What Coils P. Huntington Would Do
if ne Were Young Again
Ffom Tie Ne,s York Tribune.


if He We're Young Again
From the Ne,g York Tribune.
Taking down map of equatorial Africa
and spreading it across his knees, Coils p.
Huntington laid his forefnger on a certain
spot and remarked:
"If were young man with $4,000 or
100000, I'd 60 there and make millions"
The spot he touched was the town of
Upoto, on the river Congo, near the north
ern boundary Of the Congo Free State,
distant about 200 miles from the Guinea
coast.
what would you do there, Mr.. Hunting
tonp inquired the reporter, to whom his
remark was addressed.
Trade, was the brief answer.
"Ivory, skins, precious stones"
Rubber You can buy rubber there to
day at penny pound. A man might go
there and pay pence pound and make a
fortune"
Would you advise q young man to go
there with less than sl0O,O or less than
S1O,O00pn
"Well, it would depend on the young
mau. | went to California in 40 with q
party Of young fellows from my native
state Connecticut, aud when we reached
Sacramento the first thing they did was to
60 to the hotel and spend 81 apiece for din
ner. My dinner cost me less than six
teenth Of that sum. 1t was Away my rule
to live within my income. Any young man
who does this will get along
could young man live in the Congo
Free State long enough TO make fortunep
"Oh, the climate Is excellent after you
get back hundred miles or so from the
coast. There is no fever on the uDlands."
"How is he to get his rubber to marketn
CAT present most of it is carried on the
backs of natives, and the lack Of transporta-
ton facilities account for its cheapness in
the interior. But you know the Congo Is
navigable for many miles, from Kinchasse,
in fact TO Stanley Falls, and by and by
we shall have q railroad there, which will
make travel easy all the way to the coast.
have recently put $4,000 in the road and
may put little more after a while. When
in Europe last fall l received a note from
King Leopold asking me to call on
him when | arrived at Brussels. l did
so and we talked over the situation in
Africa. / pretty soon discovered that
Leopold didn't know quite as much about
railroad building as did, so | gave him a
few points. | am going into the railroad
business in Africa simply because l want
to break up the slave trade. / have been
opposed TO slavery all my life, and gave a
good deal toward abolishing it in this coun-
try Down there in the heart of Africa is
the beginning and the end of the slave trade,
and the time is not far Off when we will
wipe it from the face of the earth. l have
also invested $50, 600 in the proposed Berber-
Suakim railway, and $4,000 more in the
British East African railway. Thus have
S150000 in the three roads. l don't look
for any profits, but if any should come they
will be reinvested in Africa
The price of rubber in Para, Brazil,
ranges from 60 cents to 81 a pound IL a
young man could only get hold of 10000,
if he could only buy rubber in the Congo
Free State at a penny pound, if he could
only get 1t down 20 the coast for a few
pence pound, IL he could only get it to
Havre or New York for still few pence
more a pound-if he could do all this he
would make tremendous profit. Then IL
il he could live within his income he would
certainly grow rich. The principal thing
with most men is the $4,000, or rather tue
want of it. There are plenty Of lusty
young white slaves behind the counters in
this city who would like to be emancipated.
And lots OF them would 90 to Africa on
much less capital than $4,000. In the
present state Of the market so princely a
sum as that would purchase a gross OF
North American Congo Free Statesmen.