Daily camera., 1898-02-04
AMERICANS IN LIBERIA.
Why Colored Emigrant3 Have
Failed Of Success.
Great Mortality Due to Conditions
Resultant from Lack of Proper
Provisions On the Part of
the People.

The public is familiar with the dis
astrous consequences of American ne
groes going to Liberia unprepared.
Rev. c. Max Manning, secretary of the
United States legation at Monrovia,
lately here on leave of absence, is an
educated man and speaks intelligently,
though somewhat guardedly, of things
and conditions in Liberia. Naturally,
he was asked as to the condition of the
emigrants who left Savannah for Lii
IBERIA during 1895 and 1896. He replied
that he had seen and heard very little
of them, the last party, that which went
on the Laurada, having arrived some
time before he reached there. He un-
derstood that they had chiefly gone
into the interior. lie met few from
Arkansas around Monrovia, but none
from Georgia. The reports which he
received of these immigrants were not
the most favorable, he said. He heard
that at Crosierville, 4 colony estab-
lished by the immigrants in the in
terror, two-thirds of them had died.
''The great mortality among these
people" said Rev. Manning, lis not due
SO much to, climatic influences as to the
fac. that til greater number of them
were unprepared to take care of them
selves, and should have never gone
there 1 do not consider the climate
especially unhealthy. What Liberia
needs is men with money and brains to
develop its resources. Cheap labor is
overplentiful. There are plenty Of ma
tives to attend to that, and they will
do twice the work for half the money
that the people who go there from this
country can afford to work for. know
of no place in the world where man
with a little capital and who is good
trader can make money more rapidly,
and there is none where man without
money is liable to suffer more quickly.
The government desires to, encourage
immigration Of the right sort. There
is plenty of fertile land. The govern
ment gives 25 acres of land to each head
of family, and ten acres to single
man. The class Of emigrants who left
Savannah in 1895 and 1896 is not de-
sired by the government. 1t is tired
of that class of emigrants."
In speaking of the country, Rev. Man
ming admitted that Liberia had not
progressed as rapidly as the friends of
the black republic might wish. The
civilized negroes are only a handful as
compared with the uncivilized natives.
The civilized negroes run the country,
however, and the natives cut no more
figure with them than a negro does
with the white man in this country,
Rev. Manning said. No white man is
allowed to vote in Liberia. Only land
owners can vote, and no white man is
allowed to own land. This is a strange
state of affairs in country which was
presented to it's occupants by white
people.
"They argue" said Rev. Manning,
''that if the white people are allowed
to own land and vote in Liberia the
condition of affairs there viii soon be
pretty much the same as it is in this
country, and that white men would own
ana run INC COuuIiy. ISSiuSS VI ,4ii'
embargo upon white men, capital has
been kept out of the country, and its
development is retarded. | tried to
argue with the principal men that it
would be better for them to induce
white people to come in and build up
their colony for their own advantage,
if for no other reason, but they could
not see it that way. | cited them tothc
city of Frcetown, in the British colony
of Sierra Leone, where the queens gov
crnment controls, but everybody has
an equal showing. Frcetown is one of
the most progressive cities to he found
anywhere, and reminded me greatly OF
Augusta, with the exception that the
manufacturing element is lacking. Yet
negroes do business there successfully
in competition with white men. The
majority Of the business houses are
owned and conducted by negroes.
There are two banks. One has negro
president and white cashier, and the
other white president and negro
cashier. The tellers and other en-
ployes are negroes. Savannah (Ga.)
News.