The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-12-24
A NEW WORLD.


The memory Of Livingstone and his
wonderful career as an African explorer
has not died out, while the strange adj
ventures and discoveries of Stanley are
still fresh in the minds of even the youth
of the present generation. Booths char
acterization of Darkest Africa" Is famf1-
lar to us all as a striking expression
which found utterance but a few years
ago. Yet, the wonderland. section of
which is at this moment the scene of hu-
man heroism and strife, has already
opened UP its vast areas to the endeavors
of Christian civilization, and the light of
modern progress is Illuminating even its
most remote places.
Today the land of the Mahdi and Boer
attracts the thought and attention of the
world. But the spaces which represent
the operations of Kitchener and Butler
stand for but fragment of the immense
continent whose wondrous resources are
being daily opened up to the commerce
of the world Twentieth century Africa
derful an influence on the progress of
the time as did the New World when 1t
| opened up its portals before the almost
despairing vision Of Columbus.
The continent Of Africa represents an
area four times greater than that Of the
United States. Its population represents
full 15O,GO0,0OO souls. AS yet but scarce
100000 of these are of European blood.
In soil, climate and natural production
| 1t presents as wonderful and as valuable
a variety as may be found in any sec
ton Of the worlds surface. Treasures
of diamonds, of gold and of ivory have
been actually brought to light which tbs
imagination Of man regards in wonder
Vast navigable streams designed to carry
| the products of a wonderful region to
the tide-waters of the worlds commerce
have been made known within g. few
years. The railway and the telegraph,
| the steamboat and the telephone have led
! the march of modern advancement into
| Its darkest corners Darkness and ig-
norance in a single decade have faded
! before the onward march Of civilized
progress. In that time. too, the insig-
1 nificant and hazardous trade in ivory,
which alone represented the material
gain to civilization, has found an ex-
pansion that today embraces commerce
approaching close to 81, 600, 00G, 900 annually.
Before the coming century has passed
it's first quarter the great continent of
Asia will have laid its treasures at the
feet of Europe and America Yet it Is
! matter Of serious doubt whether then
or for many years thereafter the Orient
will have yielded to modern mankind the
same proportion of wealth and substance
which Africa has been pouring into its
lap for the past few years.
All this wondrous Transformation has
come about concurrently with the par
tition of Africa among the nations Of
Europe. England. France, Germany,
Portugal, Spain, Belgium, Italy and
| Turkey, aside from the few Independent
states, like the Orange Free State, the
South African republic, Abyssinia, Mo-
| rocco and Liberia, are the owners Of
Africa. Between 1884 and 1893, an area
two and a half times the size of the
United States. and containing a pepula-
ton of 10g,006O0O, was parceled out by
an agreement among those powers.
While France represents the largest In
dependent area, her section of the con-
tinent does not possess anything like the
value of that owned or dominated by
| England The possessions of England
are vastly the most valuable IN point of
contiguity and in their relation to the
| people, the productions and tho future
| possibilities of Africa. She owns or con-
trolls, including Egypt and Abyssinla.
nigh 100000 square miles Of territory,
or nearly half the continent. France
Owls absolutely near 100000 square