The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1900-07-29

ara subjected to a much higher tariff. Export
duties vary with the value Of the produce.
Thus ivory pays from 20 to 10 cents per kilo-
Gamme; India rubber. Q cents per kilo-
gramme; and coffee s Der cent ad valorem.
Money Is raised in a variety Of other ways
for instance. there are taxes on employees. on
house area and on boats and m The
Government Is now constructing a telegraph
line from the Atlantic to Lake Tanganika,
the work be'ae prosecuted from both ends.
The line eastward from the coast Is already
working for over seven hundred and fifty miles
and the line westward from Tanganika Is well
advanced toward Nyangwe.
The Congo Railway deserves q paragraph to
itself. This road does not belong to the Gov
eminent, but to q private corporation. Scarcely
had the Congo Free state been proclaimed
than a party Of engineers began q study OF
the country with a view OF tracing a route
for n railway from the coast TO the point at
which the river became naviRable. The ini-
tlal difficulties were great. Fully half OF the
labor and expense OF construction was de-
manded for the first twenty miles. A road
bed had TO be made along the steep banks OF
the Congo to the mouth OF the Mpozo River.
which had to be assembled for two or three
miles and then crossed: after that there was
a long cllmb up Mpalabala Hill and down again.
At the twenty-fourth mile a station was opened
in 1903. but was little used. The next year
a station was orened at the thirty sixth mile.
east of the Iubu River. In May. 1895. the
halfway station at Tumba was available. and
In July. 1908. tho whole line was completed.
The author OF this book pronouncas the railway
a fine piece of engineering. Of which the Bel
gians may be justly proud. The rails are
twenty-nine ard a half inches apart and are
laid on iron seepers thirty inches apart; the
line is $50 miles long The company Is Bel
gian and has a capital OF $500 900, the gross
receipts average si6O. mo per month. The
rates are at present very high. both for pas
senEers and goods. A single trst-class ticket
from Matadi to Tumba. ia miles. a distance
accomplished In twelve hours. costs more
than 81. so. Natives may make the same
Journey on the goods trucks for $3.50. With
the exception of salt all goods passing from
the coast to the interior pay 5000 per ton for
the whole journey from Matadi to Stanley
Pool. The tariff on raw produce coastwards
Is much more reasonable.
The local administration Of the Congo State
has been severely criticised. A much more
favorable view OF 1t is taken by the author Of
these volumes. who speaks with the authority
Of an observer that has lived In the country
for twenty years. The general organization
Of the Government" he says. is very good.
but the application Of its provisions to the
natives can only be made gradually, EST ecially
in such a matter 8 slavery. The territory o.
the State is so vast that II is obviously impos-
sitlc to institute for many a long day a system
Of Government that shall embrace every VIII
lage and individual. That Is the end, how
ever, toward which the authorities are stead
lily working" Elsewhere We read: The Bel
gians may well be proud Of the part which their
small country has PLAYED In the opening up
OF Africa and in the development Of the o 1000
square miles in the heart Of the continent which
constitute what is now known as the Congo
State" Mr.. Bentley expresses the hope that
the annexation Of the State by Belgium will
not be long delayed. The matter is to come up
again this year.
The burning question throughout the trop-
ical belt Of Africa IL the drink traffic. This.
we are told, has been dealt with effectively by
the Congo State. Over ninety -nine-one-
hundredths Of Its wide area the sale Of spirit
uous liquids to the natives Is strictly prohib-
tied. and Mr.. Bentley ~testiles that the law Is
enforced The enclaye to tho north Of the
Congo from the coast to Manyanga, and some
twenty square miles about Matadi from Under
hill to the Mpozo River are outside Of the zone
OF restriction. On the south bank OF the Congo.
the line Of prohibition is draw at the Mpozo
River, three miles above Matadi; the railway,
therefore. cannot transport alcohol at all.
neither are the natives allowed to carry any
beyond the Mpozo River. Mr.. Bentley ex-
presses tho wish tina. tho Government could
keep out alcoholic beverages altogether. but
he seems TO recognize that IL would be impos-
sible To watch the French and Portuguese Fl on
tiers near the coast As a matter OF fact, the
sale of spirits to the natives Is pernitte d over
5000 square miles, but very little alcohol finds
It's way into moro than half OF that area. There
IL no restriction upon the sale Of drink 70 white
men. except that the importation OF absinthe
IL prohibited under all circumstances For
lnerly, steamers. from Rotterdam and Ham
burg used to deliver monthly at the mouth Of
the Congo thousands OF cases Of q LIQUOR called
gin; also vast numbers Of wicker covered
glass demijohns containing from one TO three
gallons Of the same liquor. and casks Of rum
made in Germany The destructive effect
Of this trade In spirits IL well known. When
a native population becomes saturated with
alcohol, II soon dies out An instance cited In
this book was Btmbia at the mouth Of the CAM
eroons River. which. In the early days Of the
Baptist mission, had a population OF 10000. but
subsequently,. had only 200 inhabitants.