The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1904-03-28
OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS
HAVE BEEN MAILED
King Leopold Will Reply to
Charges of American "
Missionaries.

LONDON, March 27.-The following
kilograms have been exchanged be-
tween the Associated Press and King
Leopold of Belgium:
ITO His Majesty, Leopold H., King of
the Belgians, Brussels-The Associated
Press, representing the newspaper
press of the United States, would be
happy to cable to the United States
any statement your majesty might see
fit to make in relation to the charges
against the government of the Congo
Free State regarding atrocities COM
mitted upon the natives made to Presi-
dent Roosevelt and Secretary of State
Hay by a.delegation from the mission
airy congress. The American press is
anxious to hear both sides of the case
and would welcome any reply from
your majesty to the allegations of the
missionaries that their rights are not
respected and that the natives are now
in a worse condition than under the
Arab slave regime.
Manager, The Associated Press
King Leopold replied through his
secretary as follows:
Manager the Associated Press-The
impartial sentiments of the American
press. have mailed you official docu-
ments from the Congo Free State in
which you will find all the facts es-
sential to a full and truthful statement
of the case
Carton de Wharf, Secretary to the
King
Representatives of the American
Baptist, the Southern Presbyterian and
iplo 0f iCt fri ,ic,-
sions called upon President Roosevelt
and Secretary Hay Friday last and
described the affairs in the Congo
country as viewed from the mission
airy standpoint. The principal feature
of the conferences between the presi-
dent and the secretary and the mis-
Sionaries consisted of stories by the
latter of atrocities practiced on the ma
tives by their Belgian rulers. The mis-
sionaries said that their work was
rendered nearly valueless by the atti-
tude of the Belgian officials, who mo-
nopolized all the food supplies, making
it difficult for the missions to procure
yegetab leS or fowls or anything to eat
from the natives, who were obliged to
turn their produce into the hands Of
the officers. Then, by the cruelties
practiced upon the natives, the latter
were driven away from the missions
dition, it was pointed out that no re-
spect was shown for the property
rights of the missionaries, and it was
on this last ground that the delegation
thought the United States government
might interfere.
Secretary Hay asked the mission
aries to reduce their views to a written
memorandum, which he said he would
consider though he could not hold any
definite promise of relieving the situa-
ton, so far as the natives were con-
cerned, because the United States was
not one of the signatories to the treaty
under which the Congo Free State
came into existence. A statement of
the events leading up to the present
condition of affairs was subsequently
prepared by the delegation for trans
mission to the state department. in
which it is declared that as result of
the absolute power of the king of the
Belgians the freedom of trade guar
anteed by the conference of Berlin was
now a thing of the past. The presi-
dent promised to give the matter care
full consideration, and requested that he
be supplied with an accurate and de-
tailed statement.