The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-09-02
THE CONGO AND THE sELsIANs,
The Testimony OF 0 Presbyterian MIS-.
slOnary Contrauieted.

| The Testimony Of Q Presbyterian MIS-
slonary Contrauioted.
To THE EpITon OF TIE SrN--Sir: Thu
Rev. l.. @. Yass takes me to task. In yesterday
suS. for defending the Congo state against
the charges Of maladmnistration. At the
outset he gives his personal opinion that 'ths
| Congo Government Is a darker blot In Afriea
than ever the famous slave raider proved.
| 40 an Offset to his personal opinion ! will
| quote. first. the opinion OF the frat authority
| upon Central Africa, Sir Henry NJ. Stanley
Last November he said
1 do not believe In the charges brought against
the Congo. and do not share the opinions that In
| spre them. when / consider the limited number
Of years which have elapsed since the Congo be
+; came a State hold that tho work which has boon
| accomplished there docs great honor to Belgium,
The recltals OF atrocities and bad administration
, which have Of late been spread abou! arc almost
| all, II not ALL pure report.
Naturally II II Is a question OF seeking cause for
quarrel there IL no difhculty In finding 1t. the
| Congo was In truth the darkest part OF Africa
To-day with LIS forests pierced and open It's routes
It's stations. II Is In advance OF all other African
| States. The sentiment that inspires the charges
against the Congo Is jealousy. do not think
that the Congo State would be administered better
by France. tho United States or Germany. Eng
land would not have managed the Congo better
than King Leopold has done II she had been mis-
trcss OF II. as she might have become In p77.
has put end TO the horrible Arab slave trade.
] do not think from this point Of view there Ia a
single sovereign living who has done so much for
humanity as Leopold II.
The Roy. Mr.. vass Ia q Presbyterian mis-
sionary. There have been other missionar-
les in the Congo. A Baptist the Rev. HeorKe
Grenfell. whose long residence In the Congo
enabled him to give an opinion, says
II 10 much TO DO regretted tina. In recent rove
tatn air "A
have been mingled with accusations casX 10 prove.
aud-what Is worse-blendcd In confused way
with accusations only comprehensive by taxing
their authors with !nexcusable unstableness
1 Am one OF the rare Europeans actually residing
In Congo who was acquainted with this country
before the State was established. and who can COM
pare the s,uatlon with the present one. For this
reason wish to state that | most sincerely apprr.
ciate tho advantages attending the establishment
Of q civilized government. and proclaim that
actually existing.
In letter to Mr.. Leeudt. a Swedish ofYlcer.
in May, 1908. Mr.. urentell speaks Of having
been much struck by the order which has
been established and by the real progress
accomplished" The progress that has been
made Is nothing less than mar yellous"
Baptist missionary, writing TO the Commits
sary-Genera OF New Antwerp. March -.
1908. says,
All the villages Of tho dIstric, can be Waited In 90.
solute safety, and beg 20 congratulate you on tbs
, ,I Of the district OF which you are Com
The Rev. W. Holman Bentley. the head Of
the Baptist missions In the Congo, has on
sesd IN sSs
State. as. for example:
Being one Of the founders Of the English Baptist
Mr. sianlsys arrival IN 1919 the new years advent
drew my attention TO the Immense progress realized
VA s, SSsssd y
the drink franc has been Debt with very efrec.
lively BY The Congo ss,s hi, The sale Of SpiSouss
over ninety nine hundrcdths OF Its wide area. We
have good reasons for knowing that this restriction
TIE Sun referred last September to an
article written by the Rev. W. II: Leslie Of the
American Baptist Missionary Union, as fol-
lows:
Mr. Leslie refers 70 the exceeding degradation
Of the Congo people twenty years ago He speaks
ns aSd she io wSn ,Sst
twenty years. He says that the people arc learn.
e H ss sna $ FSHa Sc
In Ssr aSS ss o. are tho
have Is 0s sse u ts
praise the work Of the Congo lovernmsnt,
Mr. V iSs the PRESBYTERIAN missionary; Who
says that the Congo uovernment is darker
blot in Arsds +, than the famous slave
witness or the highest cksrsetey. and in.
tsSsty %Ssy 81 Mr.
of the Institute Of International Law. chart ed
to ' the
ternntional congresses. and who ts thoroughly
conversant with the organization and ad-
ministrstion Of the Congo:
1t Is unfortunate that so many false Impressions
about the Congo have been accepted without cx-
snln.uSn One Of The gres; sehlsysmsu e. Of the
slaSs trade. IS esdmasod thS, 10000 natvss
ssa sss s 20 Il. ss
slave raids arc sun carried on. .
men, q tbe nsavs sS tie s
sy, T ss.n ns ssss s. n Il rhS Az
but these arr Isolated esses, and are severely pun
S b s ssSs. was ss 81 d.
ere. Of the GovenmeSns THIS conInLs''e %,,S con
Priests and four Profession. missionaries. Thos'
s1s'S %sas s f., ss y,s
me herman name q leopold a III. head Of human bent.
and saerSces contributed BY him in suoh cause
The six witnesses whose testimony ! have
SSs ors are ahoe They eaGf ss
and i%Prcysment Of re NATIVES q re i cosFe
under belgian rule ls2lated cases Of cruelty
shed. The Rev Mr.. vass will find worse |
condition among the negroes OF our own |
or shot to death. and the perpetrators 70 |
unpublished.
fhe campaign conducted in England |
against the Congo dates from the time when |
the prosperity OF the State BECAME affirmed. |
For years II was administered as II Is now, |
When the State budget was only able to effect |
n balance by the subsidies Of the King OF the |
Belgians there was no complaint, but when |
the trade of the Congo took marked de- |
yelopment and the total exports rose from |
1 O 900 600 francs In 1905 to 50,000. roo In 1907,
the movement against the Congo vas planned, I!
and England planned il.
- 49,. =, WAITER J. STANLEY.