The Washington times., 1904-06-05

an admission Of obligation. The great
treaty powers have continuing rights as
supervisors and directors N the enter
prise conducted by the King. The King
is their trustee. 10 execute the powers
conferred by the treaty. and is answer
able to them for the use OF the powers in
trusted 10 him. Is IL too much TO say that
the great powers Of the west are under
obligation 10 communicate with the
ruler Of the Independent State OF the
Congo concerning the statements re-
lating to his rule, apparently supported,
and 10 take such measures as will guar
antee TO these unhappy people the rights
established for them in the treaty of
Berlin? This right and responsibility
belonging to other nations will be recog-
nized as belonging to our own American
Government.
Charges Tax CTedulity.
The charges that have been made, al
most incomprehensibly horrible as some
Of them are. have been made by re-
putable and responsible men. They are
met with denials. but they are follow
ed by charges of like character, in IN
diminished number and horror.
It is not well TO accept implicitly state
hideous dishonor upon sovereign
king and sovereign state. but certain
ly it is not well either 20 disregard them
or suffer them to pass unchallenRed
Neither will a perfunctory denial answer
the purpose.
within my own knowledge" writes
the Rev. +. b. Sjoblon, "forty-hve VII
lagos were altogether burned down. I
passed through twenty-eight abandoned
villages. The natives had left their
places TO go farther inland. In order
TO separate themselves from the white
men they go part of the way down the
river. OF else they cross the river into
French territory. Sometimes the natives
are obliged 70 pay a large indemnity The
chiefs often have TO pay with brass
wire and slaves, and II the slaves do
not make up the amount their wives
are sold TO pay. 1 was told that by a
Belgian officer. Native sentinels-who. OF
course. are the sentries referred TO by
Consul Pickersgill-are placed in the
villages. The sentinels see that the
other natives work. They are forced TO
build large houses for these sentinels
and have to leave their places and try
20 find other places farther away. The
sentinels themselves have told me this
l have been in the towns and seen il
myself. In the morning the sentinels
will go TO and fro in the towns TO see
that no man stays behind. Only a few
slaves are allowed TO stay at home be-
sides the women and children. often
they say that they have been told by
a commissary that If they saw a man
staying behind in the village they must
shoot him.
Il VIII give you an instance OF a man
l saw shot right before my eyes. In one
of my inland Journeys. when / had gone
a little farther, perhaps, than the com
missary expected me to go.NI saw some
thing that perhaps he would not have
liked me to see. 1t was at a town called
iberia, one OF the cannibal towns TO
which no white man had ever been be-
fore. l reached IL at sunset after the
natives had returned from the various
places in which they had been looking
for india rubber. They gathered to-
gether in a great crowd, being curious
to see a white man. Besides. they had
heard 1 had some good news to tell
them, which came through the gospel.
Murder and Mutilation.
when that large crowd gathered and
] was last ready to preach, the sentinels
rushed in among them to seize an old
man. They dragged him aside a little