The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-04-05
FREE STATE Is
NOT OPPRESSED
Belgium Answers the Charges
of the British Consul.
SENTRY FALSELY ACCUSED
NATIVES WERE BRIBED TO BEAR
FALSE WITNESS.
SENTRY FALSELY ACCUSED

iHI ASHINGTON, April AIN view Of
wv the recent charges made against
the administration OF the Congo
Free State. the Associated Press ca
bled to King Leopold, asking for his
side Of the case. In reply number of
/ official documents have been forward
ed by mail. and in addition the Congo
/ State has cabled authority to James
Gustavus Whiteley to give the follow
/ ing resume Of the Brussels note, which
has been issued in reply to the charges
made in the recent report Of the Brit
ish consul
The Brussels note, after taking UP
one or two minor details Of the British
/ COnsuls report. proceeds 10 consider
the main point of criticism. which is
the treatment Of the native population
by the Congo authorities. The con-
sul's report contains a number of sto-
/ ries Of cruel treatment told him by the
natives. which for the most part are
/ valueless as evidence on account of
( the fact that he did not investigate
/ them. or obtain corroborative testi-
mOny. Although his charges are of a.
most serious nature, in the majority
/ of cases he has failed 10 give the
names or places. This seems an I'M
/ fair mode of attack, as il gives the
/ Congo State no opportunity to disprove
/ the assertions
One Case Taken Up,
zone case, however, which the con-
/ sui investigated and which he gives as
/ a most fragrant example. was brought
! TO the knowledge of the Congo authOri-
/ ties and was investigated by them.
| This is the case of the boy Ependo.
/ who claimed that his left hand had
/ been cut of by a native sentry in the
| service of La Lunga Rubber company.
| The consul, accompanied by two mis-
| siOnaries, went to the village Of Bos-
| sunguma and proceeded to hold an
| impromptu court of inquiry. The in
! jured boy accused the sentry. Kelen-
/ go, to his face. The consul then ques-
/ toned the chief and a number of the
| head men. They replied by accusing
/ the sentry. Most of them declared
/ that they had been eyewitness of
! the deed. The consul asked whether
I there were any more witnesses, and
! nearly all those present, about forty
| persons, shouted with once voice that
/ 1t was Kelengo who did it,
THE accused sentry denied the
! charge Other natives came forward
/ with various charges of robbery and
/ wrongdOing against the sentry. and
/ finally the consul, considering the evil
/ dence conclusive, announced TO the as
sembly that Kelengo deserved punish
, Illent for his cruel and illegal acts, and.
I taking with him the manned boy, laid
! the case before the state authorities,
! saying dramatically that he denounced
not an individual, but a system.
Acknowledged He Lisd
| cit would be unwarrantable TO draw
/ such a sweeping conclusion from a sin
! gle case, even if the case were we'll
/ orfF Of 20 Of 10
| accusations of Ependo against the SEN
/ try We're shown To be without any
/ foundation whatever. When the prop
er state authorities came to investigate
! the case the boys evidence broke down.
I He admitted that he had lied, and eX-
planned that he had lost his hand in a
bear hunt. When asked why he had
/ falsely accused the sentry, he said that
4 he had done il at the instigatiOn Of
/ the natives of the district, who hoped
( thus to secure the Intervention of the
/ British consul and a release from the
! necessity of gathering rubber. Most Of
/ the natives who had accused the sen
! try before the consul took to the woods.
! Those who were caught admitted that
| they had given false testimony. Other
! witnesses who were called cOrrObOr-
| ated the boys confession that his hand
/ had been lost i'm a bear hunt.
The case Of Epindo is treated at
/ great length in the Brussels note on
! account of the fact that the British
/ consul, trusting in the statements made
( by the natives and not waiting for the
/ judicial inquiry, has put forward this
/ case as most damning proof against the
/ Congo state. II is the one case which
! he had thought he had investigated
/ thoroughly.
Tax Is Necessary.
/ I'm response 10 the British consurs
I criticism on the work required Of the
natives by the way Of tax the Brussels
( note points out that IT is a necessary
! tax which compels the native to con-
/ tribute something 70 the support of the
/ state and which also teaches him habits
/ of Industry. Even the British govern
ment demands such a tax in labor or
/ in kind in its African possessions.
1t should be remarked that in the
! district over which the company known
as the A 3. I. r. exercises sway the
/ British consul could not find any cases
[ sc cruelty imputable TO the commercial
agents, and yet the a. 3. /. r. is one
{ of those concession companies which
/ are accused of bringing disaster upon
/ the native community,
: This company Ike the other rubber
/ companies. employs "A number of, forest
B the gathering of rubber. to see that the
natives perform the work properly and
! to take care that the vines are not in
! iured. The consul endeavors. without
I justification, to represent them as
agents Of oppression. His prejudice in
the matter may be seen in his attempt
10 give the impression that there are
; d great number of these sentries be
cause he had seen a gun marked Depot
221O' This Is a somewhat hasty deduc-
/ ton. for the mark in question is not
used either by the state or by the COM
{ pany, but seems 20 be merely the mark
! Of the factory in which the gun was
made.
The Brussels note refutes all the
! points Of the British eonsul's report,
and is a most convincing testimony 20
/ the humanitarian work which King
/ Leopold has accomplished in Africa