Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-11
CONGO FREE STATE CONTROVERSY

Tho newspapers and reviews Of Great
Britain are greatly occupied with the at
fairs Of the Congo. and .
| ok1sn violent campaign has been
Agitation. maintained. not only against
| tho state itseR. but against
Leopold II. King OF Belgium. who 10 also
the head Of the Congo Free State. The
| "atrocities'' committed in the Congo, It II
charged. are due In great measure to the
enforced labor. In the difnculk exploitation
and export OF rubber.
| The National Review for October con-
tains an article Of unusual violence entit-
led: King Lsopoi6 ana the Congo" The
| author conceals his identity under the
| pseudonym OF ''8crutator."
| To show the metamorphosis In King Leo
| pold Scrutator places In juxtaposftion
what sar Edward Malet said OF the king
in 1885. and what Lord Lansdowns thinks
| OF him In 1905.
Great Britain at the Berlin conference.
said: For many years King Leopold II,
inspired by a purely philanthropio Idea. has
spared neither personal efforts nor pecu-
| mary sacrifices In the achievement OF his
purpose In doing homage to his majesty
by recognising the obstacles which he has
| overcome, we greet the newborn Congo
State with the warmest cordially and q
l
! under It's aegis."
| In 1906 Lord Lansdowne in the house OF
lords said: "Our right is perfectly clear.
but may add. quite irrespective OF any
| right we enjoy under the letter OF the
| acts (Berlin) we have a moral right to in
| terfere which comes to us in consequence
| pretenses under which the Congo State has
acquired Its privileged position IN that part
| Of Africa.
! Now when a distinguished British Of
6n{o A~fa IrAo IN v.DI,
| to talk of the moral rights Of his country,
! there Is an Involuntary disposition on the
! part Of some people to look under the bed,
The Public Ledger of Philadelphia. Oc-
tober 2e. 1908. suggests the identity OF the
| intruder thus:
''The acquisition by Great Britain of the
Congo State would not only join her sep
arate domains. but would give her an i'm
| mense territory OF the most wonderful
wealth. Not only so, but It would open to
let to the sea down the Congo and give
even the Transvaal a chance Of trading with
! England through a port on that great river,
saving 1000 miles of the sea voyage to Lon
dom"
Is this the milk in the Congo eocoanut?
Mr.. E. D. Morel has been particularly
| bitter in his criticisms Of the Congo State.
| and recently In the Speak
Is the Congo er he asked: What is the
| "Statenp Congo State? In no sense
! state. No civilized
mower Is responsible for the Congo State.
| It is an institution existing for the pill
| laee the systematic, calculated, cynical
| pilIage of a vast portion of the African
tropics" e.
| a state. An international geographical con-
ference assembled in Brussels September.
| 1876, under the presidency OF Leopold L.
The object of that assembly was to organ
ize an international plan for the exploration
| a committee into the International Associa-
| ton Of the Congo, and the United states
government, April ". 1854. having aecloeo
/ that the cessions by the native chiefs were
lawful. recognized the association as SOW
| ereign Independent state under the title OF
the Congo Free State. This example was
| followed by Austria Hungary. France. Ger
many, England. Italy, Netherlands fortu-
| gal Russia Spain and Sweden.
| The international conference on AFRICAN
affairs which met at Berlin. 1Ss4-S5. de-
| termined the status OF the Congo Free
State. BY the act OF the conference s sisneS
neutral and open to the trade OF all ma
J tons. the powers reserving Tor twenty
years the right to decide as to the taxation
| of imports; the navigation or the congo
/ and its affluents was to be free under the
| subdivision of an international commission
| religious freedom and equality OF treat,
ment of all settlers were guaranteed. and
| war was declared upon the slave trade
In 1889 Leopold II bequeathsd his SOW
ereien rights to Belgium In 1890 the ter
| ritories were declared inalienable with the
| right of annexation after ten years, ano
| this right was continued under an act OF
| August 10, 1891.
| The Congo State has access to the Nile
at the Lado enclave, the river forming the
| eastern boundary. Lado was
Access to established by Gen. Gordon
| fhe Nila when governor general Of the
| equatorial provinces under
| Ishmael Khedive In 1875.
Since 1903 the wonderful development OF
| the Congo Free State under the inspiration
| of the King of Belgium has excited the GU
| pfdity of certain interests. Petitions were
! addressed to the United States Congress
| asking its interference to stop the "atroc'
tiles" committed In the Congo State. A me-
mortal was likewise addressed to President
Roosevelt. The president OF the Fedora
| alton for the Defense of Belgian Interests
| Abroad" a commercial society. numbering
over $1,000 adherents, replied in part:
"Belgians recall with pleasure and with
pride the fact that the government OF the
United States was the first great nation te
recognize tho flag of the International AS
| ISOLATION OF the Congo as that Of an indie.
| pendent state. The principles OF the Congo
government are devoted to progress. The
Congo law relating to property Is in con-
sonance with the law of the worlds great
est nations. The great success which has
been attained by the Congo government fol
the betterment of its native inhabitants
| by the operation of this law and the order
! which exists hereunder has excited the
| envy and the avarice of those whose ute
| rior motive Is being cloaked in the garb OF
humanitarianism and questionable philan-
| thropy
1T has been the pleasure Of our beloved
King Leopold II. sovereign of the Congo
| Free State. to appoint a commission COM
posed Of eminent men to undertake with
| the utmost freedom a judicial investiga-
ton. upon all and singular the vague
charges from time to time used by the pro-
moters of the Congo Reform Association II