The advocate. [volume] (Charleston, W. Va.) 1901-1913, 1907-07-11
Status of The Congo Situation.
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Today t6ese8ngo Situation has
reached sts cstais; it has DEVELOPED
to a point .NhSse reforms can either
De assured. soE, rendered practically
impossible,S3 49, ~, *r>~ ~ 4.
IN bei9lMM Itself the demand for
reforms fnstASC Congo has become too
strong to basaisregarded~ by Leopold.
ne aoVancA1hS Belgium public and
parnamentarY4op opinion was due lar
seiy 70 the publication, last spring,
OF Two powerful and trustworthy
! DOCKS condamning the Congo regime
one by, Professor Fehcien CattIer, Of
the uniVaSstty$, of Brussels. the re-
cognized first authority ON matters
or Congo adminiStr the other
by Father AEt6nr Verseersch, a Bel
gum 4esuitSspriest. Professor Cat
/ tler book Ia primarily an expose
or congo financicS and shows that
Dy system or commercial exploita-
ton Leopold shas taken from the
Free State vast sums-$14, OO0, 900
from the soScAlled Grown Domain
alone-whichs5He has expended ac-
cording to hGSpleasure, but entirely
| without application to the welfare
| or the Congo natives. Says Profess
or Gather: THE king has thought
nlmself entitled to dispose Of the
Congolese treasury as though he
owned 1t. He has thought himself
entitled to apply the resources of the
Congo to the most diverse uses, the
most remote from all colonial util-
lty; the native population
has been oppressed. abused, decimat-
ed; Such proceedings may be justi-
nable in the strict law, since absolu-
tism IS above Jaw. but public moral
| ity condemns thcm." Father Yer
meersch offers further testimony
concerning financial scandal in the
Free State, but his book lis essenti-
ally a condemnation of the underly-
ing system ofsDppression and a SYM
pathetic plea for the natives. "The
spectacle OF an unreasonable mis-
cry has caused me to publish this
book" he says What is especially
significant in@his case is that he Is
Roman Catholic priest-a fact
which should stop the mouths of
those who are trying to brand the
Congo RefoSm Movement as anti
| Catholic in~ motive. The publica-
ton of these books created a trem-
| cndous stir I'm Belgium. Soon after
wards five days debate took place
| IN the Belgian, House of Represent
! tatlves, in the course of which men,
bcrs from all the political divisions
voiced the demand for reform.
| Though Leopold influence prevent
ed this debate from. bearing immed-
| late fruit In Legislative action, he
| could not stay the vigorous move
| ment Of protest which had develop-
ed. There was ii tacit understand
ing that the parliamentary debate
would be resumed in the fall.
Meanwhile, The British govern
ment had been bringing further
| pressure to bear on Leopold, partic-
[ ularly by urging the publication of
| the report of the so-called Reforms
| Commission Cappointed to study the
| Commission of4nquiry's Report, and
| draw up de anaesj recomme ndations)
and by 'reas5Srtifig Great Britain s
| inslstence onHtaie terms OF the Ber-
lin Act. Also two British consular
| officers were dispatched into the
Congo to get further evidence as to
conditions. r.
In the United States the govern
ment has recognized the popular de-
mand by appointing a Consul-Gen-
eral to the Free State, where for
years, owing to-: the lack of trade in
terests, this country had not been
officially represented. 1t was un-
| derstO0d that the appointee's first
task would to report on the Sit
| uatlon, and it was no rash assump
! ton to believe that the appointment
was formality preliminary to more
| active measures. ."''
Leopold Makes "a" Show of Reform.
such was the status of affairs out
side the CongoJ Leopold, on his
| G oil M L
| to bear from these several points
had issued, in June, a number OF
Edicts, purporting to embody the re-
forms demanded To those who
| still hoped for real reforms from
him these edicts came as a bitter
disappointment, and z final disllus,
tonment. They are merely pallia-
tive, and but slightly at that. The
American press unanimously brand
ed them as clearly inadequate and
apparently insincere. They were
seen to leave practically untouch ed
the fundamental eVils-appropriatior
OF land and produce, the excessive
labor tax, the sentry system. In
the matter Of land they gave the
local officials permission to turn over
to the natives three times the
amount Of land occupied at present
Since the natives have now only
their hut spaces, three times this
amount will profit them little More.
over, there is no evidence as yet that
even this paltry allowance has &C.
tually been granted, not ON paper
but in square feet OF soil. AS fol
the labor tax, the law of forty hours
per month is reiterated, as it has
been before, often, but without prac.
t1cal benefit as the commission point
ed out. The sentry system is quail
fled only by a dubious restriction as
to the kind Of guns to be carried
And finally the enforcement of these
necessary measufeS Is left to the