The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1907-01-06
Colonization Schemes Scored
Lootng and Slavery Throughout Dark Continent

E-N his lecture Friday night before the
National Geographic Society, DR.
Louis Livingston Seaman, Of New
Is York, described what he had seen in
recent travels in Africa Of the cruel
ties being practced on the natives
by various European governments.
1T Is well, said DIR. Seaman,
that the world should understand that
Leopold has no monopoly Of barbarism
in Africa All the Christian nations OF
Europe. with the exception Of Russia,
Switzerland and few minor powers, are
at present engaged in the so-called col
onization' of the Dark Continent
An awakening to the enormity of the
crimes that have been, and still are, be-
ing committed throughout the Dark Con
tinent in the name of colonization has
come. The Brltons are butchering the
Zulus, the French are sIaugbtering the
natives Of the Niger country and Of Mad
agascar. the Kaiser is conducting his
brutal wars against the Somali and the
Hereras. and the Belgian King is not
the only Christian ruler deserving the
exeCration Of lovers of their felIow-men.
a petition has just been made TO our
Secretary Of State signed by many lead
ing American citizens. in which the
United States government is urged to use
its influence 10 stop the brutal and In
human abuses perpetrated ia the Congo
states
1T is TO be remembered that the charges
are not brought by irresponsible persons
against the Congo government, but the
findings Of commission Of three persons
at the suggestion Of the British
foreign Office by the chief executive of the
Congo State 10 investigate and report on
the facts. The commissioners selected
were NJ. Edouard Jannsens. advocate gen
eral Of the Court Of Cessation; Baron Ms
co. an Italian subject, president al inter
i'm Of the Congo Court Of Appeal at Bona,
and Or. Schumacher, chief Of the judicial
department of the Canton of LUcerne
Instead Of adopting forthwith the conclu-
sions OF this commission. which have laid
bare the facts. King Leopold appointed a
new commission, 10 study the conclusions
reached by the commission Of inquiry and
10 formulate proposals for giving effect
to them.
Not Only in Congo.
"Of the fourteen members OF the new
commission, two were connected with tbs
exploiting corporations. whose abuses had
been most strongly denounced by the
commission Of inquiry, and seven Others
were officials Of the Congo State A mem
Der Of the Belgian Chamber Of Deputies
pointed out at the time that il was ex-
actly as If one should cali in slave traders
10 a conference to abolish the slave trade
Yet even this packed commission failed "a
perform the whitewashing services which
King Leopold had expected of ii.
The outcome OF eight months labor on
the part OF this second commission. sigITed
by only tnree out of the fourteen mem
bers. in which few minor changes were
recommended. was embodied in an accom-
panving decree. Not one of the important
reforms urged by the original commission
OF inquiry was adopted In other words,
there is no prospect Of any serious re-
form in the conditions Of the Congo State
under the present royal administration
II have recently returned from wit
Messing scenes Of such revolving horror
in German East Africa that 1 doubt
whether anything perpetrated in the
Congo State. and described in the in
dictment framed by Leopold's commits
sion Of inquiry. could surpass them. In
many of the towns ] visited were eN-
ampics Of official murder licensed plum
der. and unrestrained Darbarity. These
were committed in the name and undel
the guise Of civilization by colonization
In old semI-African, semi-Arabian towns
on or near the east coast, 1 saw instances
Of the methods Of German civilization
that should be branded in every country
where humanity has an abiding place
and should cali forth a cry Of protest
thar should force the great Teutonic ma
ton TO put an end 90 its monstrous acts
of cruelty, and compel 1t TO restore the
rights Of human nature 70 the unhappy
victims of its tyranny.
Native Point of View.
For a moment let US consider the sit
uation from the natives point Of view
as it existed before Germans assertion
of a sphere Of influence or protectorate
Here in a land that might almost b,
termed a terra incognita, he had lived fol
thousands of years. free and untram-
meled- Under the mango or the palm
he had built his home, while the ba.
mana, the plantain, the bread-fruit, the
cocoanut, the papaya, the orange. ant
other tropic fruits-with fish and game
found liz abundance, furnished all the
D. civ
dered physical labor needless. His undis.
ciplined nature rebelIed against organized
laws, and the customs Of crude com
munism prevailed among a people. al
of whom lived on terms approaching
equality In times Of peace and plenty
all reveled in the abundance; when hard,
ships came, all suffered alike But, be.
hold! a great light had dawned uoon tn,
earth; d new era. that of the sphere
of influence the prOtectorate. and thC
chartered company.
The black mans hour Of delivery was
at hand. With Krupp and Maxim. jam
box and model IL. his profeSsed saviors
entered the Dark Continent. and. under
the banners of progress and civiliza.
ton, bombarded his kraals invaded his
primeval forests. slaughtered his game
murdered or imprisoned his brethren
scattered his household. wasted his fields
destroyed his stores. confisCated and mai
treated his women, and looted his stock
of worries, valuable gums, and other ven
dahle commodities. When resistance witt
bows and arrows or with assagais proved
useless, and the native was forced t.
submission, burdensome taxes We're i'm
posed, which he found impossible to pay
This, too, of course. without his having
any representation IN the imperial ad-
ministration. that was enacting the Yaws
which he was expected 70 obey His
lands, except the little holding on which
his hut was buile or which was actually
I'm cultivation, was sequestrated to the
state, and. if for any reason he failed
to till a field for q period of two wears