The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-01-14
APPEAL ID BOTH THE
 PRESIDENT AND KING
CONGO CONFERENCE OF AMERI. CAN AND CANADIAN MS
 SIONS BOARD.

Earnestly Petition Roosevelt and Ed-
 ward VII. on Behalf of the Stricken
 People of the Congo State and in the Name of Humanity-Reauest poip+ed Ont as Obviously Fair to All Interests.
 Since 1t Asks Only for Impartial | Action.
 Philadelphia, Jan. 13At meeting of the conference of the Foreign Mis- sion board of the United States and Canada held in this city on Saturday, it was unanimously agreed to forward to President Roosevelt, the United State senate and King Edward, an ap- peal on behalf of the stricken people of the Congo state. The appeal fol- | lows:
 ITO the President and the Senate of
 the United States and to His Maies-
 ty King Edward VII:
 "The conference of the Foreign Mis- sions board of the United States and the Daminion of Canada would most respectfully and earnestly bring to you an appeal on behalf of the stricken people of the Congo state. We do. this in the name of forty missionary orgarl- izations, whose work is prosecuted in all sections of the world. and we are | persuaded that the petition interprets ! faithfully the sentiment of their con- | stitueney of upwards of 20,000,00O of 1 Christian men and women. We are not | forgetful that recognition has been given by both governments to interna- tional duty in relation to this unhappy 1 people. It is a source of keen satisfac- tion to us that our governments are united in leadership in work affect- | ing international honor. But we arc reminded by the recurrence of our an- l nual meeting that weeks and months are passing by while the heavy bur l den of wrong continues to rest with l crushing weight upon the Congo peo- l pie, and we recognize with profound regret that the first definite step to- I ward just international action has not yet been taken
 "We speak with deep conviction con- 8E Ecerning this issue, because we are in timately associated with many resi- \ dents of the Congo state by when Ssss conditions to which we refer have been disclosed. We are constrained to- | accept their testimony; we know that I the earth does not hold men of more sensitive honor or more self-sacriticing devotion, But you will not need to ba reminded that other testimony than ours has been given to the character 1 and the credibility of thes ewitnesges. A commission selected by King Leo- l pold himself has said to them and of their fellow missionaries in the Congo state that they constitute for the na- tive the sole representative of equity and justice Of heir testimony. dread ful as it has been, the commission has declared that they found 1t to be sup ported by multitude of witnesses and established by a mass of evidence and official reports
 sThe request which we like the great company of petitioners of both I governments outside our constituency are urging. is obviously fair to all in- terests, since it asks only for such i'm partial action as shall give authorita- tive revelation of actual facts and i'm sure correction of such wrongs as shall be disclosed. We submit that the siln- pie issue thus presented involves primary test of national and interna-
 tional honor, and that longer withhold ing of manifestation of this measure of international concern for these
 wards of the national would leave up-. on all powers responsible for it last-
 ing reproach.
 eve would earnestly urge that no
 device of the ruler of the Congo state
 shall be allowed to cloud the issue of international responsibility for in1nle- diate ascertainment of conditions and correction of wrongs The issue. as.
 you are well aware, is not of motive e but of fact, and the duty of guardian ship binding the powers to protection
 of the people of the territory of the Congo basis is independent of political relations. Moreover, we would respect- fully urge our conviction that if the | his trust, except by international sanc-
 ton. If the converting of an interna-
 tional conference was important fp the
 opening of the Congo territory 1t
 would seem that conference for re-
 view of the issue in all it's phases is indispensable for wise and just deal
 inG now,
 'In the name of humanity, of inter- national justice, of regard for the
 primal rights of man, we would ask that you will use the full power re- posed in the governments by the SUI preme ruler, in the interest of an im- mediate discharge by the nations of , their responsibility of guardianship over the remnant of the humble people who a generation ago, without choice
 of their own, were brought out their
 isolation into relations with the world
 of men and states"