Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-03-12
ALLEGES CRUELTIES
GEN. JoUBERT-PIENEAR AR
RAIGNs PORTUGAL.

| Women in evening dress and sparkling
with Jewels assembled last evening at the
METROPOLITAN M. E. Church. to attend the
third session of the international congress
of mothers and to listen to an address by
Gen. Joubert-Pienear. Premier of Angola,
Africa. himself a French Huguenot-Boer.
The generals indictment of the Portu-
guese. French, German and English gov
ernments for the crueltles permitted III
the Kongo country was a recital of hor-
rors so wildly portrayed that many
women left the hall, overcome by the
story of the alleged cruelties. He de-
clared that he spoke of only what he
saw. and that his indictment of the coun-
tries mentioned was of those to whom he
pealed-men who had the right and
power to act and who refused to do so.
The church was brilliantly decorated with
flags of all nations, two large American
enlblems being hung high over all 6boVe
the pulpit. There We're quantities OF
flowers upon the platform and tables.
With a few words of introduction the
national president of the congress. Mrs.
Frederick Schoff, presented Gen. Joubert.
who with no preliminaries. plunged at
once into the heart Of the thing that most
concerned him, the atrocities committed
under the Alag of Portugal.
II indict the Portuguese government as
a slave owner and a slave trader he de-
clared. II charge Portugal with some OF
the most-brutal outrages ever perpetrated
upon helpless people by supposedly
civilized nation, and l stand on this plat
form prepared to substantiate every word
that l UTTER
Gen. Joubert looked as though he might
fight q whole regiment in support of his
indictment. He is over six feet tall, pro-
portioned for heavyweight fighting, and
was known as 1.-The Bull in the Boer
war. because, it was stated. he whipped
everything he could reach and was never
captured or subdued
Gen. Joubert-Pienear's Theme.
Children in Africa was what he was
to talk about. and he never got very far
away from the subject, but his entire
speech was bitter arraignment of the
Portuguese government for their treat
ment of the slave children.
Gen. Joubert paid his compliments to the
Portuguese after the following fashion:
/ 1.-The Portuguese minister to the United
States may try. as he has done in the
past to convince the public that 1 am
lying. but l ask you in all good faith
how l. private citizen, would dare to
make the statements that L shall make
If / were not fully prepared to establish,
by documentary evidence, everything
shall say?
1.-The Portuguese government claims
that it maintains in its African posses
sions an indentureG system of labor: this
term is a bald misstatement of fact;-it is
a slave trade. The ignorant natives. who
are driven in hordes from the interior to
the coast to be Sold as slaves in the Por-
tuguese islands off West Africa, do not
understand word that is said to them
when they agree to take service in the
islands for two, three or five years. The
native Interpreter tells them to answer in
the affirmative the questions which are
asked, and they do SO.
I'm all the fifty years that this system
has been maintained not one man or one
woman has ever returned alive from the
islands. / have defied the Portuguese
government to produce five men and
women who have come back to the MAIN
land from the service in the islands, but
the authorities have never been able to
produce one. From this bondage worse
than death. death has never failed to re-
lease these wretched creatures
How Slaves Are Obtained.
Gen. Joubert-P ienear told that the slaves