Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1909-07-16
LIBERIA.
Something About the Self Governing
Negro Colony In Africa.

Something About the Self Governing
Negro Colony In Africa.
That the British colony Of Sierra
Leone, on the west coast Of Africa, ha:
apparently appropriated some 300 squar'
miles Of Liberals territory, by arbi'
trarily assuming political control ovel
the country to a point twenty-five
miles within the boundary line estab
lished by the Anglo-Liber delimita-
tion Of 1903, is not likely to lead tt
anything more than a brief local un'
pleasantness during the readjustment
The French colony to the east, known
as the Ivory coast, and that to tht
north, known as French Guinea, have
striven from time to time to establish
kind Of squatters' right to portions o.
Liberian territory, and many student:
of political geography believe that a.
no distant day the little negro repub.
lie, which was established originally
as an asylum Of refuge for freed Amer.
lean slaves, Is destined to be COM
pletely absorbed by either or both Of
it's powerful neighbors.
Liberia has enjoyed the status Of q
sovereign state since 1847, when Its
independence was formally recognized
by England, France and Prussia. The
habitable region Of the country is a
strip from ten to forty miles wide along
the slightly indented shore line Of 35(
miles. The interior (hinterland) is to-
day the widest and least visited por-
ton of Africa, with thicker jungle and
forest than Is known to exist anywhere
else upon the continent. Liberia has
no harbors, and at the mouth Of each
Of it's rivers is a sandbar which pre-
vents the access Of vessels of any con-
siderable draught. Monrovia, the cap
ital, named in honor Of President Mon
roe, which Is reached in ten days from
Liverpool by monthly and bi-weekly
steamers travelling thirteen knots an
hour, might by means Of break waters
be made fairly satisfactory port of
entry.
The governing class in Liberia con-
sists of some $4,000 quasi-American
negroes and mulattos, with whom are
affiliated about 10000 native born and
native bred "civilized" Liberians. The
wilder tribes of the interior, it is esti-
mated, include about 100000 descend
ants of the aborigines. The America
Liberian settlers keep to the seacoast
and the mouths of the two most i'm
portant rivers.
The rainfall averages about 100
inches per annum philadelphia Al,
Pittsburg 36-the average rainfall of
the globe being the same as the fig
ures for Pittsburg, while the wettest
place on earth, in southwestern Assam,
has a rainfall Of 610 inches.) The
rainy season begins in May, ending in
November. The hottest month Of the
year Is December and the coolest Is
August. The temperature sometimes
drops to Sc deg. and sometimes goes
as high as los deg, but as rule the
range is between IS deg. at night and
100 deg. at noon.
The American commission which has
just visited Liberia to report upon coll
ditions there is headed by Philadel-
phian, DR.. Roland Post Falkner. DR..
Falkner obtained his early education
in the public schools Of this city, was
graduated from the university Of Penn
sylvania in 1885, and was from 1891 to
1900 an associate professor in the
Wharton School Of Finance and Com
merce.-Philadelphia Public Ledger.