The San Francisco call., 1909-08-09
RECITES CONGO
ATROCITIES OF
KING LEOPOLD.
Missionary Relates Personal
Experiences in Refutation
Of koWalsky's Defense

SPEAKS IN 1aYor or King Leopold OF
Belgium, and says that the ''missiona-
ries have been unjust
Now. would not have it understood
that I think the brave colonel would
tell lie, but. rather. that he. as we'll
paid lawyer might do in defending
criminal in court, has set facts aside
TO make the best OF his defendant, his
client
He writes of the pawning of his
majesty's jewels as a grand thing, but
there might easily be found another
view OF the case by looking into the
subsequent family history of the man.
Will the colonel prove that Leopold is
a moral man because OF the ehu.ch he
has built in connection with his palace?
This would be of the same value as to
prove his greatness because he says
his family Jewels were pawned to en-
able him to carry out his Congo plans.
Regarding jewels, Belgian and French
papers have called those worn by King
jewels" They state the gems are the
pure thing" but no such term has been
used TO describe the females who wore
them. Some time ago 1 read in a Bel
'gian paper, over the name of one of
their eminent pariiamentarians, scath-
ing letter. in which 1t was stated as the
writer's opinion that it could not have
been the design of those who, with the
king, signed the treaties of Berlin or
Brussels that Leopold should by wide-
spread oppression and b1oodshed wiring
money out of the heart of Africa with
which to build palace for the suitana
of his female associates. "a more def
mite term was used by the Belgian
writer to describe the women)
The colonel does not run much risk in
attacking the missionaries" AS rule,
they don't strike back, so no courage
is required to fight against them. But
can the colonel show that they have
made false attacks on the government
of King Leopold?
While dwelling in the Congo, within
reach of its magistrates, the missiona-
rfes openly declared that evil things
were going on in the rubber regions of
the country. Every such statement was
denied by Leopold's press, but the re-
ports were all true. King Leopold's
own commission of inquiry" after it's
exhaustive investigation on the field,
did not contradict even one of the state
ments we had made. The American con-
sui generals report, the reports of the
English and Italian consuls, have all
borne testimony against the laws and
rubber regime on the Congo. and they
support our evidence.
In my opinion, the paid lawyer colonel
never was on the upper Congo, but such
men as Richard Harding Davis, Glave,
visited the country have written as we
did. Has the colonel read what Doctor
Halsey of New York wrote, after his
journey to the Congo? Has he read
La Question Congoloise" written by a
Belgian Roman Catholic, d. D.? Hon.
Eiihu Root, one of Americas greatest
men, while secretary of state examined
the evidence supplied by both parties
and he was satisfied we were hon.
est-hence the action taken by our
government. No doubt the colonel has
scanned the book written for the king
by the man who was once his friend
and for whom the colonel did a good
deal; but he knows that wack is an
other paid witness.
Let me add I have seen dead bodies
of people shot by King Leopoids black,
and by his white soldiers, too. 1 have
seen even women who had been most
cruelty treated and even numerically
fiogged on the bare back with hippo
hide whips. L have before me photo
graphs OF five people-four of whom I
knew personaliy-who each had hand
cut off by Leopold's agents, all because
their district had not brought enough
labor tax to the local white officer. 1
have seen the women working as hos
tages chsined by the neck to strange
men--night and day so chained-untii
their husbands or friends should bring
the rubber to secure their release. On
one occasion I saw two baskets of
human hands-hands of men, of women,
of infants-being carried to the white
officer and magistrate OF my district as
proof that the soldiers had carried out
the orders given them. The same men
had baton with about 15 (ffteen)
hands tied to it. Three days after
ward we recovered from the forest one
child minus a hand-one who by Leo
pold's soldiers had been thus mutilated
and left to die. She had been there
three days alone with her dead mother
and two dead children, her own
brothers.
could give you other stories of
what we have actually seen, but they
are not necessary.
IL t~fa