The Montgomery advertiser., 1909-10-13
ENGLAND IS
 BEATING GERMANY
Forum.

rOrum.
 The British investments in East Af- rica, outside the cost of the Uganda Railway. have not been heavy. while
 the revenue has been steadily ap- preaching the expenseA In 1902 the expenditures were 312,000 pounds and the revenue 95,000 pounds. but in 1907 the money paid out reached 7s2.00o pounds, while the. income
 squaled 54s.oo0 pounds--from less
 than one-third to more than three fourthB of the expense.
 The railway is now the outlet for
 the trade of the eastern portion of the Congo Free State; the German terri tory about Lake Nyanza and Uganda. Steamers run from Khartum to Condo
 koro. on the Nile. and the railway of South Africa is approaching Lake Tan4anyika. When regular and ade- quate connection has been establish ed between these centers a rapid de- velopments of the country and it's
 commerce can confidently be predict
 cd.
 Of East Africa Great Britain holds the best and most promising portion. Italian Sornaliland. although compris- ing some 100000 square miles and ad-
 ministered directly by government of-
 hcials since 1905. is still in a wild and undeveloped condition. The soil
 is poor. and the country thinly set
 tied. with a forbidding coast line and not q harbor worthy of the name. It 1t is difficult to imagine how any
 thing worth while can be made out Of such an unprOmising district.
 German East Africa. with an area of 2s4,000 square miles, has a long
 CT coast line, but 1t lacks the fertili- ty and good natural harbors of the
 British sphere. The best routes to the interior-those of the Uganda Railway and the Jambesi River--lis either side of the German possessions. Yet the imperial government has ex- pended large sums on the protectorate, and this despite the fact that the an- nual revenues at any time have hard ly exceeded 1b0.000 pounds By 1901 61S.0o0 pounds had been paid out. in addition to the annual subsidies which reached 4s4,0o pounds in 1S0s-09 (ap- proximatsly). A fine herbor has been
 created at Daros-SalaAm. and an ex-
 callent city laid out there, with im~ posing government buildings, substan- tial residences and splendid hosDi- tai.
 Railroads have ben extended q hun dred miles into the interior. and trade
 routes established across the protectO-
 rate. Eight public schools have been opened for the natives. in addition t0 those conducted at the natssicpa. Large subsidies h&vs been paid to ship companies to cultivate the trade of
 the region.
 Yet the total exports and imports in 1908 were only &S,5e4. .00o. whtia
 those of British East Africa end Uganda had reached $s.Ooo.o0 And this is relatively insignificant whoa one remembers that GeFuaeny's traao in the saIna year with her smallest European neighbor-- Portugal - was
 just doubls the coEnmSPcs of German East Africa.
 The chief exports of East Africa are ivory, oopra, hides. rubber and grain. together with fair ernount of coffee. cocoa, sasar and cotton The plan ters have had great hopes in their grain crop since the opening Of tho railway has eheapened transportation. but recent experience gives little | promise of subst&ntia1 prOnt from this source at present. The chief hope of i inc country eems to Dc h raising l cotton. which can readily be raised | there in large ouantftieA
 Hnst Africa has large areas of ster- He territory. and some very ~nnealtny | districts. but there is pienty of good land in the uplands ox ehe East Afri- | can protectorate and on the plateaua | of Uganda, where Europeans can live In safety and comparative comfort | The soil of Uganda is very fertile. ana
 parts of East Africa most promising. but it is not e poor mans land Only | colonists with 6 fair capital and an
 contemplating spirit should venture in- to the country.