Omaha daily bee., 1910-03-16

Great interest viii be manifested IN the
Forthcoming report 20 congress Of the COM
mission appointed to inquire into the af-
fairs OF the little negro republic OF Liberia.
situated on the west coast OF Africa. Started
as a haven Of refuge for the negroes found
on the captured slave-trading vessels in
the days OF James Monroe. II nourishcd
under a sort OF tacit protectorate OF the
United Stated until 1877. when Il was recog-
nized formally as a republic. Since then II
has eked out an existence as a nation. all
the while beset with trials within and trib-
u~lations from without.
When the English colony OF Sierra Leone
on the one side. and the French Ivory
Coast colony on the other. Liberals ina
bility to maintain the mastery 'over It's
native tribes has been made the excuse
for much territorial ACKNOWLEDGMENT on the
part Of England and France. Added to
this has been its inability to collect taxes
from the native tribes within its dominion.
There also has been trouble about the IL
nances Of the country. English FIRMS
loaned Liberia t5O0.OOO at one time. and a
similar amount at a more recent date. The
latter, however, was loaned upon the ex-
press condition that English officers should
have charge Of the Liberian custom house.
Later England Insisted upon having her
officers omman the Liberisn troops.
France also made many demands upon
the little republic taking the position that
all OF its territory which It could not ef-
fectivSy control was fairly subject to
French jurisdiction. Owing to this condi-
tlon of affairs Liberia concluded that its
further existence as a nation was in Jeop-
ardy, and tina its salvation depended
tunnU ~ = - Q III = - - -
1t sent a commission to the United states
to enlist this governments aid. 1t
asked that Uncle Sam go on It's bond. so to
speak, and guarantee it's territorial and
political integrity. Secretary Root immed-
lately put his diplomatic foot on such a
request, but wrote n letter to the president
asking him to urge the appointment by
congress OF a commission to investigate
Liberals troubles. The president did so.
and funds were voted for the expenses Of
this inquiry. A flrst-hand Investigation
was made, and the report thereon is now
in preparation.
The situation in which Liberia finds Itself
is peculiar in many Ways. 1t Is the only
negro republic in the world. Its territory
equals in extent that of Pennsylvania.
Only the small portion fronting on the sea-
board has had the slightest development,
the remainder being an untamed tropical
jungle, peopled by savage and semi-savage
tribes who refuse to be taxed or in any
other way to acknowledge the yoke OF
Liberia. These tribes consist OF about
100000 people, while civilized Liberia
boasts OF only 5000 Inhabitants.
While It might be made a veritable Eden
of plenty, no part of this little republic is
developed to even a small percentage Of
its possibilities. Nearly every tropical tree
and plant that grows will thrive on
Liberian soil. Coffee, rice, cotton, bananas,
p~ineapples, oranges and other staple tropical
and semi-tropical crops grow luxuriantly
where properly cared for. But the natives
have little taste for agriculture and the
civilized element has less.
But far worse for Liberals Industrial
outlook than the disposition OF it's people
to shlrk work, Is the law declaring that
no white man can own property. The re-
suit has been that the white mans capital
has not been forthcoming for the develop
ment of the latent resources of the country.
Instead of railroads. saw. mills and. other
wealth-producing enterprises, Liberia has
blazed trails and their usual ~accompani-
ments. Time after time the intelligent ele-
ment in the government has attempted to
repeal this law, but never with success.
If the civilized population has a prejudice
against the whites, It Is as nothing com
pared with their prejudice against the
native tribes. These are referred to as
those sinking bushmen and other no
less elegant terms. The natives return this
contempt with compound interest.
With the native tribes resisting the right
of the government, to tax them, and the
civilized Liberians accommodating little
property upon which assessments can be
made, Liberia takes recourse to import and
export taxes for the support Of the gov
eminent. This amounts to from u to "a
per cent, depending upon the commodity
taxed. The export tax has a tendency to
stifle what little inclination toward agri-
culture there is in the people.
Opinions differ as to the present status
Of the civilized population OF Liberia. Some
writer's declare that they are progressive
and show a high state of public morals.
On th9 other hand, such authorities as
Bishop HartzeIl, head OF the Methodist
church I'm Africa, and Miss Mahoney, a
missionary who has spent years among
them, declares that the civilized Liberisn
is not what he once was. Bishop Hartzell
says that polygamy is being preached and