The sun., 1912-07-07
on THE UPPER AMAZON
Women and Mere Babies Not
Spared When They Fail to
Collect Enough Sap.
l.. S. PROTESTS TO PERI
Spurs That Government tO
Launch lnvestigatiOn-Reli.
giOuS Mission to Help.


LONDON. July 6.--No scandal for
many years has attracted so much at
tention in phianthropic and diplomatic
circles in this country as the Putumayo
atrocities. They have been at last fully
revealed to the public by the report Of
Sir Roger Easement. II. NJ. Con-
sul-General at Rio de Janeiro since
1909. who was sent by the British Gov
ernment to the Amazon district of
South America to investigate certain
terrible stories which had leaked out AZ
to the way In which an English rubber
company employing British subjects.
negroes from Barbados. had been carry
ing out the work Of collecting rubber.
The detailed report was made public
to-day.
Sir Roger Easement Is . man Of
very great experience. having acted as
Consul both In Portugal and Brazil at
different periods Of his life. II was he
who specially Investigated for the Brit
ish Government the alleged rubber col
lecting atrocities In the Congo a few
years ago. He was selected for the
present mission because the authorities
had ample confidence in his Judgment.
He left England in the middle Of
1910. He was accompanied to tho
spot by three representatives form
ing specia. commission despatched by
the company whose methods had been
impeached the Peruvian Amazon Com
pany. The three gentlemen we're Messrs.
Louis H. Barnes. II. l.. GielRud and H.
". Fox They took no actual part In
the investigation beyond being present
when the witnesses were heard. but
they put every facility in the way Of
investigation.
PERI poDCES IsstH.
on the other hand no real assistance
! was forthcoming from the Peruvian
Government. who though sympathetic
had no actual authority. and whose
representatives always seemed to keep
out OF the way. possibly through fear.
The hearing of the witnesses. which
took place in nearly every case on tho
spot. lasted from August ?8, 1910. 10
December 3. 1910. and Sir Roger Case
ment's report. which was dated Lon
don. March II. 1911. was based not
, only on what he thus learned but on
the actual observation Of his own eyes,
II should be said that the witnesses gave
their statements with a good deal OF
apprehension and under considerable
pressure. as they were narrating not
only their own misdeeds but those Of
their immediate employers. OF whom the
worst seem to have been two men
called Fonscca and Normand II may
he added that the directors Of the Peru
Wan Amazon Company, which Is thus
so much involved. are II. NJ. Read.
Sir John Lister Kaye. Bart, !. r.
Gubbins, Baron dc Sousa Dero Senor
!. G. Arana. Senor A. Alarco and r.
! f. Medina.
A narrative Of the circumstances which
have led up TO the present situation n
necessary to understand the whole Ques-
s.on.
DISTRICT ISOLATED.
The terrii ory OF Putumayo lies on the
.orth bank Of the Amazon River. w~k
J W, IN tne HlGneV ItdCHeS, duu tucT0iofS
east Of the Andes. on the other side Of
which lies the main territory OF Peru.
the dominant power. with its capita; a.
Lima on the Pacific side. Although thus
separated by only some 400 to 5oo miles.
as bird flies, from the capital. the terri
tory is really as difficult OF access as IA
Odessa from London. Travellers from
Lima have 10 journey north via Panama
and thence southeast Ia the mouth Of the
Amazon and then west up the river to
Iuuitos. the nearest town Of importance
and the head administrative centre Of
the district.
The authority OF Peru is at the hest
shadowy. Claims are certainly put for
ward in no doubtful fashion by Colombia.
and in a lesser degree by Ecuador. Up
Til recently Brazil was Also claimant.
but now its boundary in defrsed and Putu-
mayo is left out, In this very c'rcuito's
way letters have still 10 travel from the
ives, 10 the ~as,, r..c~nth ~ u'"ss- -An,issii
system 81 wireless teleRraphy has been
insialled however, and u works very