Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1914-03-08
BUR0PE'S INTEREST In AFRICA

II there is to be war between Germany
ana England, a war fought with armies
and "dreadnoughts." the
war OF war is being preceded
Ra;Irood. just now by a war OF
railroads in Asia and.
above all, railroads in Africa, German.
Belgian and English.
A dispatch from Berlin announces that
the last rail Of the German railroad from
the Oar es Salaan. on the Indian ocean,
to kigorna, on Lake Tanganyika, a dis
TANGO OF 1889 miles, was laid the I'd of
February. The Importance to Germany
OF that event will be understood when
tho completion Of the road, fixed for
April l. 1915, was accomplished February
1. 1914.
inc Ger7nania OF Berlin announces
THAT the negotiations Anglo German are
terminated and Mozambique has been
awarded to British influence. The Portu-
guese colony OF Angola has been awarded
to German influence. Also Katanga,
which lies south of tho Belgian Kongo
state.
Inc above can scarcely be called news,
since these spheres of influence were dis
cuSsed between the British and the Ger
mans in 1898. The Germania has mani
testify mistaken the negotiations of fif-
teen years ago for those actually pendent.
dispatches from London are likewise
obscure and misleading. One of these
and Germany sets up new spheres of in
nuence. Germany will acquire tho sole
right of economic penetration in Angola
while England will claim the same right
In Mozambique.
The London correspondent. like his Ger
Oil ho toll. In inf arfr1 rat n
from the Anglo-German treaty Of 1898.
First of all. there is something changed
In Africa. katanga, unknown In 1885. is
now Tar more than geographical ex-
preston" Nor does Katanga lie south
Of the Belgian Kongo state" but is an In
tegral part of the Belgian kongo state.
which is quite different from the reading
of the aforementioned dispatch.
Dispatches from London, like those
from Berlin, should be taken at this mo-
ment with suspicious care. England and
Germany are actually engaged in most
serious negotiations over situations in
Asia, and, above all. in Central Africa.
Railroads and railroad projects have sud
sion Of influence in Africa. Penetration
of countries by railroads, classified as
peaceful penetration" is now a subject
that takes its place in the present conflict
between England and Germany side by
side with that other question of arIna
cease arming IL GERMANY will. Germany
will cease if England will. And the re.
suit Is there is nothing changed i'm the
aggressive policy of either.
The official announcement of the com
pletion of the German railroad from the
Indian ocean to Lake Tanganyika eN-
cites extraordinary interest in all politi-
cal circles because 1t is the unexpected
that has happened.
Almost the first intimation that Ger
nanys dream of trailsequatorial rail
road had been realized was contained in a
note cited by us from the Deutsche ko-
lonialzeitung in The Star in December
The Kolonialzeitung invited the attention
or the German government to the activity
of the British government in the eastern
territory of the Belgian kongo, where
the kolonialzeitung suspected the British
of negotiating the cession of the left shore
of the Tanganyika i'll view of the CON
struction of railway which would joir
British oriental Africa TO Rhodesia II
South Africa. The German journal ad.
1ured the imperial government to oppose
the junction of the Cape to Cairo road by
way Of the Belgian kongo. SO that Ger.
man oriental Africa should not be en-.
circled
1t is confessed in certain British circles
that there was an Anglo-German treaty
Of 1898 which dealt with the question OF
spheres in Portuguese Angola. Ger.
many, it appears. was accorded the
greater part of Angola. and England
never dreaming OF a German road from
the Indian ocean which would bisect her
famous Cape to Cairo road, was overglad
to accept Mozambique.
Mozambique is district of Portuguese
East Africa, consisting Of Mozambique.
Aambesia and Lourenco Marques. This
colony is separated from British Central
and South Africa by the limits of the ar
rangement between Great Britain and
Portugal in June, 1891. 1t is separated
from German East Africa by the agree
ments OF 1885 and 1880 by line running
from Cape Delgado at 10 degrees 40 min
utes south latitude till it meets the course
of the Rovuma, which it follows to the
point OF its confluence with the Msnje
the boundary, thence to Lake Nyasa.
The Delagoa bay railway has a length
of fifty-seven miles in the colony and is
continued for 290 miles to
Delagoa Pretoria. A new line from
Bay Line. Lour r,,,, Marques saasr to the
construction. The Beira railway has a
length Of 2D4 miles in the colony and
extends to Salisbury in Mashonaland and
Laurence Marques with the Transvaal
system.
Returning to the completion of the
German railroad to the Tanganyika, it
will be borne in mind that it was not
until 1904 that the reichstag undertook
the task of peaceful penetration of Cen
trail Africa from Oar es Salaam
A London dispatch, referring to the
completion Of the German railroad to
Tanganyika, writes: The next stretch
will take the railway into Katanga dis
trict of the Kongo. Here, although the
country is Belgian, the influence is all
British Hence. if any progress is to be
made with the German scheme of con-
Meeting east and west by rail British
interests will have to be squared or
bought out"
1t is not at all certain that the in
f1uence in Katanga is 'all British" nor
indeed British at all. The petension is
based upon the fact that in 1912 Portu-
gal accorded to one Robert Williams,
engineer, q concession to construct the
Tanganyika and Zambezia Exploring
Company
The capital of that Portuguese enter
prise consisted in September, 1872. of
Sl5,NOOOO stock and of S.,50.Ooo
bonds. The Tanganyika held 81 per cent
of the stock; the Zambezia held % per
cent of the bonds. A Berlin bank pego-
tiated with the Benguela company with
the view of participation in the sum of
S15.000O0O. which. it is understood. is d
controlling factor.
The Morgen Post of Berlin. for exam
pie, writes: 1--WE will now proceed to
the economical exploitation of the ka-
tanga domain in the Belgian kongo. This
Is one Of the points of negotiation actu-
ally being discussed between Berlin and
London
Ia, I'd