Evening star., 1914-04-12

Indian ocean. therefore, about Leo miles
From katanga west To the Atlantic ocea,
scarcely more than half the distance
The route south TO the Cape is long. VIII.
that north 10 Uganda is long and broken
by the enforced navigation If the Nit.
10 hhartum.
Katansa in 1905 was almost unknown
Belgium has occupied the country effect
lively hut five years. II
Growth of that interval a great future
has dawned for katanga
1Ao'onSo' the richest country, per
haps. Of all Africa Great mineral de
posts have been discovered-gold, tin, dia-
monds and coal. And these discovcries
are made at the eleventh hour, an'
when Belgium. aside from the persecG-
ton leveled at her by England. was dis
eouraged by budgetary deficits which ar
the seduents OF first attempts at colonial
exploitation.
NJ. Renkin has been commissioned h,
the government at Brussels with tn
preparation of report upon the ecofloInl-
cal situation of the kongo colony. NJ
Renkin declared to the Belgian chamber
that the colony was in dehcit Tor Tn
budget of 1914 for the sum of 2it"toh
francs or 81 2SD90. All of which proves
that Belgium had not yet acquired th'-
colonial spirit The india-ruhber crisis w''~
the cause of the deficit. The administrt-
ton unwisely suppressed the tax on run
ber the tax on replanting. and establish,
ed an ad valorem tax, which produced
nothing during the crisis,
Has the kongo cost money to Belgium
asks NJ. Renkin. Before the anneNati"n
Belgium loaned the kongo Free stat"
the sum of 81 .S41.:.1ti francs. or $500. IL
Belgium subscribed l5.UN.ooo francs. or
So Oso.uo, for the construction of the
railroad Matada TO Leopodviile ms
proved a fruitful Investment and Will II"
repaid with premium Nheh tue IN
nexation was effected Belgium reserved
twenty-nine millions Of property acquired
by resources of the kongo. Since IN" ar
neXation the Koneo had cost nothing /"
Belgium.
Rubber was assumed to constitute the
chief riches of the kongo. 1t was not
Agriculture, aside from the vast min
eral resources of the country, was tie
hope in the future. 1t was necessary
TO make the colony vast agricultural
country and its cuItivators a prosperous
rural population. Such a situation Woui"
create a real and serious guarantee Tor
Belgian sovereignty.
The expectation of copal had augment
ed 1:s per cent. The mining industries
were being established. The aluvions Of
kasa. produced 1000 karats per month
NJ Hillhausen is mentioned by NJ Rem
kin in his report as a kentuckian wh"
has entered the Kasai district with the
object of introducing cotton and sugar
cane culture. At the end of a years eN-
perience NJ. Hillhausen expressed the
opinion that kasai was worth. for such
culture quite as much as the state OF
Texas.
According to NJ. Renkin, another Amer
lean has established himself in the Bel
sian kongo-M Jordan VINO mas founded
a vast enterprise in ''oil cultivation" prc-
sumably palm oiD. The Jesuit mission
aries are likewise engaged in the same
cultivation.
The immense forests are rich in copal
and in the richest and most precious
essences Pineapples. bananas iind
oranges grow profusely III the lower
kongo. and mag be cultivated and ex
ported on a large scale when the railroad
systems projected are completed
1t should be added that rice promises
TO be an important article of cultivation
not only as a food but also as an export
An eastern province produced as an ex-
pertinent last year 1000 tons of rice y
concession for silk culture had been :ic-
corded already to a silk corporation and
this enterprise promised to become most
remunerative.
The Union Niniere'' and other societies
for the exploitation of gold. tin au"i '''7
have announced serious findings .-Hs
there appears no doubt that kataHS D.
to become an attractive country Tor 81.
miner and the prpspect"r IN th'' ia'''
future Nor is this all. The ''Socl'-t' -"
estiere ct Miniere'' is biSdA engaged j.
working certain mineral fields Ia TIA
kasai with the view of iindlng dt.itif"'lH
mines.
Under such circumstances N. l;enh1n
does not feel that budget deficits sh"HiG
cause alarm South Australia hi'c
Canada never, offered u century ago tie
attractions that the Belgian konso now
offers Both had their periods OF crisis
but their colonial fore" and eners-
proved sufficient to enable them To st''N
th,. current. The value OF the lSeigiar
Kongo is not a question, il is universally
recognized.
At the time of The annexation the cir
euiation of money was scarcely known
The metallic receipts OF the Beisiah
kongo Bank amount to 1,;ilh'hF'
francs. or sl.u62oo commercial bills
sluppp The value Of expectations Is
S12,o00G0. an increase OF 'iS per cthi
over 1905
The principal point Of colonial progress
concerns the development of RAILWAY
communications. Since the annexation
of the Belgian kongo. Belgium has con
structed 6SS miles OF new railroads. Ter
manyS rails from the coast are tlftsdH
on the Tanganyika. and Belgium fi'hS
from Kambove will join them thsl
within eighteen months. From Kan
bove-Bekame west to Dililo Belgium
must reach the Atlantic and when TIN
is effected the circuit between the Nv"
oceans will be complete, and GerlnanS
and Belgium will control the trade OF
central Africa. Khartum will still re
main the capital of the Sudan, but the
capital of central Africa, with quick
east and west. is in
Kambove in katanga
In the part that Germany and Belgium
are about to take Jointly in the African
England may See a
PRACTICAL demonstration of the French
maxim: .'ui trop embrasse mai extreint
He who would grab all may lose all
CH. CHAILLE-LONG.