Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1916-09-24
DISCUSSES SCOPE
OF WAR IN AFRICA
Minister Of Colonies Says Bel
GUM Did All She Could
to Avoid Conflict.
TELLS OF VICTORIES WON
German Troops Are Defeated in
Twenty Combats, Losing
Many Men.

liANRE. FRANCE. September ca
With tho belgian forces in East Africa
hEhting to complete the conquest of the
last colony i'm tho world where the Ger
man nag still Noats. the Belgian Minis
ter of Colonies, NJ Renkin. granted to
a representative Of the Associated Press
an interview on the whole scope of tho
war in Africa
MI fcnkin is one of the first authori-
ties IN Europ" on colonial affairs. The
independence Of the Congo was brought
about largely through him. and since
then he has been. as Minister of Colo
ii"S, the directing spirit Of the vast
Congo establishments with territory
seventy times tho size OF Belgium and
An army OF ! 100 Belgian officers lead
ing Congo native soldiers almost as
great in number as the army of the
United States This is the black army,
with only brcach-clout for uniform.
that has swept across German East
Africa until ali the rich northwest sec
ton twelve times the size of the terri
tory held by Germany In Bclgium--is
now held by the Belgians in the former
German colony.
NJ Renkin was seen in his colonial
office. established for the duration Of
the war in a villa at Ste. Addrcsse a
suburb of Havrc. overlooking the sea.
Speaking first Of the way Belgium
had been dragged into a war in Africa
by German attacks on the Congo" he
said
one cannot insist too much upon
the point because IL characterizcs this
constant policy of our nation, respect
f,,l -
foundry pacific. out indomi,able when
It's rights are violated. Belgium, who
af'irms so brilliantly her force in Africa.
did all in her power to avoid the war.
The documents published in the gray
book relate this history.
AIMED At PREVENTION
OF VIOLENT CONFLICTS
The general act OF Berlin OF 1855
was inspired entirely by the desire TO
preserve Central Africa from violent
conflicts. The thought OF its authors
was that this part OF the world ought
10 be reserved territory, where all ma
lions contributed peacefully in the
spreading OF civilization by the propa-
CATION of the Christian faith and by
honest commerce.
Central Africa should he kept out
side OF armed conflicts between Euro
pcan states: and in this respect, ar
ticlc H. of the act of Berlin specified
that. In the case where a power eX-
crcisine the rights OF sovereignty or
protcctorate in the countries mentioned
in the first article and placed under
the regime OF commercial liberty, is
involved in war the high parties sign
ing the present act and those who Will
consequently adhere thereto, engage
to lend their good services SO that the
territories belonging TO that power and
included in the conventional zone OF
commercial liberty be. by the common
consent of that power and of the other
belligerent power. or powers placed
for the duration of the war under the
regime of neutrality and considered as
belonging to n acknowledgements state
the belligcrent parties should renounce
Immediately the extension of the hos
tilitics to the territories thus neutral
lied. as we'll as the making of them as
base for operations of war
''As early as August {. 1914. in those
days OF anguish, when the German ac
gression menaced even our existence.
Belgium did not lose sight of the mis-
sion of civilization that she had as
suned in far-off Africa. ana she in
vited the powers to ncutraliZe all the
colonies of the bclliGercnt states in
Guided in tho conventional Rasin OF
the Congo, that is to say--not includ-
ing Belgian Congo, which has, since its
origin. been under the regime Of per-
manent neutrality--French Equatorial
Africa. British East Africa Uganda.
German Kamerun and German East
Africa.
I'm view of tho mission of civiiiZa
ton common to the colonizing nations.
wrote the Minister of Foreign Affairs
on August Z, 1914, the Belgian govern
mcnt desires. through feelings of hui
manity, not to extend the field of hos
tlities to Central Africa. 1t viii.
therefore, take no initiative in iniiict
ing such Il blot on the civilization of
that region. and the military forces
that it possesses there will not enter
action. except they be forced to re-
pulse direct attack against its Afri-
can possessions
ACCEPTED SUPREME
SACRIFICE IMPOSED
This proposition, better than any
thing else. shows with what serenity
our little country accepted the supreme
sacrifice imposed by the law of honor
and regard for the right. The sacri-
fee was OF greater merit because, at
the moment that this attitude was
adopted, the Belgian government was
we'll aware that in Africa IL disposed
of military forces that permitted it TO
chastiso there the aggrcssor OF Bel !.
GUM and take revenge for the reverse !:
that was bound to ovcrwhelm, at the |
beginning of the European campaign.
the Belgian army. numerically. much |
inferior to the German army.
But the act of Berlin, like the |
treaty of naturalization of 1899, only !
constituted to the eyes Of Germany
"A scrap of paper; while the belgian
troops in Congo abstained from all acts
Of hostility. the Germans prepared for
war. and, on August %. 1911. they
strongly attacked. without previous
summons. the Belgian port of Lukiiga,
on the Lake Tanganikn. IT was thus
that, by deliberate act of the Germans