Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-09-12
CALLS HUNS F|ENDS
T0AFR|CAN SUBJECTS
British Official Answers DR.. Solf
by Barring Kaiser's Crimes
in His Colonies.
BY Associated Press To Every Evening


governments reply To DIR. w. $. Solf the
German secretary of state for the colonies.
that Germany would demand the return
of her colonies at the peace conference.
The report IS one of the most sensational
ever issued IN connection with German
colonial methods and It constitutes an
Indictment of German fitness To rule the
black native of Africa. The evidences
upon which the report rs based are taken
from Official German documents at
WIndhock, from sworn statements by
native chiefs and by Europeans famliiar
with the country and from the writings
of Governor Leutwein, who held office
from 1894 To 1905: DIR. Paul Rohrback,
DR. Karl Dove, and others Altogether,
the report rcfutcs IN detail DIR. Soil 8 state
ment that Germanys pre-war humane
treatment of the native races won for
her the moral right to be great colonial
power
In view of this clam the following
statement by Acting Secretary Gorges rs
interesting:
NATIVES FEAR RETURN To HocHE.
THE native upinIon here is UNANIMOUS
" against any idea of their ever being
handed back to the tender mercics ot
Germany Any suggestion Of the pos
sib,lltv Of an act of tins kInd on the part
of Great Britain produces the utmost con-
stcrnatton.
The report shows that the first twenty
five years of German rule IN southwest
Africa was an unbroken record Of official
| bad faith. private oppression, cruelty,
| harbarItIes and robberIes, eliminating IN
| the IIereros and Hottcntot rcbcllIons
| During the tirst seventeen years there was
no law for the natives Such protection
as the law eventually provided Indicated
| considerations of humanity. but the order
/ Ia exploit tho natives rs laborers re
| NAMED
When the Germans first arrived, says
| the report, they entered INTO agreements
with the native chiefs, but these became
| scraps OF paper, and the natives were
! fraudulently deprived OF their lands. Trad
ers and settlers robbed them OF their
| cattle. which was their only wealth, and
| the law subsequently prevented the ma
| tivcs from possessing large herds of stock.
| The natives thus wcrr driven to work at
| ridiculously inadequate wages and often
never wcIc paid They were treated like
slaves and their womcn-folk were NAL
| treated habtually by the Germans, who
took them into forced concubinagr.
PEOPLE wANToNIY KILLED
These were some OF the things which
poadcd the natives into rebellion. which
was suppressed by ruthless cruelty re-
sultng virtually in the determination OF
the three Tribes involved The Hcreros
werr reduced from $4,000 TO $1,000,
tho IottentotS from 20,0OO to $500 and
the Bcrg-Damaras from $4,000 TO l2,Son
Thus. ~ per cent OF the Hcrcro people
disappeared and more than half OF the
~ vba r,NH
the same fate How il was done WAS 10
s,lpcrcedc the lenicnt Governor Leutcnow
| by the notorious Governor Trotha, fresh
| from Germany to East Africa, where he
suppressed the Arab rebellion by a whole
| sale massacre Governor Trotha issued
an determination order, the terms of
which provided that no Hcrero man,
woman, child or babe was 10 receive mercy
or quarter.
oners, " he said III these orders. Evidence
that the order was only too faithfully
carried out is recorded IN q story of Gov
crnor Trothas former groom, who dc
scrihed how he once was ordered To kill a
Young Hcrcro woman. lie refused In dis
! gust, whcreupon German soldier showed
| him how to DO 1t and then held the drip
ping havonct in his face. An officer and
| German soldiers were standing around.
| but none nterfcred in behalf of the wom-
| an
NO PRISON ERs SPARED.
Another reliable witness. who was
with Governor Trotha for two years
testified that he knew Of no instance OF
prisoners being SPARED Even after the
! rebellion surviving natives faTed but
| little better.
One of the most significant documents
| in the report IS q secret circular by Gov
| ernor Hetz in 1912 and addressed to
magistrates in which he refers to tie
desperate feeling becoming prevalent
among the ua >
The reason he states. which is
| given for this fact is that the brutal ex-
cesses of Europeans agar 81 natives are
| alarmingly increasing 1t IS regrettable
| that even police officers become guilty Of
such offenses in a few eases ard that such
| offenses are not punished by the court
| Of law in way that they ought to be ac-
! cording To a sense of Justice TO the natives
Acting Secretary Gorges supplies sworn
statements from natives, which gives some
| idea Of the reign of terror existing among
| them He adds:
TESTIMONY NOT FIT TO PRINT.
! ne tDSJAIlCtc Oi tIIttlSy
| and barbarism might be multiplied al
most indefinitely Instances of gross
bcstial conduct which for sheer deprayity
and immoralityarcwell nigh unbelievable,
also are contained in the file of atiidavlts.
but they are hardly fit for publication. =
Part two Of the report deals at length
| with the position Of the natives before
the law The ordinance governing Grim
| inal jurisdiction over the natives contains
provisions repugnant to every conception
of Justice The natives were not tried IN
| ordinary courts, but by officers who also
did police duties and had authority to
delegate their judicial powers TO subordi-
| nate officials Imprisonment in chains
and fogging were allowed not only foI
| serious crimes, but as disciplinary mea-
| sure7,' on the application of an employer
| or for 0ffenscs against the master ard
| servants law or for lnsubOrdination
continued idleness or neglect of duty.
From the records Of German courts, II
| is clear that native evidence habItually
was disregarded and that the natives
were not allowed to give evidence OF
| oath The natives thus were kept in {
state of fear No opportunity of redres:
was open to them and they dared not &c
to the police with complaints. Grimes
by Germans, however, against NATIVES
| were reviewed by the courts.
|
i