Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-07-20
IN AFRICA
UNDER TREATY TERMS
German Dreams Gone-British and French
Chief Gamers BEL ium, Italy
and Spain Are Affected.
BY,FRANK H. SIMONDS.

BffFRANK II. SIMONDS.
TIME attention of the world has
been so concentrated upon
European aspects of the treaty
of Versailles that the provis-
ions of this document affecting Africa
have provoked relatively little comment,
yet in point of fact the African detail
is not impossibly of more importance
for the future than all the territorial
| changes, so far as Germany herSeif
IL concerned, on the European map.
When the war came Germany had
pire of more than 100000 square
miles, five times the area of the Ger
man empire in Europe, with popula-
ton of nearly 100000. Nor did Ger
man ambition pause at what had been
accomplished. her two great colonies
of tropical Africa. the Kamerun and
German East Africa, were to be foun-
| dation stones I'm a grandiose edifice,
| which was to span the dark continent
| If there was to be a .mitteleuropa, as
result of the victories of German arms
on the European frontiers. there was
just as surely to be mittelafrica.
crossing the African continent from
the Atlantic to the eastern ocean. ana
in addition, German Southwest Africa
| was to advance northward to join this
| central territory while 1t also extend
ed southwark to include the Union OF
| South Africa.
Calculation as to Belgium.
| Tn German colonization Belgium was
| to surrender her Kongo. Did not
! Bernhard, long before the war, IN
his memorable volume. suggest tnat
| the mere possession Of this colony
might deprive Belgium OF her neu-
| trality? France. already forced to
| Weld half of her Kongo as com
pensation" for her Moroccan acauisi-
| tions, was to complete the surrender
! of this great colony. These french
| and Belgian cessions would unite tne
! Kamerun with German East AFRICA.
| Moreover the Germans had construct
ed a railroad from the Indian ocean to
Lake Tanganyika. which was to be
| the backbone Of this ocean-to-ocean
empire.
But this was only one Of the Ger
| man dreams. When the war came
and Turkey joined the kaiser, then the
Germans promised to the sultan the
return Of his rights in Egypt. Britain
! was to be evicted. Turkey was nom
| ina,ly to come back, but actually Ger
MANY was to succeed the British. In
this region. too. German supremacy
was to be assured. beyond the cnai-
| lenee of seapower, by pushlng
branch of the Bagdad railway soutn-
ward from Aleppo. A new railroad
narrowing existing lines as far as the
edge of the desert, was 10 exteuo
across the Suez canal, joining CAIRO
and Alexandria with Damascus anu
- NnY1C CT n
and Berlin. c,v
dreamed of following the example OF
the Arabs and sweeping WESTWARD on
! the Mediterranean shore until sne
reached Tripoli, Tunis, Algeria MO
rocco. borrowing the mantle OF the
nronhet to cover the ambitions or the
Hohenzollern, In the German MIND
Africa with relatively small excep-
| +;ons was to be German territory
French. Belgian, Italian ard fortu,
ruese colonies were to be seizeo: anu
Germany was to acquire an me
haustible reservoir alike OF men LOT
future wars and OF "a" iha
future trade condicts.
Tnoking backward now over more
than a quarter of a century one co.,
see how Germany has treasured anu
fostered the African dream: one can
also see the successive dtsappoint-
nsnts When Britain conquered the
Roer REPUBLICS all Germany feit
sense of resentment. revealed IN the
/ kaiser's message to Kruger. since
one of the chosen field of German eH-
mansion was thus pre-empted. =" men
! france finally began to occupy MO
100 after her great bargain with
britain, following the Fashoda Crisis
German resentment was disclosed IN
three separate attempts to block the
| ahsorntion of the last remaining held
open for German expansion.
| Germany Loses Dreams.
And now Germany loses not alone
the dreams for the future. but the
reality of the moment when the war
| came. By the treaty of peace she
ia deprived of every foot of her Afrl-
can holdings. More than this. to make
| assurance doubly sure, she IS COM
peIled to surrender such claims as
she had upon France for equal oppor,
tunities in Morocco. claims oasea
her diplomats at Algeciras and att
erward. during the Morocco clashes
while Britain acquires with the con-
sent of the world. the United States
expressly asserting, a protectorate IN
Egypt. which gives her that free hand
Henceforth, then. Africa is closed
to the German. He renounces his
claims in Morocco. commercial claims.
not territorial, although he has al
WAYS, cherished the hope, expressed in
the Agadir time quite forcibiy. OF
claims. He signs away his position
in Egypt. He renounces his agree
ment with Britain by which. when
Portugal consented to part with her
African estates, Germany was to ac-
quire a large fraction. AS France
1 1a1 "a firo A j.
ca, after Montcalm had lost Quebec,
Germany Is now to leave Africa
But the elimination of Germany is
only one of the African changes
! which will follow the present settle
ment. Actually Germany cedes her
colonies to the allies, not to any one
| nation. But the allies have already
sketched the ultimate division OF
these territories in secret under
standings and treaties. Thus France
! is to recover all her lost Kongo Is
| lands ceded to Germany in the Agadir
time and in addition all of German
| Kamerun save narrow strip along
the frontier of British Nigeries Ports.
railways, German investments and
improvements of all sorts pass to
| France, with a good harbor. into the
bargain.
4 In addition, Togo is divided be-
tween France and Britain. insuring to
France a material extension OF the
narrow coast line of Dahomey and
vaIuab lie railroad into the hinterland
Finally all the allies have agreed that
France may, if she can. acquire from
| Spain the Spanish holdings on the
coast Of Morocco facing Algeciras
Z and fronting on the Straits OF G1bral-
tar This means, in fact, that France
has the consent of the world to sup
press the annoying and even danger
Gus Spanish strip in Morocco, thus
completing her Moroccan acquisitions.
provided she can bring Spain to an
| agreement.