Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1922-08-07
BELGIAN CONGO RICH;
LIFE THERE IS DRAB
Big Gains for the White Men.
But the Sacrifice Is Hardly
Worth the Candle.

Tho Amazon Is plain sailing But for
thousand miles on the Congo, that
other river Of the Equator, it is one
maze Of waterways, through forest
clad islands
Observe this river boat--a great
barge. steam-driven, stern wheeled,
with two open decks which comes slid
Ing between these Congo forests ON
the upper deck the whites travel The
pilot caters to them: outside his cabin
some fine apples are hanging, and n
skinned goat, dripping blood on the
deck. AT the dining table, a native
servant is ironing clothes. A Belgian
missionary, pcre Of the Sacre Caeur,
In white surtout and skull cap. ats
reading the Bible. A Portuguese trader
In drinking beer and white woman's
voice can be heard reproaching n
young man. In the bare little cabins,
where mosquito nets are slung and
strange looking baggage In piled,
others sleep after the midday meal
From below rise the last, poignant
cries of a fowl. Down here the crowd
Is great the heat stlfling. The open
| deck is piled with sacks OF palm kpr-
nels and with logs of wood for the boil
ers. sitting. lying, standing all about,
| nrraved I'm their Manchester goods, are
the native passengers white men g
servants, soldiers with their red fez.
petty traders. mammies with child at
| the breast, all-but- naked recruits go
ing 10 their first employment. Each
carries n bed mat. a gourd Of cooking
| oil n IN with rim anI ,,,tfa oil
river fish; some have brought live
goat or n few fowls; others sheaf VT
eugar-Cane or a bunch of plnntalns q
foot long. A number of them like the
whites overhead. are now asleep. Be
side n basket of Muscovy ducks three
wild trihesmen uf the interior are
sauatted, chained together and guard
ed by n native policeman they have
been guilty of murder. An annotated
hoy lies near by; he is dying of sleep
ing sickness. and they take him home
to his own village. An old man, re-
clining on n canvas chair, smiles tt
YOU. You realize that this Is n friendl,
crowd, and that the faces round you
though black. are mostly good faces
All they ask uf YOU, the white man
is n little notice. They invite II q,
pathetiCally, n little notice. smile
u Joke, aud you are enshrined will
them for the voyage
Beside the boilers n crowd "a gath
cred. The stolters, picking M the logs
hurl them In with skill, the sweat pour
ing from their bodies They are IN th'
prime of their black strength. Thus'
Of them who had rested now spring vi
and furious throhbine breaks sud
denly out. They are heating drum
1ercelv with their palms, and hittin.
followed logs with sticks. II Is 81 furi
ous, repettive they play, mirthless
without beginning or end. Yet yoi
listen and listen. You are becoming
drowsv. The tropic forests glide 10y
You see a splash OF orchids high w
Natives su past. standing I'm n canoe
\ crocodile sithers off "a hanlt A mil
, lion white butterflies are CRUISING tn
waterway. The drummers ILat furious
ly on. and they are now intuning
chant The etokers, dead beat at las,
have cast themselves down. but tn
music does not falter; furious an
. riotcus It goes on and on. stlrringl
- futile. utterly meaningless.
. the night beside village and the ere,
carry aboard cut logs for the morrow
steaming Mosquitoes now begin 60 bit
= furiously, and when the lamps are Il
y thousands of insects fly TO them. The
= brush your face and fall into your food
: you cannot read for them: you NJ
bitten TO death too, and for proteC
: tion soon crawl under your curtain
1t is spring, alone with your thought
: This. you reflect IL not a pleasant Ian,
>, When the sun has set. the days CT
toyment ia as good as over. VIII;
: comfort can there heG Then the foo
: is poor: too hot to sleep. and you i
there perlaria perhaps blaclwater
:, is your alslovenly traction has spren
to the native servants. There IN fl
:. too much drinking Never a vests
OF intellectual effort. You get no @,
ercise. Belgians do not seem to car
and their most certain fate. The tset,
: fly seems to be everywhere. brinEin
sickness I'm it's wake: you see village
whole districts, which 1t has wiped on
= You will not see horse In the Cong
- but few cattle, driven In from Al
II gola to the butchers.
This Is not the land for you. But
is rich, without a shadow of dout
These forests are full of tho nut pair
the tree of Africas wealth. Millior
of barrels of palm oil. millions of sacl
of palm kernels, with copal and cotto
S; rubber and ivory, Will be sent out
n the years to come. In the far Sout
IS too. up on the cool plateau of Katang
G. are the richest copper mines of Il
'e world. This country is so times Il
- size of Belgium, and the Belgians ha'
S hardly begun To scratch 1t. PerhaI
% they will know something about 1t
+ so years.
Yes. the Congo is rich enough. I'll
a firms established here will NAL
e profits. The young men who come OF
le to them will be able to put money
W the bank. They will forget what con
Ie fort and good food are; they will lear
!. to soak up alcohol and to sweat OF
. fever; their brains will run to seed
3 but there will be a dividend for I'll
firm at the end of the years and
"a "a bonus for themselves.
n 4