Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-01-11
Pressure for Abandonment of
System SO Far ConSid-
cred Unavailing.
"PAWNING" LABOR PLAN
STRONGLY DENOUNCED
Republic in Africa Often Aided by
Washington Given Reform Pro-
posals by Commission.

BY the Associated Press.
Liberia, founded as refuge for freed
men upon whom the scars of bondage
still were fresh, was pictured to the
world yesterday as a nation in which
slavery was imposed by whip and
chains.
Piteous appeals from ignorant black
natives ran through the pages of re-
port of an investigating commission
sent there at the request of the State
Department. The department made the
report public last night.
The commission consisted Of Cuth-
bert Christy, chairman, appointed by
the League of Nations; Charles Spur
geon johnson, appointed by the United
States, and Arthur Barclay, appointed
by Liberia.
The commission recommended radi-
cal changes in various government in
situations to bring to an end the con-
ditions.
Pressure Is Exerted.
Severe pressure has been brought to
bear by the United States upon Liberia
to meet the commissions recommended
lions, but so far the department con-
siderS the steps taken inappropriate and
inadequate.
President King and Vice President
Yancy, both of whom were mentioned
in the testimony resigned early in De-
cember when the State Department
first insisted that action be taken to
meet the commissions findings.
Going beyond slave conditions, the
s,a,r 81 H. ~
"pawning," under which relatives, and
particularly women, were given as Sc
curity for loans or indebtednesses.
THE commission finds that although
classic slavery carrying the idea of slave
markets and slave dealers no longer eX-
lists as such in the Republic of Liberia,
slavery as defined in the 1926 Anti
slavery Convention does exist. Pawn
ing is also recognized in the social econ
omy of the republic"
Use Natives as Pawns.
The commission found no evidence
that leading citizens participated in
domestic slavery, but that there was
took natives as pawns and abused the
system by taking women to attract
laborers to their land.
Systematic intimidation and Ill treat
ment on the part of government off,
Gals, messengers and frontier force SOL
diers was found to have been used for
recruiting forced labor for motor-road
construction, for building civil COM
pounds and military barracks and for
porterage.
This type of labor was said in many
instances to have been diverted to pri-
vate use on the farms and plantations
of high government officials and private
citizens.
The report said there was no evil
dence that the Firestone Plantation Co.
consciously employs any but voluntary
labor on its leased rubber plantation
but this, however, was not always the
case when recruiting was subject to
government regulations, over which the
company had little control" 1t added
all the company'S laborers are free TO
terminate their employment at will.
Critical of Recruiting.
Recruiting under conditions Of GRIM
inal compulsion, scarcely distinguish
able from slave raiding and slave
trading" was found in connection with
shipments of contract laborers to the
colony of Fernando Poo, under an ar
rangement with Spain and to French
Gabun.
The feeble efforts of the chiefs to
protect their natives when the frontier
force came to gather them was shown
Continued on Page 2, Column A.