Evening star., 1932-01-17


slavery and the atrocities of the Congo.
Sir Edwin Grey, the British foreign sec
retary, told the British House of Com
mons on February 26, 1907, that the
Congo Free State had morally for
feited every right to international recog-
nition." Translated out OF diplomatic
language. this is equivalent to o page
and half of profanity.
In 1908, very reluctantly, the Belgian
Parliament took over the (Belgian)
Congo. Since then 1t has been Bel
GUMS colony" If any one can hnd
any moral claim on the part Of Belgium
to keep this part OF the world as q
possession" he has staggering I'M
agination. The powers gave 1t to Bel
GUM only through jealousy OF one an
other. In it at present are about $4,000
Belgians They can't develop 1t, ana
they don't They haven't the capltaL,
the ships, the opportunities or the
population which would let them do so.
But consider what might be done.
The Congo River and its oranches
represent 10000 miles Of water courses.
OF this 5000 miles are navigable for
steamers The main river can De as
cended from it's mouth for about 100
miles after that is a stretch OF $50
miles with rapids and shoals; but after
reaching Stanley Pool the main river Is
navigable by steamers for 1000 miles
and the tributary rivers for more than
4000
Offers Gateway to Africa
This magnificent water course offers
the real entrance TO Africa, the rea
gateway for African trade, the proper
avenue for the development Of Q con-
tinent. A real seaport at or close TO
the mouth Of the Congo (the Belsians
havnt the money to touch IT. would
become one of the great harbors OF
the worlds shipping
From the basin of the river radiating
railways could reach out TO the SUDAN,
the RhodeSias, to South Africa. Even
the little spiderweb Of tin-pot lines
built by Belgium shows what could
be done.
Just imagine that the United States
took over the development of this area.
What a chapter in the history OF q
world Of peace might be inscribed TO
obliterate the evil pages Of a world OF
war. The outlet here afforded for
American money, American machinery,
American brains would set in motion
new world movement of prosperity:
would redeem at once the short-ended
seesaw of the balance OF trade, would
solve or postpone for later solution
most of the worlds economic problems
of today. It would give all the world
the opportunity to start over again ana
forget the past, except to avoid It's
errors. In that grand old melodrama
called "The Silver King the hero fell
upon his knees and cried, 20 God, turn
back the universe and give me yester-
day!" Well, here it is If we want 1t.
The United States can do 1t, and no
other country can do 1t. The United
states has the money and the brains
and, more than that, it has the labor.
1t is the only nation that has 1t:
Where? Why the colored people OF
America. They came from the congo.
The Congo climate that kills the whites
is back home" to them. the congo
native won't work. You have to beat
him to it. But the American colored
man has had six generations OF IL
and he knows how.
Think! What wonderful cream
come true If that happened. SIX gen
erations ago the Congo natives were
driven on board the slave ships from the
yellow beaches Of West Africa-six gen.
erations of toll and tears and history
and now they would come back, millions
of workers, equipped with the wnite
mans knowledge, ingrained with tne
white mans purpose, to show TO thelr
lost cousins of Africa what can be made
of the old homestead. One can imagine
no more inspiring dream than this
the return of the children OF the slaves
to found, under the guardianship OF
America, United States Of Africa.
Come, let us start 1t!
Suggests United States Acquire Congo.
All that is needed is new congress
OF. adjustment Of debts and reparations
ON a basis of territorial sovereignty. Ine
Belgians could be squared BY letting
them off their debts to England and the
United States-even their own nome
Cebt of 81 900 900 900 might be thrown
in. If the sanctity Of their home terri
| tory was such that it set the world TO
war. the lack of sanctity OF their colo
nial territory is such that 1t may be used
to set the world at peace. France could
move out of the French Congo without
knowing it and very few British people
are aware that they own any OF the
Congo basin. Perhaps even an odd cor
ner of the map could be found for Mus
solini and an island-there are said to
be 1000 islands in the Congo-for the
Germans.
The native? He won't care. He's
used to anything-getting rubber, being
slave, being photographed for motion
pictures. hunting lions for social study
hc just thinks the European nations are
crazy. If he protests, let him have as
his share, in return for his land, the
eighteenth amendment to the Constitu-
ton of the United States-and tell him
| to keep it.