Jackson advocate. [volume] (Jackson, Miss.) 1939-current, 1959-02-21
Native Riots.,,
Continued from Page One)

vey that the Congo's capital, a
monument of successful urban
planning on African soil, as far
as the European section is con-
cerned, also developed lately into
one of Africa's worst native slums.
Leopoldville's African population
has scared from 10000 after World
War II to more than $4,000 now,
plus an estimated $4,000 nonregis-
tered native inhabitants. Housing
facilities were far from keeping
pace with the influx of this multi
tude which came from the rural
sections of the colony as we'll as
from Portuguese Angola and the
French Congo.
The oity's police force of 63
Europeans and 1,4OO native police
men proved unable to cope with
the problem. The situation turned
out to be truly critical when, due
to the fall of world market prices
for raw materials, the Congo ex-
perienced a serious economic re-
cession.
Thousands of native wage earn
ers were thrown out of jobs, an
estimated 10000 to 10000 in the
Leopoldville district alone. Few of
the unemployed natives received
any government aid. y
1t was this idle, hungry, and
restless crowd which, under par
ticularly trying conditions-a po-
litical meeting had been authorized
by the administration but the per-
mission was withdrawn at the last
minute - went out of hand in the
tragic January days to attack
and to loot European installations.
Today, the Belgians are carrying
out vast slum clearing action in
Leopoldville's native sections. One
native city district after the other
is surrounded and searched by po-
lice and military forces. Thousands
of natives who had flocked to the
capital without residence permits
are seized and shepherded back to
their native districts in the inter-
ior. The Congo's borders, espec-
ially that with French Equatorial
Africa, are strictly controlled by
the authorities and many "unde-
sirable" visitors from the Congo
territory have been expelled.
Moreover, the Belgians decided
to rush their large-scale building
program for native urban housing
which has been ready in blueprint
for some time already. At the out
set, the building Of 100000 native
houses in the Congo cities was con-
templated, but the program had
been cut down in size, owing to
budgetary considerations. Now the
housing program will be revised
upward again.
Yet the new Belgian "autocriti-
cism" has more in view than just
a reappraisal of Leopoldville local
conditions. The Congo administra-
tons entire native policy, and
more recently also its economic as
rects, have come under heavy fire
on part of its domestic, especially
Socialist, critics.
Despite the enlightened efforts
of many high Congo officials, such
as the former Governors General
Pierre Ryckmans and Leo A. M.
Petition, who did much to raise
the native living standard, the bal
ance of the administrations policy
is said to lean still heavily in ia
vor of a few big European, and in
the majority Belgian, business con-
Germs. These giant outfits exploit
the country's vast natural re-
sources, are drawing out of them
enormous profits, and, according
to the critics, contribute insuffi-
Gently to the development of the
Congo's overall economy.
The figures of an economic sur
vey, published last November by
the Banque Centrale du Congo
Beige ct du Ruanda- Urundi, seem
to corroborate this criticism, at
least to a certain extent. OF the
Belgian Congo's 1867 national in.
come Of almost $1,000, 600, 900, Sc
per cent went to the native econ
omy with a population of more
than 100000 while the rest was
taken in by the ''nonnative" econ
omy which includes the Belgian ad-
ministraticn and the big European
companies. The European popula-
tion Of the Congo numbers fewer
than 100000. %
This heavy levy on the Conpo's
prosperity appeared to be defend