Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1960-07-17
Abe ON CONGO r.
Chaos Shows Nationalist CIomor
Gave Power to Unreody Natives
ABc ON CONGO
By WILLIAM L. RYAN

Associated Press News Analyst
The Congo as an independ-
ent state is two weeks old and
suffering q national nervous
breakdown.
Because their land is so
rich, so important. because its
fate will have enormous inn
pact on restless Africa, the
CongoleSe have the whole
world breathing down their
necks as they try to govern
themselves. Perhaps no peo-
pie ever were so tragically I'M
prepared for freedom.
The new republic is a third
the size Of the United States.
But, by generous estimates,
only 20 persons among its 1914
million Africans are college
graduates.
Its politics is chaotic. Its
leaders are disorganized, with
neither a program for the flu
ture nor personnel sufficiently
educated to administer a ma
ton. It is torn by fierce tribal
conflicts. Its European type
cities, built during 80 years of
Belgian rule, clash anachronis-
tically with countryside domi-
mated by a thousand-year-old>
heritage of primitive tribal life.
Now the republic seems to be
ripping apart. Its richest prov
ince. Katanga, is controlled by
q secessionist. Another prov
ince, Kasai. wants autonomy.
What happened? Here, in
brief. is an ABC on this latest
point Of dangerous crisis in a
world already surfeited with
tension. a5'
The Land
The Congo, nourished by the
mighty Congo river, is made
up Of six provinces extending
from a narrow neck touching
the Atlantic in the west to thu
heart Of equatorial Africa or
Lake Tanganyika and the Nile
in the east. Leopoldville and
other principal cities, which
have been home for 100, 900 Eu-
ropeans. have ALI the amenities
Of modern life. The Congo's
villages are still living in the
distant past.
The People Il
Congolese are mostly what
are called true Negroes, speak
ing a variety Of Bantu-based
tongues. The only common
language for conducting bust
ness is French. introduced by
Belgium. It is Incompetent
sible to many Congolese.
The Economy {
1t provides half the Vests
uranium basic element of
atomic power. 70 per cent of
the Vests radium, 80 per cent
of its cobalt. 70 per cent of its
industrial diamonds, and 8 per
cent each Of its copper and tin.
These riches have made the
Congo the we althiest and
healthieSt land In Africa.
Workers in cities have been
earning up to $3.50 a month, a
fortune in Africa. The Belgian
administration instituted mass {
welfare and health programs
and generally followed a ben
evolent policy which, particu-
larry after World War II,
veered away from a tendency
toward the South African
brand Of segregation. a
The Education {
But Belgian education of
Congolese for self-government
Jagged far behind the economic
program. Today, about half {
the Congolese are literate-if {
that word is considerably
stretched. Schooling for years {
depended almost entirely on
missionaries, often under Bel s
gian government subsidy. Much ]
of it conferred on teaching skills {
and trades. /
Only recently were Congolese s
introduced to university train !
ing. There were few secondary !
school graduates to draw from. {
About 400 now are enrolled in {
the universities. 8
The Republic !
Belgium, 80 times smaller
than the present Congo Repub-
lie, ruled the colony 80 years.
Leopold II, great-grand uncle
of today's King Baudouin, y
treated the Congo as his per- s
sonal property, reaping riches
from its ivory. minerals and I
other resources. {
Belgians were able colonists, Z
but like many another country /
could not escape the African S
nationalist fever which
mounted after World War II.
The Congo thrived, but its
young men were too impatient
to wait until 1864, when Bel
gium promised independence.
Belgium bowed to the pres
sure. independence was set for
June 1860. Elections in May
were a confused affair. To cap
the confusion, Congolese lead
ers insisted on calling their
nation Republic of the Congo,
despite the fact that another
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