March i, igog.] 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



209 



New Status of the Congo Rubber Country. 



/iv Hon. Jinius Giisltiz-iis Whilclr^ 



THE scepter of the Congo has again changed liands. A gen- 

 eration ago the dominion of "Darkest Africa" was divided 

 between cannibal chiefs, "mj' lord, the Elephant," and 

 other kings of the forest. Then came thirty years of white 

 supremacy, under King Leopold's rule. And now the sovereignty 

 has been formally and officially transferred to the Belgian People, 

 who will henceforth govern through their representatives in 

 Parliament assembled. 



This last transformation scene has caused a great deal of in- 

 terest in the world at large, but is, after all, a matter which 

 chiefly concerns the Belgian nation. The principal changes are 

 changes of domestic administration. 



Under King Leopold's rule the Congo Free State was officially 

 an independent Power. Xcither the Belgian people nor the 

 Belgian parliament had any voice in the management of it. The 

 headquarters of the Congo government were in Brussels, where 

 three "secretaries general" carried on the 

 three departments of "foreign affairs," 

 "finance," and "interior." These officials 

 were responsible to the King alone. To 

 outward appearances it was an e.xtrenicly 

 autocratic government, but, practically, 

 it was no more autocratic than the ad- 

 ministration of some of the British 

 "crown colonies" in which the governor 

 is, to all intents and purposes, clothed 

 WMth despotic powers. 



Xow, all this is to be changed. There 

 has been created a Belgian minister of 

 Colonies, who has taken charge of Congo 

 affairs. He is responsible to the Belgian 

 parliament, and if parliament does not 

 like the way he manages the business, it 

 can easily cause his downfall. Moreover, 

 the colonial budget is subject to the ap- 

 proval of parliament, which thus holds 

 the purse strings and controls the situa- 

 tion. .\11 new laws must be approved 

 by the Belgian legislature, and all new 

 grants of concessions must be submitted 

 to the criticism of parliament. Taking 

 it altogether, there are few colonies in 

 .'\frica which have such "popular" government, or over w'liicli tlie 

 home parliament has so much direct control. 



The question is whether the system will work. The "one man 

 power" of King Leopold's regime was efficient. Will the "two 

 hundred men power" of parliament be equally efficient, or will 

 "too many cooks spoil the broth"? On the whole the prospects 

 seem good, in spite of the croakings of the envious, and also in 

 spite of the fact that Congo concessionary shares are depressed 

 and selling "on the bargain counter." 



It is generally admitted that "one man power" is essential in 

 the early years of colonial development. This principle is rec- 

 ognized in the wonderful colonial system of Great Britain. There 

 must be concentration of authority, so as to allow quick and 

 decisive action in dealing with colonial problems. As Count 

 de Lesseps once said: "If there is anything important to do, 

 and there are two of you to do it, there is one too many." Under 

 King Leopold's personal rule in .\frica the King was practically 

 his own colonial minister. There was no delay in making the 

 required laws. There was no withholding of funds for necessary 

 expenses of development. .As a result, railways were built, roads 

 were made, steamboats were launched on the river, telegraph 



J.AMES GrsT.WL'S W'lIITEI.liV. 

 [Ill tlK- uniff)nn of Consul General of the Congo 

 Free State.] 



lines were put up. gnveniinent posts and hospitals were built, 

 and schools (run chiefly by the Catholic missions) were sub- 

 sidized. The whole country was put in such shape that the 

 missionary and the trader could safely enter. This was "going 

 some," considering the savage state of the country when King 

 Leopold took hold of it. 



The trader appreciated it, got busy, and made a large bunch 

 of money. Two-thirds of the missionaries appreciated it. and 

 thankfully availed themselves of the opportunity to carry Chris- 

 tianity and civilization to those who sit in darkness. Even the 

 handful of dissatisfied Protestant missionaries, who are nothing 

 if not critical, and who think they can run the country better 

 than anybody else, are reluctantly compelled to admit that there 

 has been woiiderftil "material development" under King Leopold's 

 rule. If tlu-.\- wrre logical and honest with themselves, they 

 would lie also compelled to admit that the Powers were right 

 when they declared, at the Brussels 

 conference, that the most efficacious 

 way of civilizing the country is to open 

 it lip first. It is safe to say that this re- 

 >^ult ciiuld not have been accomplished so 

 >wiftly and so effectively had the Congo, 

 from its infancy, been subject to the de- 

 liberation and delays of parliamentai-y 

 '.^nvcrniiicnt. 



Circumstances arc now different. .Ml 

 this preliminary work has been done, and 

 tlie Belgian people and parliament may 

 now advantageously take a hand in the 

 development of the colony. 



The transfer of sovereignty seems tO' 

 liave aroused the colonial spirit in the 

 Iklgian nation. The people are begin- 

 ning to "think imperially" and to prepare 

 seriously to take up the duties and priv- 

 ileges which go with the "white man's 

 burden." Now that the annexation of 

 the Congo is un fait accom[>li, even the 

 anti expansionists are inclined to avoid 

 hampering the new colonial administra- 

 tion, and seem disposed to stand shoulder 

 to shoulder with the rest of their coun- 

 lefeiicc of the colnny against foreign aggression from 



trymeii in 

 any source. 



A good start has been made under the new regime. Monsieur 

 Renkin has been selected as colonial minister. He is a level- 

 headed man of calm judgment, high abilit}', and quick decision. 

 He is a man who deals with facts, not with theories. He has 

 done an enormous amount of work in organizing the new 

 colonial department, and in a few weeks he is to sail for the 

 Congo so that he may have knowledge, at first hand, of the 

 country and people whose destinies have been commitlcd to his 

 ca re. 



It is runiorcd that, if circumstances permit. Prince Albert, the 

 heir to the throne, will also go to the Congo this spring to in- 

 spect the colony. 



The international relations of the Congo to the other Powers 

 are. of course, affected by the transfer of sovereignty, but the 

 changes are more in fonii than in reality. The Independent 

 State of the Congo has gone out of business, but all its interna- 

 tional obligations and treaties have been assumed by the new 

 owners — the Belgian nation, 

 lialtimorc, Maryland, February 17, 1909. 



