COLORADO. 



CONGO INDEPENDENT STATE. 137 



the proper place for a Republican birnetallist is in 

 the ranks of the party, and not out of it. In the 

 future, as in the past, Republicans who represent 

 Colorado at the national capital will be found 

 working for the restoration of silver." 



Following is the ticket : For Governor, Henry R. 

 Wolcott ; Lieutenant Governor, Charles' E. Noble ; 

 Secretary of State, W. H. Brisbane ; Treasurer, 

 Frederick O. Root; Auditor, George S. Adams; 

 Attorney-General, C. C. Goodale ; Superintendent 

 of Public Instruction, Mrs. Lucy E. R. Scott ; Re- 

 gents of the State University, Harry B. Gamble, 

 Mrs. Jennie G. Caswell, L. C. Greenlee ; Chairman 

 of Central Committee, A. B. Seaman. 



The Democrats, Populists, and one wing of the 

 Silver Republicans united and named Charles S. 

 Thomas for Governor. The platform reaffirmed 

 the principles on which the parties are united, and 

 said of expansion : 



"We favor the independence of Cuba and the 

 retention by this Government of the other Spanish 

 West India possessions, and the control of all other 

 Spanish territories taken by the American forces 

 in the war just closed." 



The Fusionists were successful in November, 

 electing their State ticket and a majority of the 

 Legislature. In the First Congressional District a 

 Silver Republican was elected, and in the Second a 

 democrat. 



The Democratic, Populist, and Silver Repub- 

 lican conventions were called to meet at Colorado 

 Springs, Sept. 8, with a view to fusion on one 

 'icket. But there were two factions of the Silver 



epublicans, one in favor of fusion, and one op- 

 3sed to it, and on the morning of the 7th a fight 

 >ok place between them for the possession of the 

 jpera house where the party convention was to 

 icet. It was asserted that 150 shots were fired in 

 ic opera house; one man was killed, and three 

 rere wounded. One faction applied for a court 

 urder to compel the surrender of the opera house, 

 aut an arrangement was made by which neither 

 vas to have it, and the court so ordered. The coro- 

 ler's jury in the case of the man who was killed 

 returned a verdict justifying the Teller or fusion 

 faction, which was in possession of the opera house 

 and was attacked by the antif usion or " straight " 

 Action. This wing of the party met the next day 

 id adopted a platform favoring free coinage of 

 aid and silver at the ratio of 16 to 1 ; commend- 

 ig the Administration for the conduct of the war ; 

 ivoring the retention of all territory taken, whether 

 by peaceful means or by conquest ; favoring the 

 construction of the Nicaragua Canal ; and denoun- 

 cing the action of the other wing of the party. The 

 following ticket was nominated : For Governor, 

 >imon Guggenheim ; Lieutenant Governor, Ira 

 iloomfield ; Secretary of State, Joseph W. Millsom ; 

 ["reasurer, Harry Mulnix ; Auditor, John A. Wayne ; 

 Attorney-General, H. M. Hogg; Superintendent of 

 'ublic Instruction, Miss Mayme Marble; Regents 

 of the State University, E. J. Temple. J. W. Gun- 

 nell, and Dr. J. H. Pershing. 



The proposed fusion between the other wing of 

 the Silver Republicans, the Democrats, and the 

 Populists was effected, and an agreement was 

 reached as to the division of offices. To the Popu- 

 lists were accorded the offices of Lieutenant Gov- 

 ernor, Secretary of State, Attorney-General, and 

 one regent, while the Silver Republicans received 

 Treasurer, Auditor, Superintendent of Public In- 

 struction, and one regent. The ticket follows : 

 For Governor, Charles S. Thomas, Democrat ; Lieu- 

 tenant Governor, Francis Carney ; Secretary of 

 State, Elmer Beckwith ; Treasurer. John F. Fenter; 

 Auditor, George W. Temple; Attorney-General, 

 E. C. Campbell ; Superintendent of Instruction, 



Helen L. Grenfell ; Regents of the University, 

 Harold Thompson, D. M. Richards. 



The election returns showed a large majority for 

 the fusion ticket. The two members of Congress 

 were re-elected in the First District, J. F. 

 Shafroth, Silver Republican, and in the Second 

 J. C. Bell, Populist. 



CONGO INDEPENDENT STATE, a sovereign, 

 independent, monarchical state in Central Africa, 

 created with the consent of the great powers, and 

 declared to be perpetually neutral by the general 

 act of the Congo, signed at Berlin on Feb. 26, 1885. 

 Leopold II, King of the Belgians, who was declared 

 to be its sovereign, by his will, dated Aug. 2, 1889, 

 ceded his sovereign rights to Belgium, which by a 

 convention made with the Independent State on 

 July 3, 1890. and ratified by the Chambers on July 

 25, acquired the right to annex the territories after 

 a period of ten years. The Government, under 

 King Leopold, is presided over by a Secretary of 

 State at Brussels, Baron Edmond van Eetvelde, 

 who is assisted by Dr. A. de Cuvelier, Secretary of 

 Foreign Affairs; H. Pochez, Treasurer; H. Droog- 

 mans, Secretary of Finance ; and Charles Liebrecht, 

 Secretary of the Interior, the Public Force, and 

 Marine. Capt. E. Wangermee is Vice Governor 

 General at Boma ; he is assisted by Baron Dhanis 

 as Inspector and M. Ghislain as Secretary. 



Area and Population. The area is estimated 

 at 900,000 square miles, and the population at 30,- 

 000,000. There were 1,474 resident Europeans on 

 Jan. 1, 1897, of whom 882 were Belgians, 125 British, 

 91 Portuguese, 87 Italians. 83 Swedes and Nor- 

 wegians, 64 Americans, 37 Dutch, 21 Germans, 20 

 Danes, 14 Swiss, and 7 others. 



Finances. The revenue for 1897 was estimated 

 at 9,369,300 francs, and expenditure at 10,141,871 

 francs. For 1898 a revenue of 14,765,050 francs 

 was looked for, and the expenditure, including 

 2,524,920 francs for exceptional purposes, was ex- 

 pected to reach 17,251,975 francs. The King of the 

 Belgians continues his annual subvention of 1,000,- 

 000 francs, and the Belgian treasury advances 

 2.000,000 a year for ten years dating from July 3, 

 1890. The other revenues are derived from sales 

 and leases of lands, customs, posts, transport dues, 

 and monopolies of rubber and ivory. The chief 

 expenditures for 1898 were 6,870,631 francs for the 

 public force, 3,218,711 francs for working the public 

 domain, 1,945,358 francs for the marine, 1,595,960 

 francs for public works, and 1,495,278 francs for 

 administrative expenses. The local revenue, which 

 sufficed in 1886 for only 5 per cent, of the expendi- 

 ture, now amounts to 68 per cent. A loan of 20- 

 000,000 francs for the construction of public works 

 was negotiated with Brussels bankers in June, 1898. 



Public Force. The military force consists of 

 16 companies of native troops, of whom two thirds 

 are recruited within the State, numbering 6,120 

 men in 1896, commanded by 143 European officers 

 and 146 drill sergeants. The Belgians are able to 

 maintain their power with native troops alone by 

 taking advantage of the hereditary hostilities of the 

 different tribes, using Bateke soldiers to maintain 

 order among the Bangalas and vice versa. 



Commerce. The value of the general imports in 

 1896 was 16,070,370 francs ; of the general exports, 

 15,091,137 francs ; of exports, the produce of the 

 State, 12.389,599 francs. The chief imports are tex- 

 tile fabrics, guns and powder, spirits for the limited 

 districts where traffic in spirits is allowed, and 

 tobacco. The export of rubber in 1896 was 6,586,- 

 730 francs: of ivory, 3,826,320 francs; of palm oil 

 and nuts, 1,914,137 francs. Other exports are 

 coffee, which is raised in plantations on the upper 

 Congo, orchilla weed, gum copal, earthnuts, and 

 camwood. The Government has plantations of 



