The Eastern Congo 



The total value of the exportations from the Belgian 

 Congo for 1920 reached the respectable figure of close on 

 200,000,000 francs (two hundred million francs). 



The three important centres of the copper, gold and 

 diamond mining industries are fortunately very favourably 

 placed for native labour, for the Katanga, Kilo and Kasai 

 districts are all well populated and should, if the labour 

 supply be well organised, meet the majority of the labour 

 demands. The latter conditions are to be found in the 

 Kasai and Kilo, but in spite of the good treatment and liberal 

 pay offered to native labour on and around the Katanga 

 mines, sufficient local labour is not forthcoming in this district 

 and so natives have to be recruited outside it. The popula- 

 tion of the Katanga highlands is put down at two millions, 

 and as only sixty thousand natives are required to meet all 

 demands, it should be possible to find this number locally. 

 Truth to tell, work on the Katanga copper mines has been 

 made unpopular with natives, not by reason of their treatment 

 by the recruiting bureaux or agents of the Union Miniere 

 (for this leaves nothing to be desired), but by reason of their 

 maltreatment at the hands of unscrupulous contractors, 

 mostly Greeks. Doubtless a more suitable adjustment of 

 labour and the settlement of other questions in the Katanga 



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