Geographic Literature 



301 



The Republic of Chili. By Marie Robinson 



Wright. Pp. 450, with many illustrations. 



gy 2 x 12^2 inches. Philadelphia : Geo. Bar- 



rie & Sons. 1904. 



This book is dedicated "To the women of 

 Chile," which republic, we are told, is as nearly 

 a woman's paradise as any country outside of 

 the United States can be. Little of the seclu- 

 sion enforced by many Latin races is found 

 here, and the Chilean woman holds a high 

 place in the social and domestic economy of 

 the country. 



The wealthy Chilean lives principally at his 

 country home. Thousands of acres of land 

 often comprise these estates, and in many cases 

 it becomes necessary to establish sawmills, 

 blacksmith shops, and refrigerating plants, as 

 well as farms, for the private use of their 

 owner. A most attractive picture of social 

 and domestic life on these plantations is given 

 in a chapter, "Life on a Chilean Hacienda." 



In contrast to these luxuriant estates is the 

 arid "nitrate desert," where nothing can be 

 grown except by artificial means, and such 

 plants as ornament Iquique are raised in soil 

 brought from distant parts of the country. 

 Water is brought to the city from an oasis a 

 hundred miles away. These fields are, how- 

 ever, Chile's treasure-house, as she exports 

 over a million tons of nitrate annually to Eu- 

 rope and the United States. F. M. A. 



The Congo: a Report of the Commission of 



Inquiry. Pp. 171. New York and London: 



G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1906. 



The above is a translation made by Prof. 

 James H. Gore. In consequence of numerous 

 reports of abuses practiced upon the natives of 

 Congo Free State by officers of the government 

 and by other persons, in 1904 the King of Bel- 

 gium appointed a committee of three persons 

 to investigate the conditions in that state, espe- 

 cially with reference to these charges, and to 

 suggest suitable remedies for abuses, if any 

 were found to exist. This committee com- 

 menced its investigation October 5, 1904, and 

 closed it February 21, 1905, thus devoting four 

 and one-half months to work on the ground. 

 The investigation appears to have been thor- 

 ough and impartial. 



The commission found that many, if not 

 most, of the charges were substantiated, but 

 that a large proportion of the cases were una- 

 voidable. If it was desirable, for the protec- 

 tion of the natives against the slave traffic and 

 from internecene wars, not to mention their 

 education and advancement in civilization, that 

 a white man's government should be instituted 

 over them, and presumably it was desirable, the 

 natives must submit to taxation for its support. 

 The tax takes the form of contributions of nat- 

 ural products or of labor. Now the average 

 native, not appreciating the benefits of good 

 government, endeavors to evade the payment 

 of the tax, owing to his indolent disposition, 



and measures have to be taken to collect the 

 tax, by force if necessary. He^ice whipping 

 and imprisonment have been resorted to, and 

 in many instances conflicts have occurred in 

 which the black soldiery have massacred the 

 inhabitants of villages. Moreover, besides the 

 labor received in working out taxes, much na- 

 tive labor must be had for railroad and station 

 building and for a thousand other purposes 

 connected with the institution and carrying 

 on of government, which it is difficult, and 

 in many cases impossible, to obtain without 

 conscription. 



Certain parts of the territory of the Congo 

 Free State, moreover, have been farmed out to 

 companies which are exploiting them, and it is 

 in these concessions that the greatest abuses 

 have been discovered, as might be expected. 



The commission makes many recommenda- 

 tions for reform, and for the purpose of 

 carrying these out the King of Belgium has 

 appointed a committee of fourteen persons, in- 

 cluding the three members of the committee on 

 investigation. H. G. 



Old Provence By Theodore A. Cook. 2 vols. 



Pp. 348, 448. 5x8 inches. Illustrated. 



New York: Scribner's. $4.00 net. 



These two volumes from the pen of Theo- 

 dore Cook will be thoroughly enjoyed by lovers 

 of romantic and historical mysticisms, folklore, 

 and legends of Old France, and especially will 

 they be welcomed by many who read and ap- 

 preciated the former volumes of Mr Cook, 

 "Old Touraine," the Life and History of the 

 Chateaux of the Loire. 



In volume I Mr Cook has given much his- 

 torical information of the Phoenician, Greek, 

 and Roman rule in Old France, together with 

 many illustrations and accurate descriptions of 

 the architectural wonders created by them,, 

 many traces of which are yet to be found. 



Coming down through the centuries, volume 

 II contains a fund of information touching 

 upon the religious beliefs and worship of the 

 times, bringing out in relief the class distinc- 

 tion and the almost God-like reign of the feudal 

 lords, together with the unceasing wars be- 

 tween the princes of the church. 



Every page of this interesting history seems 

 to furnish a romance in itself, and one readily 

 discerns the historical field of Maurice Hew- 

 lett's romances. J. O. L. 



The Philippine Experiences of an American 



Teacher. By William B. Freer. Pp. 344. 



5 by 7J4 inches. Illustrated. New York: 



Charles Scribner's Sons. 1906. 



In this volume we see the Filipino in his- 

 home, in his church, at some gay fiesta, and at 

 the schools established by American teachers, 

 who are frequently aided in their teaching by 

 trained natives. The old method of "rapid- 

 fire" questions used to instruct youth under 

 the Spanish regime has been put aside for the 

 newer system of giving instruction in English 



