Statistical Report of Y. M. M. I. A., 1902–3

934 IMPROVEMENT ERA

the other side; but it is certainly true that the information afford- ed us through the medium of the American press is not wholly re- liable. If half of what has been said against Turkey were true,

the Great Powers would, of course, have interfered long ago. At this time, it may appear a little amazing to many that the Greeks, a Christian nation of south-eastern Europe, are really lifting their voices in Christian prayer for the success of the Turks. Servia and Roumania would both prefer to see the Turks rule in Macedonia than to have it become a part of Bulgaria. Certainly life and peace are at no higher premium in either Bul- garia or Servia than in Macedonia, a Turkish province, and both would be more valuable in Macedonia than either of thai other two countries, were it not for Christian revolutionists. The Turkish government is sluggish and corrupt, and the Turk is unprogressive. But if the Turks shall not be permitted to rule Macedonia, what country shall rule it? Self rule would mean constant civil strife and anarchy. Austria has all the hot pokers in her hand that she can No Protestant nation carry. would like to see Russia take Macedonia. And as long as the coun- try cannot be made an acceptable and desirable gift to anybody, what shall become of it? After all, the question is a puzzle, and the practical diplomats of Europe are aware of that fact. News- papers, however, would solve the difficulty in short order.

Affairs in Congo Free State.

In view of what is going on in the Congo Free State, the word "free" is a travesty on human rights. In 1885, representa- tives of the Great Powers in Europe met at Berlin and created out of a district of country along the Congo River, having an area of about nine hundred thousand square miles, a state free from the control of any of the Great Powers, and put it under the gov- ernment of the king of Belgium, but made the government an ab- solute monarchy. The object, also, of this action was to stop the slave trade carried on by the Arabs in the western- central por- tion of Africa. The country is governed at Brussels through a foreign minister who rules by means of under secretaries. The Congo Free State, however, has a local capital at Boma, about fifty miles from the mouth of the Congo River. The country of

CURRENT STORY OF THE WORLD. 935

the upper Congo is populated by millions of the negro race, and it is one of the chief sources of our ivory and rubber. In order to carry on the government of the Cod go Free State, itbecame necessary, of course, to raise revenue; and the Belgian government, therefore, farmed out the chief industries to large corporations that were enabled to carry on their business through the aid of the Belgian government, that provided negro soldiers for the purpose of subserving the interests of these corporations. In the first place, the government at Brussels declared about nine- tenths of all the land to be crown lands, and sold to the various companies monopolies, the government retaining one-half of the profits. Owing to the tropical heat of central Africa, it is an unde- sirable abode for the white man, and there are perhaps not more than three thousand whites in all the Congo Free State. How- ever, an army of about twelve thousand blacks was organized and put under the control of Belgian officers. Many of these black soldiers are cannibals, and their regard for human life is no pro- tection whatever to the unfortunate villagers they dominate. As an example of how things have been going on for some time, in that part of the world, the rubber industry furnishes an illustra- tion. A district of the Congo Free State is set apart to a rub- ber company. The rubber must be gathered, and the natives are required to do the work. But the natives regard the country as their own, and do not see why they should be sent out by some foreign corporation to gather rubber, unless they want to. The negro soldiers, therefore, surround the villages, and call out the entire male population to hunt rubber. If the villagers refuse, death is certain. The villagers are provided with baskets, which must be filled and returned to the government posts, where some trifling trinket is given as remuneration. If the natives bring too little rubber in their basket, it is said they are sometimes killed, and even eaten by the black cannibal soldiers. Recently, the British minister of foreign affairs has notified the Belgian government that Great Britain objects to the grant- ing of these monopolies, and insists that forced labor be done away with, and other evils in the Congo Free State be abandoned. The poor negro there is in an as apparently unfortunate condition