BELGIAN CONGO Published by the, Belgian Information, Center 630 Fifth Ave., New York AT WAR > American opinions on Belgian Congo’s war effort Congo forces eager in invasion role A. C. Sedgwick in the New York Times , June 19. 1943). Among the latest arrivals in the Middle East are the members of the Belgian Congo Brigade. Somewhere in the desert these colored warriors, with noncommissioned officers of their own kind, continue their training, prac¬ ticing new types of warfare with newly issued weapons while at the same time performing the duty imposed upon the Allies in general of guarding thousands of Axis war prisoners in transient camps. They can put on as fine a parade ground show as any elite regiment in the world and step out, it seems, with a good deal more gusto than the most modern soldiers. Disciplined and well drilled, they like being soldiers even more than playing at it. As the soldier’s main func¬ tion is to fight, they want to fight. One of the chief prob¬ lems is caused by their impatience to get to grips with the enemy during a lull period, especially as some of them have made the 4,000-mile trek across Africa to be fighting men. Most of them have seen at least seven years’ service in the Force Publique or state constabulary charged mainly with policing and defense of the Congo. This protective army has been hewn into modern shape by Belgian officers, many of whom fought the Germans in the brief and tragic campaign in the Low Countries in 1940. Belgian officers say that the main reason why this force now stands ready for any future operations in Europe is to demonstrate willingness on Belgium’s part to be repre¬ sented by armed force in active warfare purposes—to liberate the home country and other nations similarly under German domination. Operating under European climatic conditions is not expected to offer a serious handicap to these troops. During the Ethiopian Campaign, Belgian Congo forces, surmounting heavy tolls of dysenteric and pulmonary diseases, gave a remarkable demonstration of endurance and tactical skill. In all they captured some 15,000 Italian and colonial troops, although they themselves numbered only a third of that figure. They were then at a disadvan¬ tage through having very few aircraft, ft is said now that this position has been remedied. In addition, numbers of skilled Belgian pilots trained in South Africa will hence¬ forth be available for cooperation with the jungle warriors on whatever European venture they may be assigned to. Remarkable as was the march of the Congo troops across Africa to take revenge on the Axis in 1941, this second expedition represents possibly an even greater feat. It was a military enterprise that many experts judged im¬ possible of achievement as a result of motor transport dif¬ ficulties, not to mention the havoc that disease mioht have caused. Actually, not more than 5 per cent of the convoy was lost in traversing some of the most treacherous territory on the globe, across mountains and seemingly endless stretches of sunbaked desert. At some points en route the expedi¬ tion encountered primeval bush through which the war¬ riors were obliged to hack their way with machetes and knives, with which, incidentally, they expect to do some damage against the foe when they meet him. In negotiating hitherto untried distances they brought with them much necessary equipment, including artillery and ack-ack batteries. * * * Leopoldville, city of beautiful homes QErnie Pyle in the “Chicago Sun,’’ June 19, 1943.) Leopoldville was a big surprise. I expected to find just a large village with a few tin-roofed trading posts, such as you see in tropical movies. But actually “Leo” is a beau¬ tiful city of 50,000. It has shipyards, big river docks and a modern textile factory with 400 workers. It has 3000 white inhabitants and scores of homes as beautiful as you would find in Pasadena. Its streets are ot macadam. It has fine big stores in buildings of brick and stone and concrete. Huge trees like maples line the streets. There are many parks and lovely statues. There are movies and a zoo and a big tropical museum. Bougainvilleas and other flowers of all kinds splash the city with color. People sit and drink in sidewalk cafes. Autos dash along the streets at astonishing speed. You are suddenly amazed to see so many white women again. A big ell-shaped hotel sits in the center of town, with its lovely garden right on the river bank. You could sit in your room at the hotel and throw an ink bottle out of the window and it would go kerplunk right into the Congo. The city is always referred to by the shortened term “Leo,” just as Elizabethville is almost always called “Eville.” The very words “Belgian Congo” have always sug¬ gested the most insufferable kind of tropics, where white people sit and rot with the heat. Yet, when I was there, it was not as hot as Washington in summertime, and dur¬ ing half of my week it was almost chilly, with frequent cloudbursting rains. If you are careful it need not be an especially un¬ healthful place, although the climate is energy-sapping and people work with probably half of their normal ef¬ ficiency. The war seems pretty far away at “Leo.” The Belgian Congo did send an army up to help the British retake Ethiopia, and Congo troops were with Gen. Jacques LeClerc’s army when it marched up from Lake Chad, and the Congo is producing to the limit of its natural resources—tin, rubber, cotton and other goods—for the war effort. But still the war seems pretty far away. . . The Belgian people have been grand to our troops C American troops. Ed.), inviting them into their homes, and turning over to them the one big club in town. BELGIAN CONGO AT WAR Second Edition Published by THE BELGIAN INFORMATION CENTER 630 Fifth Avenue, New York "A Primitive Mass of Natives^ Becomes a Body of Loyal Colonial Citizens Silence is such a beautiful and permanent thing that, whenever it is broken by the spoken word or by print, an excuse is called for: that is the origin of prefaces, introduc¬ tions and forewords. Especially in wartime, when economy in every {Held is imperative, a reason should be given for every effort which, at first sight, does not seem indispensa¬ ble. The publication of this brochure is justified by the fact that the American public generally is not aware of the role the Belgian Congo is playing in the world conflict, and by another far more important fact, namely, that Belgium has assumed the white man’s burden in a territory 80 times its own size and has achieved in four score years a work of civilization and progress to which practically all who know the Congo render hommage. Under a regime of economic internationalization, Congo commerce has developed rap¬ idly and the motherland Belgium has spared no sacrifices to increase the Congo’s economic significance in world trade, although it was bound by the international status of its colony to deal on a perfectly equal basis with other peoples. The well known American author, Negley Farson, states in Behind God’s Back that: “The Belgians seem to have shown a great deal of uncommon good sense in handling their Congo problem.” The tremendous sacrifices Belgium has imposed upon itself to help the Congo native out of Arabian slavery and to deliver him from disease, have been rewarded by the loyalty and the devotion of the 15,000,000 Negroes in the Congo. Already in World War 1, our Negro troops fought bravely and effectively against the Germans in Africa. The conquest of Tabora and the surrounding region was the culminating point of their forcefid action. Today, the pop¬ ulation of the former German colonies has not yet for¬ gotten the treatment inflicted upon them by the “magni¬ ficent blond beasts of prey,” for whose arrival Frederic Nietzsche longed so much. The colonial troops of the Bel¬ gian Congo readily gave their lives for their homeland and its white protectors. As Negley Farson wrote: “It is well to the credit of the Belgians that they have taken this very primitive mass of Congo natives and are, yearly and inev¬ itably, giving them better living conditions and a practi¬ cal education.” Again, in 1941, they went on the march against the Italian strongholds in Southern Abyssinia. More than 500 of them died on the burning plateaus of the Gala Sidamo region, but they conquered Asosa, Gambela and Saio, look 15,000 prisoners and swept the enemy from the entire re¬ gion. Today they are ready for further action. As the war moved on in the Far East, important produc¬ tion centers of valuable war materials were lost to the Allies, and the importance of the Belgian Congo as a producer of copper, tin, manganese, rubber, palm oil, fiber, etc., be¬ came more apparent. Since the 10 th of May, 1940, the Belgian Congo has been staunchly on the side of the Allies, it has not wavered. The purpose of this brochure is to tell the American public how this African territory, as large as one third of the United States, is bracing itself to an ever-increased effort for the Allied victory. Too often this effort is ignored, sometimes it is minimized. The Belgian colonizers of the Congo had a double object: to combat ig¬ norance and to repair injustice. To a certain extent, this brochure aims to do the same. The Belgian Information Center. A Message from the Belgian Minister of Colonies The Belgian Congo is at War and is Waging War by ALBERT DE VLEESCHAUWER We are at war and we are waging war. In the common strife, the Belgian Congo brings all it is, all it has, all it can. Congo troops with Belgian officers and N. C. O.’s are on the march beyond the colony’s frontiers and have dis¬ tinguished themselves in no small manner in the Ethiopian campaign. More and still more troops and equipment will be available as, when and where they are needed. The Congo transports and highways have been offered to the Allies. Already South African regiments have used them to join the battle lines. In the all-important economic field also, the Belgian Con¬ go has entered the service of the Allies. Its economic doc¬ trine and practices have been rapidly adapted to the new conditions and, whilst everything is being done to maintain the potentiality of the Congo wealth, there is no hesitation whatsoever when it comes to sacrificing any riches in favor of the war effort. Our contacts with the British Government are constant and the economic and financial treaties we signed with that Government are proof of our good will, just as is our mili¬ tary cooperation on land, on sea and in the air. With the British colonies and Dominions our under¬ standing is complete. In the course of my journeys to Af¬ rica, I paid good-neighbor visits to the Governors of Gam¬ bia, Sierra-Leone and Nigeria. In company with the Congo Governor-General and the chief of the Congo staff, I offi¬ cially visited Kenya in order to show better than by speeches our will to act in perfect harmony with our Allies. At Nai¬ robi we had conversations of a military and economic nature. In the Union of South Africa, I had highly useful meetings with that eminent statesman, General Smuts, to discuss various problems interesting our two countries. We reached an agreement on most of them and started preliminary ne¬ gotiations towards a satisfactory solution for the others, al¬ ways keeping in mind the will to better relations between the two countries and to further the all-out effort to win the war. The moral and economic relations between the Belgian Congo and America have always been on a friendly foot¬ ing. Today when, because of the Oriental and the Euro¬ pean Nazis’ aggression, the United States is in the war, these relations will be ever increasing. In that respect, the inauguration of the Congo Clipper Line is heartily wel¬ come; it is also an omen for the war aftermath. Through the various factors outlined which all converge towards unity with the Allies, through the important share taken up wholeheartedly by the Belgian Congo, we feel confident that we shall speedily obtain the liberation of our beloved Belgium and regain our freedom and independence. 3 A message from the Governor-General of the Belgian Congo The Belgian Congos War Effort by PIERRE RYCKMANS Since the invasion of Belgium on May 10, 1940, the Belgian Congo has had but one object in life. All its prob¬ lems have been rolled into one: how to contribute most effectively to the common allied victory. The home army’s surrender was felt in the Congo as a grave defeat, a sore trial—nothing more. It was regarded as purely military, with no political significance whatsoever. The King, as Commander in Chief of the army, shared the captivity of his men; but the Government, the country, the King himself, as head of the State, had not submitted to the invader. The capitulation of the home army involved, neither in fact nor in intent, the colonial army. The French Government, in search of a scapegoat for the wrath of a disillusioned people; world opinion, without accurate sources of information, might interpret the sur¬ render of May 28 as an abandonment of the alliance. In the Congo, no such mistake was made. The laying down of arms was not contemplated for an instant. By noon on that very 28th of May, even before the proclamation of the Bel¬ gian Government, the Leopoldville radio took the cue for the future: “The war is to go on.” We went into it to defend our territory; there can be no question of getting out until our territory is won back. The French armistice of June 23, 1940, remained for us still more definitely res inter alios acta, though its actual consequences were perhaps even more serious than those of the occupation of Belgium. At the outset of the invasion, the Belgian Government, the rear services for the army, the Departments of National Defense and of the Colonies, had been established in France. All young Belgians of mili¬ tary age had been evacuated to that country. All colonial activities had set up headquarters there. Every precaution seemed to have been taken so that, even with the mother country invaded, the life of the Colony could go on almost normally until the day of victory. The French collapse swept away all these precautions, and turned our defeat into disaster. The Congo found itself suddenly cut off for a number of weeks, detached from the Belgian Government, deprived moreover of its freedom of action in France itself —out of touch with what remained of the Belgian army, with any of the organizing forces in Europe which directed its activities in times of peace, bereft of all support either military or civilian, obliged to go unaided, without the constant flow of fresh energy so necessary in a colony whose climate is debilitating. In 1914-18 the home army had fut- nis h e d three- fourths of the Eu¬ ropean elements in the mobilized forces of the Con¬ go, and had contri¬ buted largely to the civilian ranks in colonial admin¬ istration as well. No more than on the 28th of May, was there any thought of giving up the fight because of the French armis¬ tice: but all our plans of activity had to be revised and started again ah ovo. With a total white population of less than thirty thou¬ sand, women and children included, and a third of that number belonging to other nationalities, we had to adapt ourselves to hold out for the duration of the war. The greatest possible force had to be mobilized, and our pro¬ duction reorganized to meet the needs of the Allied armies. Palm oil, butter, and other palm products, coffee, cotton, and copal constituted almost half of our exports prior to the war. Now, almost fifty per cent of these products re¬ mained unsold. The port of Antwerp, which had taken three-fourths of our exports, was now in enemy hands. Trade between the Congo and the United States, before the war, was all one-sided. We imported automobile parts and mineral oils; our exports in that direction were confined to a small amount of palm oil. In the three months from April to June 1941, we sent four hundred million francs worth of raw materials to the United States. These new figures bear eloquent witness, I think, to the character and scope of our economic war effort, for it goes without saying that practically all the new American pur¬ chases go straight to plants for making munitions. As for our military effort, the part played by Congo troops in the Abyssinian campaign has been revealed to the Ameri¬ can public by war correspondent George Weller, of the Chi¬ cago Daily News, in terms which have filled all Belgians with pride. Our soldiers are ready to go wherever they are called. The extension of the war to the Pacific, involving the active participation of the United States, has again pro¬ foundly changed the aspects of the problem. But, in the full measure of our ability, wherever we may be called, we will answer: Present. 4 Belgian Congo soldiers are known for their fighting qualities View of Leopoldville, seen from the balcony of the A. B. C. Hotel. Native chief administering justice. The Belgian Congo in the War by MAX HORN Counselor of the Belgian Congo Government. I.—The Political Status of Belgium Overseas. It need hardly be recalled that in 1908 Belgium took over the sovereign rights, assets and commitments of the Congo Free State, at that time an independent country in personal union with the Kingdom of Belgium under the Belgian crown. An area of roughly one million square miles in the heart of Africa became the Belgian Congo Colony. After the World War—in 1925—the League of Nations entrusted a mandate to Belgium over the adjoining Ruanda-Urundi Territories, formerly two districts of German East Africa. The area of these Territories is comparatively small (about 25,000 square miles) but they are very thickly populated, the number of their inhabitants being estimated at over three million, while the population of the Congo Colony numbers somewhat less than 12 million. They are in all respects administered as a part of the Colony, although they have a separate treasury, the only practical distinction being that it is incumbent on the Congo Government to report on their progress to the League of Nations, and not only to the Belgian Parliament. A uniform administration of the Colony and Territories was greatly facilitated by the fact that the humanitarian policies and liberal economic system prescribed by the Lea¬ gue to Mandatory Powers were already in force in the Belgian Congo. The Belgian Act of Parliament of October 18, 1908, known as the Colonial Charter, lays down the fundamental lines on which the Belgian Possessions shall be governed. This Act embodies a Bill of Rights that safe¬ guards the personal liberties of the people—the natives in particular. It affords equal opportunities to all in the matter of trade regardless of nationality, race or creed, and makes it a primary duty for the Government to promote the spiritual and physical welfare of the native population, notably through encouraging the spread of Christianity and scientific research. Furthermore it sets out the Constitution of the Colony. Financially the Congo is a separate entity, distinct from Belgium. As regards legislation, the Congo Government is granted a wide autonomy, the only measures subjected to a vote of the Belgian Parliament being amendments to the Charter, foreign treaties, and the Colony’s annual budget estimates and its ways and means. The debate on the bud¬ get affords Parliament an opportunity to discuss the conduct of the Congo Administration. At the head of this Adminis¬ tration stands the Minister of Colonies, who is assisted by a number of departmental officers and is at the same time a member of the Belgian Cabinet. Legislative enactments are issued in the form of Royal Decrees under the respon¬ sibility of the Minister of Colonies after they have been examined and reported on (except in cases of emergency) by the Colonial Council, an advisory body, some of whose members are Government nominees (mostly retired high Congo officials), the others being appointed by Parliament. The Governor-General of the Congo and Ruanda-Urundi is subordinate to the Minister of Colonies but holds extensive executive powers and has authority to enact temporary legis¬ lative measures (Ordinances). While the Belgian Government—at present established in London and comprising M. de Vleeschauwer, Minister of Colonies—remains responsible for the general policies of the Congo Colony and Ruanda-Urundi Territories, these lands—to which we shall refer as “the Congo’’ in the fol¬ lowing paragraphs—form today an almost completely self- governing entity. When the Belgian Government declared that Italy having committed acts of war against Belgian na¬ tionals and Belgian interests, Belgium would take a corre¬ sponding stand against Italy, Belgium Overseas—the Congo —already at war with Germany since May 1940, became an active ally of Great Britain in every field. It is today associated fully and unreservedly with the United Nations. Let us now outline the steps that have been taken with a view to maintaining and increasing the Colony’s ability to further the common cause. II.—War Measures. (a) Non-military safeguards against enemy action, and economic measures. Immediately after the outbreak of war—on May 10, 1940 —the Governor General of the Congo ordered the intern¬ ment of every male German national of military age, other German subjects being placed under supervision. At the same time German assets in the Congo were “blocked,” and officials appointed for their administration. A few days later, persons other than citizens of friendly countries were prohibited from circulating in the Colony without a permit. Since June 18, 1940, unauthorized gatherings in public places are forbidden. Corporations formed under Belgian law and corporations formed under Congo law are authorized respectively by the Belgian Act of February 2, 1940 and the Congo Decree of February 19, 1940 to transfer their seats of operations in the event of war, and by the same enactments the control of their assets situated outside of an area under enemy influ¬ ence is vested exclusively in their representatives resident outside of that area. Practically all corporations operating in the Congo, in which there are important Belgian, British or American interests, are today controlled from the Congo. In some instances it was found that the agents of a Cor¬ poration resident in the Colony were without adequate powers of attorney, while their Board of principals, being detained in Belgium, were unable to issue supplementary proxies. In order to remedy this difficulty, an Ordinance of 7 August 16, 1940 enables the Governor General to grant, at the request of a director or manager of a corporation, the powers of the Board, partners or shareholders to such per¬ sons and to such an extent as he may deem suitable. The Governor General has exercised this power in a number of instances. Exports and imports are subjected to Government control, partly with a view to precluding direct or indirect trading with the enemy, and partly for monetary reasons, notably in order to strengthen the dollar holdings of the Sterling Area, as will be set out in the following chapter; but especially with a desire of husbanding essential goods of which the United Nations stand in need for other purposes. This consideration inspired an Ordinance of July 29, 1941, by which all enterprises are requested to furnish returns on metallurgical products in their possession and the Governor General is empowered to determine at his discretion the uses to which such products shall be applied. While every effort is made to promote the output of stra¬ tegic materials, the exportation of agricultural products is subjected to new regulations: at a time when the Congo is supplying foreign outlets with goods the bulk of which went to Belgium in pre-war years, the Government feels particularly justified in establishing stringent rules directed to uphold the good repute of the Colony’s products; and there is a great economy of ocean tonnage thanks to these selective measures. The Congo has a currency of its own, distinct from that of Belgium; but for reasons of convenience, the gold equiv¬ alent of the Congo franc was fixed in 1926 at one-fifth of the belga’s gold equivalent. Immediately after the German aggression, the Belgian Government entered into a mone¬ tary arrangement with Britain and France, whose curren¬ cies at the time were stabilized in regard to each other. This agreement fixed a standard rate of exchanoe of 24 belgas to the English pound sterling, and a corresponding ratio between the belga and the French franc. The Congo Government substituted the same parities for the Congo franc in lieu of its previous gold equivalent. In the first days of June 1940, at the pressing request of the French authori¬ ties, the belga was devaluated to the level of the French franc, and its parity with sterling was consequently re¬ duced to 35.325 belgas to the pound. Under the same pressure the Congo Government reluctantly followed suit, enacting that the Central Bank of the Colony—'"Banque du Congo Beige” or Congo Bank—would thenceforth base its buying and selling rates for foreign currencies on a parity of 176.625 francs to the English pound. (With a rate of exchange of about four dollars to the pound, the dollar is roughly equivalent to 44 Congo francs.) Whereas in nor¬ mal times a strongly favorable balance of trade made it easy to maintain the external value of the Congo franc at whatever parity the Government might consider advisable, facilities generously granted by the Bank of England put the Congo Bank in a position to effect without interruption all remittances abroad required by the Colony during the short period of confusion that followed the French Armis¬ tice. Very soon, however, new outlets were found for the 8 Congo’s main products, and this expansion of exports, cou¬ pled with a severe governmental control of imports, enabled the Colony not only to cover its own requirements in for¬ eign currencies but also to finance the Treasury of the Bel¬ gian Government-in-Exile. Under an Ordinance of May 14, 1940 the Congo Bank —a private chartered institution under Government super¬ vision—is granted a monopoly in foreign exchange dealings, all foreign currencies derived from exports after that date being placed at its disposal. The Congo Bank controls, and is responsible for, the entire currency circulation of the Col¬ ony, specie as well as notes. Coins other than gold are treated in all respects as metallic banknotes; this is a dis¬ tinctive feature of the Congo’s monetary system. Despite the devaluation to which the monetary unit was subjected in June 1940 and the subsequent adjustment of prices, the amount of currency in circulation shows a relatively small increase. On the other hand bank deposits are accumulat¬ ing, in unprecedented figures, pending the post-war dis¬ charge of commitments towards creditors and stockholders in occupied Belgium. The counterpart of these deposits consists mainly in corresponding sterling holdings of the Congo Bank. Individual and corporate incomes are subjected to heavy excess-profit taxes and war taxes; and profiteering is curbed by an Ordinance of April 30, 1941, which enables the local Authorities to fix minimum prices for staple articles. Only a “normal” margin of profit may be charged, cost of re¬ placement being taken into account. Producers of useful goods or services are debarred from spending and investing as they might wish by the watchful severity of the Congo Import and Exchange Controls, and their earnings are limited. Yet there is no sign of their re¬ laxing their efforts to satisfy both the increased local needs and the growing requirements of the United Nations abroad. Mining and manufacturing plants are working 24 hours a day on week-days; though some, it must be admitted, are in operation for only 12 hours on Sundays. (b) Military Measures. It would not be proper to enlarge here on the importance and location of the Congo’s armed forces and their equip¬ ment. In the first World War, after Germany had attacked the Colony from her adjoining possessions in violation of the treaties that guaranteed its neutrality, Congo armies successfully carried the fight into enemy territory, the native troops and carriers displaying conspicuous bravery, hardi¬ ness and loyalty under the leadership of their white officers. I hey have shown that they are still made of the same metal. At the outbreak of the present war, the Congo forces were mobilized. On May 14, 1940 the Governor General invited natives to enlist. On May 17th, he advised the (white) “voluntary territorial guards” that they must hold themselves in readiness. These guards were incorporated in the Army, on October 10th. Three weeks later all Belgians between the ages of seventeen and thirty-six not previously enrolled in the Army were drafted into “training courses.” T he top picture shows anti-aircraft at Matadi; the lower picture , jeeps at the Watsa Camp. ?A. |gL»yTT jggp fPl £* - "~i; n'’F3S R3 gryy ,,;,„S^I. p^^*iFS5t fc„„JX... j ”' ‘^13%’ M m * RgHj "fc# T, , , **^ < **** f ^ /• > '■ *•*!; : ^nigg^S^Sii . »-i ■ fik -.. % ^ A *». | MPr J? F L~i a ' > •, 4, , ■0f$v$§ -jfB W 1 ! 98L - 'v'- - ■ *1“' iTB'iiiivififr* •• % jm p» JKx, -f^jl tf * rw a. TLir , 4 . • :;>• $ 3 $. r „ ■ s* Mf! ;'m*i» Hjp.. 1 ^ „a »'”s*. C. ir- u ". ♦» ... ST * *- w- 3r--fc *a • \ . • •. The native personnel of transportation services has been militarized since June 20, 1941. Since the end of June 1940, the Congo Government has been in consultation with British naval and mili¬ tary authorities. General de Gaulle was given a hearty welcome at Leopoldville. While the Congo Army is not connected with the Free French Legions the Colony fur¬ nishes them with important supplies. The notable part which the Congo Army took in the Abyssinian campaign is set out in another article in this booklet. More may be heard shortly of its participation in the fight against dictatorial powers. In December last, Pan-American Airways instituted an air-service between the United States of America and the Congo. This means a closer collaboration between this country and the Belgian Colony in every field. TIT.—Aid to the United Nations. The Congo forces have proved to be a factor in the allied military array, but the Colony’s economic resources are per¬ haps of greater immediate importance. When Belgium entered the war, the Belgian Govern¬ ment decided to place these resources unreservedly at the disposal of the Allies. Moreover, a number of the best Bel¬ gian ships which regularly traveled between Antwerp and the Congo, were directed to carry Congo products to French and British ports. When Antwerp fell into the hands of the aggressor, Bordeaux was selected as the most convenient port from which to effect distribution, and arrangements for supplies were negotiated with the French and British Pur¬ chasing Commissions. The French Armistice caused the Congo Administration to center its efforts on supplies to Britain. A provisional understanding was soon reached between M. de Vleeschauwer, in behalf of the Belgian Government, and the British Authorities. The LInited Kingdom would operate at its discretion all Belgian shipping, and it would receive such portion of the Congo’s exportable products as it desired. On the other hand the Congo would be treated in the British Empire "as one of the family,” and practically enjoy the privileges of Imperial Preference in the LInited Kingdom. Included in the Sterling Area, the Congo granted the British Treasury a call on such of its gold and dollar holdings as would from time to time exceed its own re¬ quirements and those of the Belgian Government. These arrangements were confirmed in a formal agreement signed on January 21, 1941, which notably specified the quanti¬ ties of the various products to be delivered to the United Kingdom. Practically the entire output, for example, of copper, edible palm-oil and diamonds (the Congo is the world’s largest producer of industrial diamonds, an impor¬ tant war material) accrues to the United Kingdom while the bulk of the Colony’s timber production—varieties par¬ ticularly suitable for the erection of barracks—is shipped to the Union of South Africa. A visit paid last year by M. de Vleeschauwer to Fieldmarshal Smuts brought about a sub- stantial increase in tbe volume of goods and services ex- Top Picture: A modern mining district of Katanga. Lower Picture: Copper mine in Katanga Province. changed between the Union and the Congo, and ship¬ ments notably of cotton have gone to India and Australia. At the same the Congo’s trade with the United States and Canada rapidly expanded. Through their purchases of Congo products as well as through their supplies of goods to the Congo, the United States and Canada are indirectly aiding Britain: they contribute to sustain the Colony’s ac¬ tivities, avert unemployment and dissatisfaction amongst the native population, and enable tbe Congo to devote its energies and resources to tbe production of desirable com¬ modities. Incidentally the United States is giving further aid to Britain through replenishing the dollar holdings of tbe Sterling Area by its purchases, and through refining Congo ores in Britain’s behalf. In return the Congo is mate¬ rially furthering the war effort of the United States through providing increasing quantities of strategic metals—such as tin, cobalt, manganese, zinc, cadmium, etc.—and important vegetable products—such as palm-oil, fibres, and gum copal. In recognition of the Congo’s contribution towards tbe at¬ tainment of the common goal, and indeed with a view to rendering this contribution possible, the English, South African, Canadian and American Authorities have given and are giving liberal consideration to the requirements of the Colony in regard to essential supplies and maritime transportation. The Belgian Congo Purchasing Embassy in order to recommend justified applications for prioritv rating certificates, export licenses and Treasurv licenses in behalf of prospective importers of goods to the Congo, grate¬ fully acknowledges the understanding and efficient support it has found at Washington and Ottawa. IV.—The Congo Carries On. Before the invasion of Belgium the Congo was consign¬ ing more than four-fifths of its exports to the mother coun¬ try (where they entered free of duty), and it derived from Belgium nearly one-half of its imports (although Belgian suppliers were enjoying no preferential treatment). Trade between the Congo and other European countries account¬ ed almost entirely for the remaining percentages, the most notable exception being imports of cotton goods from Japan. In 1938, exports to the U. S. amounted to $1,550,000 and imports from the LT. S., to $1,875,000, totalling little more than \% of the Colony’s external trade. Under present conditions the Congo must turn to new outlets, and new sources of supply. A spell of deep anxiety followed the French Armistice. Fortunately the Colony was well stocked with imported consumption goods. In¬ deed, until recently, the only form of rationing the Gov¬ ernment found it necessary to establish—in a single Prov¬ ince—was that of infant goods, which under an Ordinance of August 5, 1940, could be delivered only on medical pre¬ scription (this to be furnished gratis). Today sales of motor vehicles and tires are restricted to essential needs. The arrangements with Britain referred to in the pre¬ ceding chapter brought immediate relief. A few senior officials of the Belgian Colonial Office, who had succeeded in escaping from territories under Nazi control, joined M. 11 de Vleeschauwer in London, where the Central Adminis¬ tration of the Colony is fulfilling its functions with an extremely reduced staff—in curious contrast with the usual war-time expansion of Government departments. With the help of these services, trade relations between the Llnited Kingdom and the Congo soon developed. Besides, some of the principal undertakings operating in the Colony already had close business connections in England, and ever since the first World War, a branch of the Congo Bank has been established in London. Simultaneously, the South Afri¬ can market was approached, as we have mentioned, and an agency of the Congo Government was instituted in New York with the special duty of promoting trade with the United States and Canada. Practically every Congo con¬ cern is now represented in New York or Montreal banking transactions passing mainly through the Banque Beige pour l’Etranger (Overseas) Ltd. or the Bank of Manhattan in the United States, and the Canadian Bank of Commerce in the Dominion. The Congo’s external trade has more than regained its pre-war volume. In particular, monthly exports to the United States (ex¬ clusive of re-exports) rose from about $600,000 on an aver¬ age in the first half year of 1940 to about $2,700,000 in 1942. Imports from the United States averaged approxi¬ mately $850,000 a month during the past year, but the f. o. b. cost of these purchases is roughly equalled by “in¬ visible imports:” ocean freights (shipments in both direc¬ tions being carried almost exclusively on vessels owned or chartered by American companies), insurance, commis¬ sions, treatment of Congo ores in American refineries for re-exportation, etc. In times such as the present, when production capacity is strained to the utmost and still falls short of the demand, the supplier rather than the customer bestows favors on the other party. There is a world scarcity in practically every variety of the Congo’s exportable products, and the Colony’s problem today is not so much to find outlets as to maintain and increase its output in order to meet, so far as it is able, the needs of the United Nations. Obviously the program can only be fulfilled provided the Congo receives from abroad such equipment and consumer goods as it needs for performing its task. Mutual aid spells mutual sacrifices. The Congo is accomplishing its part with a stubborn will, unceasingly stimulated by the Government, to add whatever it may be able to the common resources. The Ad¬ ministration and the white officers of the producing enter¬ prises are overworked. Many on the staff—particularly the younger engineers—are drafted; their remaining colleagues cannot now as in normal times take their vacations in Eu¬ rope; they cannot be replaced by newcomers from Belgium. The natives too are working harder, although the trade goods which are their main inducement for working have become scarce and dear. Ore reserves are being depleted and poorer deposits developed regardless of cost. Industrial plants are being extended or newly erected with a view to hus¬ banding materials and shipping. The local cotton mills will soon provide for the entire requirements of the Congo Forces and largely for those of the Free French. Scrap for¬ merly neglected is being re-utilized, repair shops are spring¬ ing up, tools and spares are being manufactured locally, and refineries are improving ores which before the war were ex¬ ported in a cruder state. A rapid industrialization of the Congo is in progress. Yet, apart from this strain on the people’s energy, life in the Congo is almost “as usual.” A notice in the Administrative Bulletin reminds those who are able to take a vacation that “the Tourist Office gives all information concerning the condition of the roads, hotels, garages, etc.” The local papers continue to adver¬ tise picture shows; social gatherings are calling forth most generous responses to appeals for patriotic and charitable subscriptions. Nor does the Government relinquish its ef¬ forts for the well-being of its natives. Recent ordinances contain a number of instructions directed to counter ma¬ laria and sleeping sickness, avoid soil-erosion and ensure cleanliness in the village streets (the natives are also told that they are not allowed to house cattle inside their huts). The fight against the abuse of drugs (hemp smoking) as well as against diseases is pursued unabatingly. The Gov¬ ernor General, Pierre Ryckmans, remains true to the policy outlined in a book which he published a few years ago under the characteristic title: “Rule in Order to Serve.” The white population of the Congo has risen from 26,000 before the war to about 40,000: Government officials and traders had their families in Europe join them when transit through France and Spain was still practicable, and company officers formerly resident in Belgium have gone over to the local managements. Yet the aborgines remain in an overwhelming majority. May it be mentioned here that the small proportion of white residents is a consequence of the policy persistently followed by the Congo Govern¬ ment not to encourage white men to settle in the Colony unless they are able to perform a given task materially bet¬ ter than would a trained native: the Congo natives have first title to any job they are able to fill. As specialization develops in the production of goods and services, the call for specialists in every trade and branch of knowledge increases. The Belgian Congo is open to men of good-will and ability whatever their nationality, and the closer ties that are developing between the Congo on the one side and the British Empire and the United States on the other are of a lasting nature. However, the Congo remains essentially Belgian. It con¬ stitutes for Belgium the vast field—98 per cent of her terri¬ tory, free today from enemy occupation—in which she can proudly contribute towards the betterment of the world. In the present war it affords her an invaluable addition to her capacity to fight in the cause of human liberty as one of the United Nations. 12 The Belgian Congo is Rich in Natural Resources by JAMES G. WHITELEY Consul General of Belgium, Former Consul General of the Independent State of the Congo. The Belgian Colony in Africa was founded by Leopold the Second, King of the Belgians, nearly three-quarters of a century ago. The King built better than he knew. Today this African whelp of the Belgian lion is fighting “all-out” for the liberation of his wounded and imprisoned parent in Europe, and is rendering valuable assistance to the Allied cause. Until the 19th century the central part of the African continent was a mysterious and unexplored area. Various sea-going European nations had established trading posts along the sea coast, but none of them had ventured into the heart of the continent, which was called “Darkest Afri¬ ca,” and was supposed to contain nothing but cannibals, wild and warlike tribes, and savage animals. Scientific geographers knew little about the African continent, and, as the poet remarked: “Geographers, on Africa’s maps, with savage pictures fill their gaps, and o’er unhabitable downs place elephants instead of towns.” That astute monarch, Leopold II, King of the Belgians, was more enterprising. Here were about one million square miles of territory, unexplored, uncivilized, given over to heathenism and inter-tribal wars, and subject to the raids of the Arab slave traders who distributed this human prod¬ uct in bondage throughout the world. King Leopold was a man of action as well as of fore¬ sight. He decided that something should be done. In September 1876, he called an International Geographical Conference at Brussels, to which all nations were invited. At the opening meeting, the King announced that the object of the conference was: “To open to civilization the 6nly part of our world where it has not yet penetrated, to pierce the darkness which covers the minds of all these popula¬ tions. I dare say that it is a crusade worthy of this century of progress.” As a result of the conference, a committee was formed under the name: The International African Association, in which the other nations were invited to participate. Many of them were rather lukewarm, and it fell to King Leopold, aided by a handful of Belgians, to carry on the enterprise almost alone, and almost entirely at the King’s personal One of the industrial regions of the Katanga Province. 13 expense. As the Prince of Wales (afterward King Edward the Seventh) remarked: “Leopold is likely to ruin and impoverish himself by his fantastic philanthropic ideas.” During the following years, King Leopold devoted his great genius to the development of the Congo. It was a formidable undertaking and fortunately a “one-man job,” for, as Count de Lesseps remarked on one occasion: “If there is anything important to do, and there are two of you to do it, there is one too many.” King Leopold had been the Big Boss—an absolute Monarch, without any control by the Belgian Parliament. Finally, in 1908, after he had put his African possessions in good shape and in proper running order, he presented it, as a free gift, to the Belgian people, and it became a colony of Belgium under the name of the Belgian Congo. The Belgian Congo occupies an area of about 920,000 square miles—equal to about one-third of the United States, and about eighty times the size of Belgium. The native population is estimated at somewhat more than ten million, and the present white population (chiefly Belgians), at ap¬ proximately thirty thousand. The country is extremely rich in natural resources, both mineral and vegetable. Among the mineral products are: copper, gold, diamonds, tin, co¬ balt, radium, silver and coal. The vegetable products in¬ clude: palm oil, cotton, coffee, cocoa, hard woods, rubber, jute cane sugar and sesame. Since the annexation of the Congo to Belgium, the de¬ velopment of these products, as well as the care, education, and physical welfare of the natives, has been the constant concern of Leopold IPs successors, King Albert and King Leopold III, both of whom made personal visits to the Congo. As our present King is a prisoner in the hands of the Germans, the administration of the Belgian Congo de¬ volves upon the Belgian Government-in-Exile at London, and especially upon the Belgian Minister of Colonies, Mr. de Vleeschauwer, and his representative in the Congo, Governor General Ryckmans. All the production of material useful for war supplies goes exclusively to the United States and the British Em¬ pire. lsiro, a bathing resort near the borders of the Haut Ituri. 14 The United States helped to found Belgian Congo A few hours before his death, King Leopold II, at the last audience he gave his prime minister, said: “If you yield so much as an inch of the Congo, your old King will rise from his grave to blame you.” On the brink of death, in a palace, the garden of which sheltered immense greenhouses filled with strange African plants, the King remembered the great adventure of his life, his dreams of vast colonial possessions which had become a reality. He was only twenty when, addressing an assembly, in 1855, he bluntly told the Belgians “to have a broad visior of world affairs” and he suggested the creation of long maritime lines. Five years later he invited his country to lose no time “if we do not want to see all the best positions, already scarce enough, occupied by other nations more en¬ terprising.” Thereafter he waged a written campaign, ei¬ ther writing himself or inspiring other writers, in favor of Belgian colonies, and when he became King (1865) he scanned the map of the world to find a region which had not been annexed by any country. That very year, an American, Dr. Livingstone, was ex¬ ploring Central Africa, whose vast expanses were still mys¬ terious and where savage populations were being decimated by Arab slave-traders. After having pushed as far as Lake Tanganyka, Livingstone disappeared. Gordon Bennet, own¬ er of the New York Herald, sent a reporter, the Anglo- American Henry M. Stanley, to find him. The two ex¬ plorers finally met and Stanley’s adventures were widely publicized in America and Europe, through the New York Herald. King Leopold 11, founder of the Belgian Congo. put in a series of claims which threatened the whole Belgian undertaking. Leopold II acted with such diplomacy that both France and Germany refused to recognize the Portu¬ guese claims and in the end the British government with¬ drew its support of the Portuguese. Finally, the United States of America stepped in. On April 10, 1884, the American Government officially recog¬ nized the Brussels Association. Thanks to that strong moral help, all political difficulties disappeared. In quick succes¬ sion, the various European countries admitted the King’s peaceful conquest and on February 26, 1885, an Interna¬ tional Conference meeting at Berlin recognized the “Congo Free State” under the sovereignty of Leopold II. The act of Berlin “proclaimed” freedom of trade and of navigation in the Congo basin, excluded all preferential treatment, granted identical commercial and civil rights to foreigners and nationals. The most avid reader of Stanley’s reports was Leopold II. Later he read Livingstone’s heartrending stories of African slavery. The King’s mind was made up: he would assume the task of stamping out slavery and would, at the same time, give an African colony to Belgium. In 1876, he called an international conference in Brus¬ sels, and the “International Association for the Abolition of the Slave Trade” was formed under the King’s chairman¬ ship. However, political difficulties soon piled up and what was now known as the “International Congo Association” had no standing in international law. Leopold II had to negotiate with France about a claim on the mouth of the Congo River. Then Portugal, with the support of England, The Congo became, under the King’s rule, a colony open to all; nationalism and tariff walls were—and still are—ex¬ cluded. The slave trade was abolished. Catholic and Pro¬ testant missionaries preached the Gospel to the blacks. Har¬ dy pioneers enthusiastically seconded the work of the King. However, the sovereign was bitterly criticized by some peo¬ ple. One of his most violent detractors was Sir Roger Case¬ ment, the traitor who was hanged by the British during World War I. In 1889, the King willed to Belgium the new African Empire but violent and unfair campaigns were launched both against Leopold’s administration and the handing over of the Congo to Belgium. However, in 1908, the Belgian Parliament accepted the King’s gift. Belgium now possessed a vast and rich colony. 15 V. . Irar The main and only street in a village of the Congo jungle. The Mungini Mai (Water village) tribe live in their 60 boats which congregate in the evening at a spot previously agreed upon. Belgian Colonial Policy King Albert, at the time of his accession, on the 23rd of December, 1909, stated: "Having a proper sense of her duty, and the means to carry it out, Belgium has mapped out her own course, and intends to keep to it. It entails a policy of humanity and progress. To a nation, whose only aim is justice, the mission of colonization can only he a mission of high civilization; a small nation proves its greatness by carrying it out faithfully.” Belgium has kept her word. The work of colonization has been carried out methodi¬ cally. The Belgian and Foreign missions have a staff, which at present exceeds three thousand teachers and educators, who give instruction and education to over 1,500,000 Chris¬ tians, and to more than one million catechumens, training many of them to act as assistants among their colored breth¬ ren. All the mission stations are busy evangelizing the natives, besides educating them, and teaching them the rudiments of hygiene. They also till plantations, and go in for cattle breeding. Instruction is given to both European and native pupils. Classes for European pupils have been organized in many important towns. As far as the native pupils are concerned, schools have been opened for them in the most important centers of colonization. They being taught in collabora¬ tion with the mission stations. There are now 300,000 black pupils attending 5,000 schools. Besides their military instruction, the native soldiers at¬ tend trade* schools, where lectures are given in workshops and schoolrooms. This is done to enable them to obtain work in private concerns after their demobilization. The Colony has undergone a great change as far as hygiene is concerned. Social centers and medical clinics have sprung up everywhere, broadcasting instruction on health topics. The government, private enterprises, and the Congo Red Cross Society (For^ami) have taken useful prophylactic measures; medical attendance in the hush ter¬ ritories is also organized. Rail and water transport services connect the most impor¬ tant places of the Colony. The Federation of Transport Services (Cornit^ de Coordination des Transports), group¬ ing the representatives of all the companies interested in transport throughout the colony, has made some very for¬ tunate decisions which are having a favorable influence on the carrying trade. The network of communications is be¬ ing dealt with in another chapter of this brochure. Each mine in Katanga has its particular native settlement with schools native children and all modern institutions to take care of the na population. The Belgian Congo Bank at Leopoldville. The Leopoldville High Schoo r The total length of navigable waterways is 21,000 miles. This includes the network of rivers formed by the Congo and its tributaries, the lakes, etc. They are open to steamer traffic. The Colony possesses four seaports: Banana, Boma, Ango-Ango and Matadi. The outside harbors are provided with up-to-date appli¬ ances, and all conveniences for bringing steamers and mail- ships into port. The principal vegetable products now produced in a sci¬ entific way are: palm oil and nuts, copal, sesamum, cotton, rubber, bindweeds, cocoa, coffee, precious wood, tanning barks, castor oil, kola nuts, tobacco, rice, maize, sorghum, vanilla, pepper, manioc, peanuts, potatoes, beans, sugar cane, bananas, pineapples, kapok, raphia, jute-hemp,'sisal, papyrus, milla panza, koma, etc. The principal ores found in the colony are: copper, tin, iron, gold, manganese, raw silver, platinum, cobalt, ura¬ nium, coal, etc. Diamonds are also found there. Among t.— ^ • skins, arrows, p collectors of exotic curiosities. Masks and figures, arms, and carved tools, basket-work and clothes were studied, com¬ pared, classified according to their tribal origin. The re 1 - gious, military or domestic meaning of every single object was explained by learned men who soon were able to write exhaustive books on the subject. But it never came to the mind of these early researchers that a Negro mask or a carved drum could possibly be con¬ sidered as a “thing of beauty.” The delicate rafia embroid¬ eries, the textiles woven of coco-palm fibre in elaborate patterns by the Bakuba natives, were examined as to their function in domestic life, just as if they were kudu boms or zebra skins. Negro art was discovered by European artists. About the year 1°905, such young painters as Picasso, Derain Matisse and Vlaminck, the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, the sensi¬ tive art-dealer Paul Guillaume, were the first to realize the profound plastic seriousness of African sculpture. They re¬ vealed the dramatic elements, devoid of any picturesque anecdotal quality or exoticism for exoticism’s sake that lay hidden in the mysterious faces of masks and fetishes. And very soon, the influence of their discovery became appar¬ ent in their own works. . Since that time, the Ethnographical Museum of the Bel¬ gian Congo, created in 1897 in Tervueren (Brussels), by the foresighted genius of Leopold II, became the most im¬ portant European center for the study of African art. The collections, arranged and classified by the first director of the Museum, Baron Alphonse de Haulleville, finally con¬ tained the finest examples of Negro craftsmanship as wel as the most touching and significant statues ever carved in wood by the black race. J * * * The study of the evolution of the fine arts is generally based on previous historical studies. The history of art can only develop as a consequence of general history. In the case of African art, the only documents left are these very works of art that were, for decades, considered as mere “documents.” There exists no such thing as a regular his¬ tory of non-Mediterranean Africa. All we know about the empires of Benin, Yoruba, Melle and Lunda is legendary or so fragmentary that it cannot possibly give us an under¬ standing of Africa’s historical evolution. This is the chief reason why the “discovery” of Negro art is due to creative artists and not to historians or other scholars. A curious consequence of their revelation was to clear Leopold II and the early Belgian pioneers of the charge of having destroyed native culture. It was established in fact that, already in the XVIIIth century, Negro art was falling into a decline from some obscure, internal cause. The most perfect specimens of sculptures and carving were executed, as was proved by oral tradition and by comparison with later work, between the beginning of the XVIIth and the second half of the XVIIIth century. * * * Not all parts of the immense Belgian empire were equally favored as to artistic development. Although the Waregi region, north of Lake Tanga¬ nyika, and the Basongo, between the Congo River and the Lomami, have given birth to an abundant and valuable artistic production, it is in the basin of the Kasai, the most important tributary stream on the left bank of the Congo, that African art attained its highest achievements. Two tribes or nations, the Bakuba and the Baluba are still active in creating wonderful decorative art, ornamental tools, spoons, bobbins, head¬ rests and musical instruments, which however Bela Lulua statuettes. only reflect the past splendor of the Bushongo kingdom that flourished in the region inhabited by the Bakuba from the XVth till the XVIIlth century. As & was pointed out by H. Clouzot and A. Level, Bushongo art did not entire¬ ly spring from religious feeling: It is laic, domestic, familiar. The decorative themes of the fibre weaver and the basket maker passed into the craftsman¬ ship of the woodcarver. Hence the rich and varied compositions of stylized geometrical elements that embellish the simplest utensil. In Baluba art, the patterns of surface decoration are simpler, more naturalistic and at the same time more architectonic. The masks, used in ritual ceremonies are im¬ pressive with a sort of baroque grandeur. A particular Bakuba mask, the Bombo, is believed to represent the styliza¬ tion of a Pygmy’s face. The dwarf-race, driven centuries ago from the parklands into the depths of woods and marshes, has acquired a kind of magic prestige in the minds of the far more civilized tribes. A dynasty of Bushongo kings has been im¬ mortalized in a series of wooden statues. The natives, perhaps on the grounds of ancestor- worship, have hidden the images of their Kasai-Lulua statuettes. Warega mask. rulers from eager European investigators. The six sculptures that have been found up to the present day are certainly among the finest examples known of non-religious art in early civilizations. For sheer majesty and serenity of ex¬ pression, for the intensity and sensitiveness of the artist’s feeling, they can be compared to many Egyptian or Meso¬ potamian works of the archaic period. The statue of Mikobe Mbula (end of the XVIth cen¬ tury?) that belongs to the Museum of Tervueren can be considered a unique example of conscious craftsmanship and expressive skill. The image is carved in a dark reddish wood. The king is represented seated on a throne, with naked chest and shoulders, stretching out his left hand to¬ wards a tiny figure seated at his feet, probably his favorite wife. The oral tradition claims that Mikobe was a ruler who advocated the emancipation of women. * * * Is the Bakuba artistic production the result of spon¬ taneous generation, or has it been influenced—as well as the Waregi—by some foreign cultural currents? This problem remains still unsolved. In the case of the bronze ornaments of British Benin, the supposition of a European, namely Portuguese, influence, is nearly abandoned today. But the hypothesis of a Continental penetration of culture through the Sudanese countries (that never broke the con¬ tact with Egypt) seems to be more generally favored now. At any rate, the origin of the Kasai' artistic production is not entirely religious. Father Aupiais, a learned mission¬ ary, suggests three possible sources of artistic creation. One is the symbolism and the metaphoric language used by the population, which is "translated” into a plastic element. The royal chair of the Batsehiok king, illustrating the “toils and days” of an agricultural people is a kind of Shield of Achilles, and so are the batons of the chiefs of the Kasai regions. On the other hand, the carving of figures would be considered as a sort of unwritten history : this would be the case of the effigies of the Bakuba kings, authentic monuments in the modern sense of the word. Finally, there might be a desire to alter the human figure for some ritual or superstitious reason: this would explain the abundance and variety of masks. The distinctions made by Father Aupiais, although inge¬ nious, do not give a satisfactory answer to the problem of spontaneous artistic activity. Mr. J. Maes, director of the Ethnographical section of the Tervueren Museum, is per¬ haps nearer to the truth when he says that “the Negro artist finds his source of inspiration in his family, social or religious customs, the fountainhead of all African art.” * * * “I think I never saw a genuine Negro object that was vulgar,” writes the English critic Clive Bell. And he praises the exquisiteness of quality that is its most attractive char¬ acteristic. Touching an African figure reminds one of the rarest Chinese porcelain. One can also recognize in craft- manship work an extraordinary intuitive knowledge of the human body. A tool, a sword, a musical instrument are always perfectly adapted to the form of the hand; a head¬ rest to the shape of the human neck; a chair to the restful postition of the whole body. This is verified in the purely decorative and applied art still practiced in many regions of the Belgian Congo. The Negro races may have no history, or may have lost their history. Their artistic creations have bequeathed us the unforgettable legend of their mysterious past. Baluba mask. mtk T attoos, an ancestral language Disfiguration of the flesh was, in the beginning of white penetration in Africa, a sort of ancestral language, a mark of lineage. In the ethnographic domain, these distinctions had long been put to profit; they might have been a conventional al¬ phabet in raised dots—a sort of Braille method designed to aid a still blind people. Certain Congolese tribes, long in contact with the white man, still hold to the practice of their ancestors; others, on the contrary, modify them according to their degree of civilization, the work they do, and today’s necessities. Up to 1914 the boys and girls were compelled to submit to tribal tattooing before reaching puberty. Among equatorial tribes, the Bapoto in particular, the entire body is literally “sculptured.” The Mongo and the Mongwandi have their foreheads decorated with protuberances giving an appearance of a jagged ridge. Both sexes of the Basongo- Meno decorate their faces and necks. A number of elliptical scars follow tbe line of the eyebrows; concentric circles decorate their temples; their bodies’ front, back and arms, carry the same stigmata. The Bushongo, both men and A Budja tattoed woman. A Lisala tattoed native. women, also have the “visa” of their tribe on their temples: this is composed of three elliptical scars, reproduced three times, while in the Bangongo tribe only three concentric circles can be seen. The Bangendi trace two straight lines from each eye to the center of the forehead. Bambala men wear ornamental cuts on their shoulders and their wives cover their stomachs with various geometrical designs. Some Negro women embellish their throats with cuts simulating a necklace. The Waregas wear a “V” made in tiny dots on their foreheads. The same design, enlarged, is repeated on their backs. The Wasongola have a raised bar of flesh on their fore¬ head six or seven millimeters from the base of the nose to the hair. Two parallel arcs paralleling the eyebrows is the “sig¬ nature” of the Bapopoies. It is generally between the sev¬ enth and the tenth year that the blacks submit their pro¬ geny to the exigencies of this custom. The tattoo knife is a little splayed steel blade with a very sharp rounded edge. The women perform the operation. The patients are seated; the surgeon traces with clay the designs to be cut on the body, then pinches the skin between thumb and forefinger of the right hand and cuts with a quick pull of the blade, d he wound is filled with a fine powder of pulverized char¬ coal and other ingredients which serve to hinder the nat¬ ural healing of the flesh. This operation is repeated three or four times, according to the height of the scar desired. Tattooing to increase feminine beauty is not limited to any special years; it is not unusual to see very old women having new ornamental designs traced on them. A toeless otter of the Congo. Belgian Congo an ideal country Amarillyd flower growing in virgin forests. A Congo Bush Bahy. The Belgian Congo, with its endless variety of aspects, is one of the most attractive and interesting countries for the tourist. Comfortable traveling, roads which rank among the best in Africa, and modern industrial installations amid the wonderful tropical scenery, have not in any way de¬ prived the Congo of the charm of native life in the heart of what, not long ago, was still the “mysterious black con¬ tinent.” The most unexpected contrasts are found in the Belgian Congo. Vegetation of an astounding variety and vitality: on the very borders of the great equatorial forest alpine species grow on the slopes of the Ruwenzori range, whose peaks are capped with eternal snow; while primaeval flora is a feature of the lava fields in Albert National Park. The “Nyamuragira” volcano is worthy of a special men¬ tion. In full activity, its lava streams flow into Lake Kivu and, especially at night time, it is an amazing picture of majestic beauty. A Congo Genetta. o for tourists and big game hunters Giant orchids growing on tree-trunks Nflfive girls love to dress and have excellent taste . These two girls are all set to partake in the village dance. Fauna abounds in a surprising and rich variety, ranging from the smallest humming bird to the rhinoceros, the hippo, and the mighty elephant, and comprising the gorilla and the okapi, rarest of animals. 1 his very variety makes the Belgian Congo an ideal place for big same hunters. O While traveling in the Belgian Congo, one may see, in the same day, the Pygmies, dwarfs of the forest, and the Watuzi, a noble looking race of giants, masters of wide stretching pasture lands and of large herds of cattle. First class hotels may be found everywhere and the courtesy of the local authorities is tireless. A mushroom-shaped termite-ant hill. The Ruwenzori, a 16,000 feet high mountain, on the Equator Line, has an everlasting snow cap. A common Congo termite-ant hill. A buffalo stampede, spectacular and wild, Congo elephants travel only in large packs. Hippopotami are found in many Congo rivers. The Mysterious Okapi In the furthest and most mysterious depths of the im¬ mense Iturian forest lives the aristocrat of African animals. Fiercely independent, courageous and unpredictable, it has shown itself to very few men in its prehistoric domain. A member of the giraffe family, its body reminds one of an antelope and its legs are banded like a zebra’s. Its long, narrow head is a deep red, blending into black over the muzzle and into reddish grey to silver over the jowls. Its great ears are beautifully fringed with black. The ani¬ mal’s back is deep black, its flanks and belly red. The mag¬ nificent ebony bands on a brilliant white background, bor¬ dered here and there with brown, are met just above the knee by a stocking of immaculate snowy whiteness, with a bracelet of jet at the ankle. No one, until he has had the chance to see this strange animal in its own habitat, can imagine the impression it makes as it walks through the virgin forest. Its curious drunken gait, its size, its strength, its extraordinary decisive¬ ness, give it the appearance of having just emerged from a distant past. The delicacy of the Okapi has already been mentioned, but the meticulous care with which it tends its precious coat is truly remarkable. In fact, its fastidiousness constitutes its most striking characteristic. Rain, falling drops from trees, a splash of grayish or reddish forest mud irritate it beyond all measure; these seem to be the only things it really fears and tries to avoid at all costs. During the day and sometimes at night, the Okapi zeal¬ ously bathes itself, licking the furthest spot of its fur that hs lono, blue tonoue can reach: fifteen and a half inches long, it folds and turns like a snake and when its sinuous neck twists hack parallel to its body, the Okapi’s tongue can easily reach its tail. Before dawn, it is already bathing alone in one of the thousand jungle pools, for the Okapi never runs in a herd or travels with another animal. Its toilet over, it sets off where its smell and extraordinary keen hearing tell it mav be found the quietest spot for pasture, and where it seeks out its favorite foods: little pulpy flowers, young juicy shoots, perfumed herbs—every green which goes to make up a heavenly salad for a gourmet. The delicate fur covers a skin of incredible thickness— almost three-tenths of an inch—a veritable suit of armor. Once, a grown captured animal shook the entire length of a heavy fence with a kick of its legs and knocked down a part of it with a blow of its head. At another time, a young Okapi was led into the enclosure of a water buffalo. This heavy African animal, with its long cruel curving horns, towered over the insignificant little creature, ten times smaller and lighter than she. Then, seeming to un¬ derstand that this young one had usurped the place of her calf, she suddenly charged, head on. The brave Okapi watched that thundering attack descend upon it without budging an inch and with an air of supreme indifference. It was merely following the tradition of its elders who, in the depths of their forest, confront and vanquish the buf¬ falo, the only animal who would dare attack an Okapi. The good-natured elephant, like the gorilla, maintains an easy neutrality, and the fierce leopard will attack a young but not an adult animal. A curious characteristic is the animal’s enormous eyes, which roll over a very large surface and whose vision is abnormally keen. When it is at rest, these eyes are tender and appealing, but the slightest noise or irritation brings something hard, icy, and strangely shocking to the expres¬ sion, which has a terrifying effect upon the Negroes. At the same time it utters a weird sound: a sort of neighing and a loud grinding of teeth. The animal can travel, from sun to sun, more mileage than a man can cover in a week. At twilight, it sets out to find a pleasant spot to spend the night in, dry, clean, a little elevated and protected from the rain. It changes its resting place every day, unless there are young ones. An Okapi 61 Mangbetu boy. Azande child. Mangbetu girl. Watusi Prince. Congo... Don t complain about your job, you might not have any. —A tree cannot make any noise if it has no leaves. —When the hammer is left in inexperienced hands, it is used only to break coconuts. It is not enough to eat well, one must also look forward to a place to sleep in. —All of us have a nose bent towards the ground. —Ears may grow big but they will never be larger than the head. —The proprietor of the chicken has the right to eat the wing. —When two people meet in a business discussion, neither of the two can possibly place himself in the middle. —If one takes you by the hand, you may be saved; but if one takes you by the tongue, you are in danger. Watusi Prince. A native ruler: Sultan Lubanea. O CJiiel of the Pibenga village A chief of the Nva Lukolela tribe. ■H Native children delight in parades. ...Proverbs —A son cannot have the same head-dress as his father for he has not the same head. —Only when you use a tool can you earn enough to huy a new one. —It is useless work to empty holes once they have keen filled. —When tivo people have a difference, a third party shoidd not he brought in unless he is the next of kin. —Patient hunters don’t kill small birds. —When you throw a stone, be not astonished if it makes a noise when falling. —You shoidd pay attention to the ivay people speak and not to the way they are dressed. Central Calabashes Congo worker. for palm-wine. Uele musical instrument. The great Tom-Tom. O TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTORY REMARKS . z THE BELGIAN CONGO IS AT WAR AND IS WAGING WAR, by A. De Vleeschauwer, Minister of Colonies . THE BELGIAN CONGO’S WAR EFFORT, by Pierre Ryckmans, Governor General . THE BELGIAN CONGO IN THE WAR, by Max Horn 7 THE BELGIAN CONGO IS RICH IN NATURAL RESOURCES, by James G. Whiteley . ^ THE UNITED STATES HELPED TO FOUND THE BELGIAN CONGO 15 BELGIAN COLONIAL POLICY . 17 A COUNTRY OF PEACE AND GRANDEUR 19 IN ETHIOPIA, NINE ITALIAN GENERALS SURRENDERED TO THE BELGIAN CONGO FORCES . 22 THE FIGHT AGAINST ENDEMIC AND EPIDEMIC DISEASES 28 CATHOLIC MISSIONS . 30 PROTESTANT MISSIONS . 34 IN TWENTY YEARS, BELGIAN CONGO BUILT UP A LARGE AND MODERN SYSTEM OF COMMUNICATIONS . 37 CONGO COPPER IS AN INVALUABLE HELP TO THE WAR EFFORT OF THE UNITED NATIONS . 39 A LARGE PRODUCTION OF STRATEGIC MATERIALS 41 100,000 TONS OF PALM OIL ARE PRODUCED YEARLY IN THE BELGIAN CONGO 43 ONE MILLION ACRES OF COTTON PLANTS 45 LUMBER FROM 275 MILLION ACRES OF FORESTS . 47 RUBBER A FUTURE SOURCE OF WEALTH 48 32,000 TONS OF COFFEE 49 CATTLE, THE PRIDE OF THE RUANDA-URUNDI DISTRICTS 50 NEGRO ART . 51 TATTOOS, AN ANCESTRAL LANGUAGE 56 BELGIAN CONGO, AN IDEAL COUNTRY FOR TOURISTS AND BIG GAME HUNTERS . 57 THE MYSTERIOUS OKAPI . 61 CONGO PROVERBS . 62 The pictures on pages 5, 9, 21, 23 and 58 as well as the top picture on page 31 and the lower pictures on pages 37 and 40 are hy Andre Cauvin. } Ft. S tout’ > II ^ Cattle (fc Cocoa Cotton r '0 S * Berghe Ste. OPangala .firazzavRh .ebp Bold Moushie IbOukolela LobitOj BtMiguella, r i ' eero V 247 Park Ave., New York City, Subscription PRINTED IN U.S.A.