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TIIE SUNDAY OREGOXIAN, PORTLAND, DECEMBER 6. 1903.
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RT FRANK O. CARPENTTTR.
i HE whit people here are becoming
excited over the negro question.
During the Dast six months I have
visited every colony south of the Zam
besi, and the better class of Europeans
even-where have fears of a race war In
the future. In the United States we have
one ncKro to every nine or ten white?.
Here the proportion Is almost reversed.
There are more than five black men to
every white man. and the black men
are beginning to appreciate their possi
bilities. Within the past year or o they
have been stirred up by some mission
aries of their own race, who are said
o come from the United States. The
eeot Is known as the Ethiopian Episco
palians and they are at work In Natal.
Cape Colony and the Transvaal. Their
pastors preach the equality of the races,
and urge them to stand up for their
rlshts.
1 have seen negroes in all the cities of
South 'Africa. They wear European
clothes and the crowds one sees about
the stations are as fully clad as are the
negroes of our small Southern towns.
In many localities they are beginning to
resent their treatment by the whites.
In Johannesburg, for instance, they ob
ject to the laws which keep them off
the sidewalks and allow them to go only
In the middle of the road when walking
along the streets. They do not like the
Jim Crow trailers to the electric cars,
and they are asking for more schools.
Kducating the Kafir.
So far he most of the education of the
Kafir has been by the missionaries.
There are now something like 5.000,000
of him outh of the Zambesi, and his
school children are numbered by the
tens of thousands. In Cape Colony there
are no government schools for the na
tives. Their education is carried on by
the mission schools, which are aided
somewhat by government grants and are
under government inspection. The na
tives have to pay fees, which cover a
large part of the cost, and In some dis
tricts they have given money for the
building of schoolhouses. The govern
ment grants are about one-third aa much
per pupil for the natives as for the
whites, and the education given them is
but little more hah the three Bs, It, is
the same In Natal and also In Basutoland
and Rhodesia. There are now about 80.
000 pupils in Cape Colony. 8000 In Natal
and 10.000 in Basutoland.
The Kafirs of the cities are fat com
ing to the realization that schooling pays
and they are now anxious that their chil
dren should learn. A Johannesburg mer
chant told me of a Kafir tenant of his
who was educating his 16-year-old
daughter. He was asked why he did so
and replied that he had noticed that the
white man was of little value without
an education, and. If bo. why not the
black man? He said that he did not know
that his girl would teach school, but
that he was bound she should learn.
At present the negro here has no op
portunity to get a college education. He
Is not allowed to go into' the universities
,f South Africa, and as a rule the peo
ple would -rather keep him uneducated.
They look upon the natives as their Cod
er en ted hewers of wood and drawers of
water, and they want them to continue
o. Thev would rather that they should
not own real estate nor go into business.
The mechanics-and foremen, among the
whites, would rather not have the blacks
learn trades, and they desire to keep the
labor of the two races distinct.
l.ovedaIe Co-Educational Scheme.
As to the co-education of the races
there is only one place in South Africa
where that is carried on to any extent.
Thl is at Lovedale, about 660 miles
northeast of Cape Town. There is a
Missionary training institution of the
United Free Church of Scotland at that
place,, and in it the whites and blacks
are educated together. It is a sort of
boarding school with something like S0O
pupils; and it might be called an acad
emy, although it has all the branches
from the kindergarten to the normal
training school. Thle school Is doing
much in making teachers and native
preachers. Many of the teachers of the
mission schools throughout South Af
rica have been educated there, and It has
done much in bringing its European pu
pils to an understanding of the native
character. The institution consists of a
large central building, a score of dormi
tories', many workshops and a hospital.
Connected with It is a farm on which the
boys work and all sorts of manual train
ing are taught. The morning hours are
devoted to study and recitations, and a
part of each afternoon to work upon the
farm and in the gardens and shop. The
school has Its military drills and physical
training. It baa a brass band, and the
white and black boys play cricket togeth
er. Eery Friday evening there Is a lit
erary society and there are occasional
lectures, papers and debates.
The girls have their own Industrial
work, and learn dressmaking, cooking
and laundering during their stay. It is
n"t difficult for a Lovedale graduate to
set a job. Many of the former students
are now Interpreters, some are clerks In
the government offices, while others are
employed In the stores. t
S Cents vs. $1 Per Day.
In Kimberley and Johannesburg, the
great centers of the gold and diamond In
dustries, natives are now paid about $1
per day. This is considered enormous
wages for this part of the world. Only
a generation ago natives were paid S
cents for 10 or 11 hours' work. Then an
ax would buy an ox and a string of glass
beads pay a negro for carrying a load of
70 pounds a hundred miles through the
wilds. These are the wages that still
prevail in parts of Uganda, British East
Africa and German Bast Africa, and the
white men there will tell you that It la
wrong to pay more. "
I remember a talk which I had with a
government official of British Central
Africa. We were talking about the na
tive labor and I asked whether It was
possible to get any work out of the blacks
of Nyassaland. He replied:
"Yes. we get some work from them,
but both the government and .private in
dividuals are spoiling the labor market.
The African is a great big child, with the
muscle of a man. He ought to be treated
as a child and be punished when he is
bad. It used to be so that the officials
had this power. If a native did not obey
he was brought up for punishment. He
was then laid down on the ground and
given 10 lashes or so with a hippopota
mus whip. This hurt him somewhat, but
he took It as a matter of course and did
better thereafter. Now the laws are such
that we can only Imprison him for small
offense and we have to try him before
we can give him corporal punishment.
"Aa to labor," this man continued, "the
negro works all right if you do not raise
his wages. When he first entered British
Central Africa he was satisfied with a
shilling. Then we gave him 3 shillings,
and now "private parties have come In
and are building a railroad; they want
steady labor and are offering 6 shillings."
"Six shillings? A dollar and a half a
day?" asked I.
"No, C shillings a month. It is too
much, and the worst of It Is that the
native will expect that wages right along,
and he cannot see why He should not
have it. It Is a great mistake."
Taxing the Xatlves.
"A dollar and a half a month is 6 cents
a day," said I. "That does not seem
much to me. And even out of those
wages I suppose the natives have to pay
taxes."
"Yes, we collect 6 shillings a year from
the well-to-do and those who hare the
cash; and we make all others give us a
month's work on the roads, or he must
bring a certificate from his employer
showing that ho has done work to the
amount of 2 shillings, when his taxes are
remitted."
"In other-words, every black man must
give orie month of every year to the gov'
eminent " rhIH T.
"Yes. it amounts to about that," was'
the reply.
In South Africa the natives are charged
a hut tax, and they also have to pay
dog taxes and wife taxes. Every time a
man is married he pays 10 shillings to
the government, of which a portion goes
back to his chief. In Cape Colony he
pays a license fee of from 62 cents to tl-25
on every dog over three months old, and
the dog tax of Natal la about the same.
In one year the natives of Natal paid
$11,000 In rharrlage fees, and I am told
that a black man has to pay J25 to the
government there when he gets a divorce.
The hut taxes of Cape Colony are about
10 shillings per year per family. Four
teen shillings is the amount of that tax
in Natal and 10 that of Rhodesia. They
recently raised the tax In Basutoland to
$o, and In Natal a higher rate is paid
upon all houses of European construction.
These taxes may seem low to Ameri
cans, but they are large in comparison
with the wages of the people, and so
large that they lead to the crowding of
the natives, several families or unmarried
adults often living In one hut.
Among the Kafir Workmen.
So far only a small proportion of the
South African negrois has been greatly
influenced by the whites. There are alto
gether between five and six million abo
rigines below the Congo Free State, and
I venture that those employed in the
mines, on the farms and in the cities will
not number, all told, more than 300,000.
There are something like 100,000 in the
gold mines. Kimberley had 20,000 before
our panic caused the De Beers Company
to cut down its labor force, and there
are something like 10,000 employed in the
great diamond mine at Culllnan. In all
these places the natives are kept in com
pounds, or walled inclosures; and as far
as those connected with the diamond
mines are concerned, hey are not allowed
to go outside during the terms of their
contracts. They must buy. their food at
the company shops; and although the
rates there are low, the companies prob
ably make a profit. Not long ago at a
meeting of the De Beers Company one of
the officials stated what had become of
the profits made from the compounds
that year, saying that $r5,000 had gone
BOSTON MAN IS ENTANGLED IN A MAZE OF SENSATIONAL DAMAGE SUITS
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NEW YORK, Dec. 5. (Special.)
One of the most sensational
breach-of-promise cases ever brought
in this country Is that of Mrs. Gertrude
Whittemore, of Boston, against Charlqs
B. Giles, Jr., a member of the famous
Ancient and Honorable Artillery Com
pany. Mrs. Whittemore wants $20,000
from Giles. At the same time the hus
band of another woman has sued Giles
on the charge of alienating her affec
tions. The woman in this second case
is Mrs. Martha Mabelle Dunphy, for
merly Mrs. Julius Sijverstone, of Port
land, Or. Mrs. Dunp'hy is a great deal
prettier than her picture. Mrs. Whlt-
Us GJZRZRUDE WJfTEMDRE:.
temore was a widow when she met
Giles. He was married, but he. did not
let her know it, and he succeeded in
winning her affections while she be
lieved he was free to marry her. In
1904, after Mrs. Whittemore had
learned that Giles was married, Mrs.
Giles got a divorce on the ground of
cruelty. Then Mrs. Whittemore claims
Giles promised to marry her. . While
engaged to her, he obtained from her
Invest It for her, and later he got other"
sums, the whole aggregating $1W. In
February. 1907, he secretly married Mrs.
Bessie Frost, and then told Mrs. Whit
temore that he was through with her.
Lately Jie brought a charge of larceny
against Mrs. Dunphy, charging that
she had robbed him while they were
traveling together. This brings the
case to Chicago, where the theft is said
to have occurred. Mrs. Dunphy's hus
band has gone to that city to defend
her, and incidentally has brought suit
against Giles for J23.000 for aliena
tion, basing the charge on Giles' claim
that Mrs. Dunphy and he were travel-
11500 on the plea that he wanted to I ing together. Meantime, the first Mrs.
. .. - . . , t TiilA. H.jn morrlArl tha hrnfhor of nfle
Giles has married the brother of Giles,
and is apparently happy with htm.
The courts will have a lively time get
ting Mr. Giles of the Ancient and Hon
orable straightened out.
to the sanatorium, $10,000 to the library,
$15,000 to the town hall, $10,000 to the
school of mines and $10,000 to the Kim
berley schools. None of this money
helped the natives from whom it was
taken.
As far as I can see, the natives are
fairly- well treated by their employers.
The several governments try to protect
them, and each has its native labor in
spectors, who go through the mines,
above and below ground, and report as to
the treatment of the negroes. Neverthe
less, the white mine overseer Is omnipo
tent, and he can abuse the native it he
will. I asked the American foreman of
the underground workings of a mine in
which 4000 negroes were employed,
whether he could punish his men if they
did not do as he wished. He replied:
"There Is no trouble about that. If you
want to mash the face of a negro down
here all you have to do Js to see that you
get him alone in one part of the work
ings. You can then treat him as you will,
and If he makes any complaint you can
say he assaulted you. The word of the
black man is never taken here as against
that of the white man. and so we can run
things about as we please."
Kafir Lands.
The Kafirs own land all over South
Africa. Iti many places the land still
belongs to the chiefs, subject to the
rights of their tribesmen, and the chief
has no right to sell or trade it away.
In Southern Rhodesia the native com
missioners assign the land for huts
and grazing, giving-each kraal so much.
When Cecil Rhodes died he ordered that
the natives on his farms be undis
turbed,, and large blocks of govern
ment lands have been set aside for
agriculture in different parts of Rho
desia. In Natal something like 8000
acres were transferred to a trust moro
than 50 years ago, and his trust was
to give all the rents and profits from
it to one tribe.
A few years later another native
trust was given 2.000,000 acres, and
this is scill administered for the Kafirs
of Natal. Within tho last few years
the native lands have -been fenced off
from those of the Europeans, and the
boundaries between the tribes defined.
In that colony about one-half of the
negroes live in -kraals, on private lands,
paying from $5 to $25 per hut to the
owners- of these farms, which consist
of from 1510 to 5000 acres each. One
of these farms will have a group of
natives upon it, and the group will
be governed by its hereditary chief or
headman. Every kraal will cultivate
from five to ten -acres of land, and the
remainder is used for grazing in com
mon. In a Kafir Kraal.
I had a good chance to see something
of the wilder Kafirs during my stay in
Marableleland and Bechuanaland. and
I also met strange tribes who" are al
lied to them in Northwestern Rhodesia.
Nearly all the natives live In what are
known as kraals. These are little mud
villages surrounded by mud walls or
fences of brush.
Among the Zulus these kraals are
circular in shape, with tiic cattlo pen
In the center and tho huts running J
around it. In Matabeleland thoy are
somewhat irregular, and In other re
gions they are built like a horseshoe,
with a cattle kraal near the opening.
The cattie arc herded during the day
time and are always kept in the kraals
at night.
Tho kraal usually contains all the
houses of the village. These are of
different shapes In different localities.
In Matabeleand they consist of a
framework of twigs woven together
and p'astercd with mud, and in Zulu
land they are thatched down to the
ground. In many parts of Rhodesia the
houses are made of a framework of
sticks. mcared with the clay from
the white ant hills. This Is a natural
cement, and is used for all sorts of
buildings. In that country the negroes
have granaries of mud, and they also
make pigeon houses of it and put them
on high poles to protect the birds from
the wild animals and dogs. The ordi
nary granary is the size of a hogs
head or larger. It has a hole in one
side, which is slopped up with clay
after the grain Is put In. In Zulu
land the grain Is kept in huge baskets
Inside the huts.
Own Several Houses.
In a kraal like this one man owns
several houses, corresponding to his
number of wives. In the principal hut
he will live with the "great wlfe,"'and
on the right of that will be the hut
for the spouse known as the "wife of
the right hand," while on the left
will be that devoted to the "wife of
the ancestors," whose children are sup
posed to carry the honors of the fam
ily. If there are other wives Jhelr
huts are built farther over. Each wife
Is supposed to own her own hut, and
the husband is expected to spend a
weak in each before he goes to another.
In the same way each wife has her
own garden or field, which she culti
vates, and for which she alone Is re
sponsible. The women do all the plant
ing, hoeing and reaping, and the more
wives a man has to work for him the
richer he 13.
As far as the stock is concerned, this
is usually oared for by the men. Milk
ing time is 11 o'clock in the morning,
and then tho men. stark naked, do the
milking.- They take the milk in water
tight baskets to their huts and pour
it into skin bags, where it is allowed
to stay until It ferments. The Kafirs
never drink fresh milk, but they eat
this koumis or fermented milk with
their boiled grain or mush. They al
ways have their big meal at noon,
when the men eat first, and the wom
en and children eat what is left.
Cape Town, November 1.
Its First Tellint.
Puck.
Eve had fabricated her first biscuits.
"Just like my mother used to make!"
declared Adam, fulsomely.
Tears sprang into Eve's eye.
"If you hadn't eaten that apple, you
would never say so!" she protested.
Yet it was no biiiritrr lie, on the whole,
than plenty of men have since told in
those Identical words.