ch chiefly concerns the men who are to pay for them, but it is an
interesting fact.

The Act of Berlin expressly states: _"No Power which exercises, or
shall exercise, sovereign rights in the above-mentioned regions,
shall be allowed to grant therein a monopoly or favor of any kind in
matters of trade."_

Leopold is only a steward placed by the Powers over the Congo. He is
a janitor. And he has no more authority to give even a foot of
territory to Belgians, Americans, or Chinamen than the janitor of an
apartment house has authority to fill the rooms with his wife's
relations or sell the coal in the basement.

The charge that the present concessionaires have no title that any
independent trader or miner need respect is one that is sure to be
brought up when the Powers throw Leopold out, and begin to clean
house. The concessionaires take a sporting chance that Leopold will
not be thrown out. It should be remembered that it is to his and to
their advantage to see that he is not.

In November of 1906, Leopold gave the International Forestry and
Mining Company of the Congo mining rights in territories adjoining
his private park, the _Domaine de la Couronne_, and to the American
Congo Company he granted the right to work rubber along the Congo
River to where it joins the Kasai. This latter is a territory of
four thousand square miles. The company also has the option within
the next eleven years of buying land in any part of a district which
is nearly one-half of the entire Congo. Of the Forestry and Mining
Company one-half of the profits go to Leopold, one-fourth to
Belgians, and the remaining fourth to the Americans. Of the profits
of the American Congo Company, Leopold is entitled to one-half and
the Americans to the other half. This company was one originally
organized to exploit a new method of manufacturing crude rubber from
the plant. The company was taken over by Thomas F. Ryan and his
associates. Back of both companies are the Guggenheims, who are to
perform the actual work in the mines and in the rubber plantation.
Early in March a large number of miners and engineers were selected
by John Hays Hammond, the chief engineer of the Guggenheim
Exploration Companies, and A. Chester Beatty, and were sent to
explore the territory granted in the mining concession. Another
force of experts are soon to follow. The legal representative of the
syndicates has stated that in the Congo they intend to move "on
commercial lines