New Britain Herald Newspaper, December 22, 1922, Page 11

v BELGIAN CONGOA | RADIUM STOREHOUSE I5 Also a Country of Gold".and Diamond Supplies Washington, Dec, 22.—'Discovery in the Belgian Congo” of large quan- tities of pitchblende, a radium-hearing one—a discovery credited with the significant résult of reducing the price \ : ° of radlum from $120,000 to $70,000 a i / gram—has served to emphasize the| ' < 4 probable great {importance to the world of this country at the heart of Africa when it ghall have been fully developed,” says abulletin from the ‘Wiaghington, D,'C,, headquarters of A the National Geographic soclety. 4 ¥ b GH GRADE “In its potentialities, . the, Belglan Congo might be called ‘the Brazil of i Africa’,” continues the bulletin, “Like . i the largest of South American states, ‘ it 1s of vast extent, covers the heart ; of a continent s situated in the trop- ' ics, and has flowing through it one of v the world’s greatest rivers, capable of carrying an empire's commerde. It is only to the Amazon, premier.of rivers, A . % that the Congo river can in truth be . compared. Other great stfeams are longer than either, but none ap- proaches themsclosely in the volumes of water which they pour into the sea. The average width of the Congo is flve miles for about half its nearly 3000 C [3 . miles of length, and in places it is as v t f h dred f th l test au much as 16 miles wide, onsls mg 0 un s 0 e a (5 Area One-Third of U, S, ° . “Perhaps the vast bulk of “Belgian l ] d b k f d bl f d h .Congo can best be understood it one W 00 p al ac s, me ou e ace s e = “ finagines the country lifted bodily and e ¢ g set down on the surfacs of the United R S T lands, kerseys, friezes and other high ‘would cover almost Exactly one-third . 4 of the area, not ipcluding Alaska, If #the southwestern corner of Congo . gr de III t 1 ght f m N w «were placed at San Diego, Callfornia, a . ’-—’a erla S’ rl ro Our e the southern boundary would roughly 'Y k all . 5 o . correspond with the Mexican border, t p t t . rm p and.the southeastern corner would Or Or an a One un o nce‘ /fall at the southern point of Texas. Forming a very rough .square,. its -Y h ° ' ° northeastern corner would lie at Des l t our choice of the entire lo Yellowstone park. “But though this comparison ghos a good idea of Congo's great size, its latitude and climate are far different ’/,,,’;,.ulu-.,,,,'_ from those of the states covered. If it b W b o were shifted to the western’ hemi- .sphere in its true latitude it would lie astride the Amazon and would cover amost of the Guianas and a large slice of northern and central Brazil. Radio Replaces Signals “What is now the Belgian Congo 4shas had an unusual history. Living- #tone and Stanley put the country ‘on the map.’ Soon afterward, in 1882, an international committee organized a government, called . it Congo; I'ree State, and sclected King Leopold of Belgium to be its ruler, Many irregu- . larities in the administration of the rexion were alleged to have resulted ’1rom this personal rule,-and in 1908 f#l.copold ceded the territory to Bel- t.gium. A year later King Albert came o the ‘Belgian throne, referms were Yyushed in he .Congg and a new con- “istructive era began. Much Money Spent “Measured in dollars and effort ©x- pended;, much has been done to open 1iup the Belgian Congo, Fleets of gov- ernment as well as private steamers ply the several navigable stretches. of the Congo and .the lakes. Railroads «have been built around the various yegions of rapids and falls, and aré ‘being pushed into the ingerior, and laid to connect with British and Por- N % tuguese lines at the borders.: Scores of radlo stations have heen set up and i . 2 now fling their messages where in the B 2 o 'past, savage drum signals alone were g y gl k lst heard, The Belgians even have a l room ra ans’ lmona u ers’ trans-Congo aeroplane mail @ service l S [ ‘which rushes European, mail across t tt d bl b t d f tt d t “ithe country twice a month on the ar- u s ere es’ Ou e reas e l e coa s’ srival of steamers at the Atlantic port n .of Boma, at the mouth of the Congo. I'l t tyl l t ts Gorilla-Haunted Eden e S conserVa lve S es’ a so S Ou . “But'with all this activity, the sur- f face of the Belglan Congo's possibili- p 1 t ties has barely been scratched. : Enor- Or cor u en men' mous tropical jungles like those of the Amazon valley await proper forestry. o ] B e boththe e ufenaics ik We firmly believe that these coats cannot prairies teeming with game, that, with A§he solution of. the tsetse-fiy problem, be duphcated at slo mote in any store in would make excellent cattle ranges. And chance discoveries have shown that the mineral stores of thehcountry Pel'th Amboy are seemingly unlimited. Copper, tin, gold, and diamonds to the value of AH the latest shades of tan, grey, brown nutria tracted. Some coal and iron is mined and it is believed that much more and Cedar, a‘lfio OXford grey, and plaln blue. . exists. Now, when science is finding aetln epoch-making uses for radioactive : 'fi";“féiffffi;%f::"i‘?;ff:fi%‘:ff;?"%? ; Every overcoat offered at these special prices are SPECIAL NO. 2. "‘?'Enngo is not entirely a torrid lsndt made ln Our Own faCtory under pemnd smr- lm All Wd In the extreme east around Lake § vision and are amnteed to be of that hi h OVQrCOItl That gu g Klyu—itself 600 feet above the sea— e s evees| - character for which all P.&Q. Clothes are famous. Usally Retail At elightful and the slopes and valleys $25 tO 327 50 are determined by travelers as among Mt e, o v Don’'t Miss This Overcoat Chance. »cauldron of Africa's Kilauea. This Eden is the home of large.numbers of man's closest non-human relatives, ‘gorillas. The Belgian government is considering the setting aside of a large ! ‘area in thls region as a gorilla refuge ‘where. the creatures (‘t\n'be preserved . ‘from the extinction which threatens Uhgf R.I'l.‘lll Md Shp'. them, and where scientists may study them in thelr natural haunts. Na- g X Models Auralists have found that unless cor- nered these gorillas are far from fero- cious, and it is predicted that if pro- tected they will become entirely ‘tamed.” ADOPT HIKING, Chinese Students of Christian College VOV ) L . . % Qo s — New Block — s ' Canton, Dec. 22.—One hundred and thirty Chinese students and six fac- ulty members of the Canton Chris- [ B/ N P [ . 4 . tian college have returned from a [} successful trip to J"ei Lol mountain, 3 i k one of the highest in south China, All B \ A4 i oors rom ro detalls ‘of the journey were arranged o, g i { . L] L] .and supervised by the students, who 1 ! . p ? % ‘hiked to the topmost peak. As a pro- ~ tection against bandits, General Chen Chiung-Ming sent a troop of soldiers ‘to guard the campers. % In urn for a dinner served the students at a mountain monastry, the monks were entertained with an eve- ning of songs and stunts.