POLITICS.
We have hesitated long about undertaking this discussion of Liberian politics. We are almost certain to be misunderstood, no matter what we say or how we say it. In Liberia they will feel that we lack sympathy, that we drag forth their weaknesses and expose them to public scorn; in this country they will fail to see that the weak points of Liberian politics are common to all republics, that they are as flagrant among ourselves as in Liberia; in foreign lands—should our book be read in such—what we say will be taken as justification for continued aggression and interference. We wish that Liberia were a land of general education; that the whole population had a clear understanding of the duties of citizenship; that knowledge of public questions were general. Such conditions are ideal in a republic. We do not find them in Liberia; we do not find them here. Liberian politics is patterned on our own; its weaknesses are our weaknesses. It is easy for us to see its faults because we are an outside party; because we are rich and they are poor; because we are white and they are black. In Liberia there is a general desire to feed at the public trough; it makes no difference what a man is or what he has accomplished, every one is ready to go into politics; neither trade, agriculture, nor professional life restrains a man who has political opportunities presented to him; everybody of ability wants office. This is unfortunate; it is neither strange, unique, nor blameworthy. Every official, however, has a list of dependents; once in office, he must provide for others; the number of brothers, sons, nephews, and cousins of officials who find some clerkship or small appointment is relatively large. As almost every office in the Republic, save that of representatives and senators, is appointed by the President, it is very easy for one who holds office to practice nepotism. It is and will be a long time before anything like actual civil service can find a place in Liberia. Such a condition of course leads to little activity in the doing of work for the Government; the less a man can do to earn his salary, the better, so long as he is certain of his job. We have already called attention to the fact, quoting from Ellis, that there is relatively little of what we know as party politics in Liberia. Practically there are no well marked political platforms based on principles. If, perchance, hostility to the powers that be threatens to become dangerous, it may be checked by skilful appointment from the opposition to office. Thus, at the last election, which was the most bitterly fought for many years, it was claimed that the defeated candidate, J. J. Dossen, would never be heard of in politics again; such, however, was not the case; he must be provided for, in order that his later course might not threaten the existing status; being without a job, he received appointment to the presidency of Liberia College—a mere temporary arrangement of course; he is now Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
There are, however, personal likes and dislikes which will vent themselves in outbursts of party spirit. The last election was really furious. It voiced the local jealousies of the whole Republic. Just as in the state of Illinois it is Chicago against the counties, and as in New York State it is the City of New York against the upstate districts: so, in Liberia, it is Monrovia against the counties. The election was really close after an exciting campaign. Charges of fraud were bitterly advanced. According to the African League, there were wild doings in Bassa County where it is printed. We refrain from really quoting the interesting and exciting passages from its article, but venture to give here its opening paragraphs:
“As the day of election approached, great preparations were made by the Government and the Government officials to defeat the National True Whig Party at any cost, and in any manner. They sent money in every direction to call unqualified nameless bushmen to come, and put into the hands of the Sheriff a paper which is worth only so much gin and rum to the bushmen. These bush people had never seen, nor heard of, the registrar’s office. Neither do they own any land in contemplation of law, but Howard people, simply because they have had the Government’s approval in this corruption, had planned to force the corruption into the polls.
The people who stand for law and order sent white plates to all the native chiefs, after the customs of the heathen, telling them to have nothing to do with the matter in which they are not concerned and know nothing about.
The Government people threatened that they would vote these bush people or die. The people knew what that meant, and they began to prepare for the worst, for they were determined that the law should not be trampled under foot in that way to their prejudice, and that, too, by those who are the administrators of the law. On Monday, the first of May, a host of these uncivilized bush people, headed by Major Horace, flocked into the upper ward of Buchanan, well armed with the best guns of the Government, and that night shooting in the streets was a common thing. Near Lower Buchanan, there were different bands of these wild, bush people in camp carrying on their savage plays. In Lower Buchanan at the Vai town, the hideous noise was kept up all night, apparently as a menace to the citizens for the next day.” On the following day the election took place throughout the Republic, resulting in the continuance in power of the interests which for so long had controlled the destinies of the nation; nine contested cases were lodged against the House of Representatives and one against the Senate; threats ran high, feeling was intense. It is certainly an interesting moment when more than half the membership of a house of Congress is in dispute. Yet this excitement was allayed, and the contests were all withdrawn; it was realized that Congress had important business before it in connection with the American Loan, and that the future of the Republic would be seriously jeopardized if the time of Congress were taken up with hearing contest cases instead of dealing with these outside matters.
There is no question that in Liberia illegal voting is common. The election to which we have referred above was that of 1911; in 1901 Bishop Ferguson issued a charge to his clergy and lay members upon the subject of election evils in which the following words occur: “The corruptions and wickedness that have attended the last three or four campaigns are startling to all right-minded people, and, if continued, no prophet is needed to foretell the disastrous consequences that will inevitably follow. Election frauds, open-handed bribery, and the utter disregard of all moral restraints seem to be the order of the day. Those who at other times are recognized as Christian gentlemen, do not scruple on these occasions to perpetrate offenses that are condemned both by God’s law and that of the state. To procure the election of a party man, they lose sight of, or completely disregard, their standing in the Church, in society, or the social circle; and will stoop to do the meanest act. What is worse than all, is the fact that the evils have become so rife that it appears there are not to be found innocent citizens enough to punish the guilty under the laws of the land. And now, to my mind, the worst feature of the thing is the fact that the aborigines—our brothers just emerging from the darkness of heathenism—are either coming voluntarily, sought out and persuaded, or actually forced into this whirl-pool of corruption and wickedness. It is enough to chill one’s blood to think of the impression made on their minds, on their induction into civilized usages at such time:—jostled through a crowd of men,—ruffians now, though at other times Christian gentlemen—armed with deadly weapons of every description, they are made to swear that they are constitutionally qualified for the highest privilege of citizenship under a republican form of government.”
Again in an Independence Day address given by Dr. Dingwall at Buchanan in 1910 were these words: “Ignorant and purchasable voters are ruinous to all other republics. Why not to ours likewise? At the polls the vote of a fool is counted one, and that one takes the whole of a philosopher’s to cancel it. Now in Liberia these are chiefly manufactured from the wild heathen, more than ninety-nine in a night. The privilege to take a few acres of land and register hundreds of nameless natives, or on election day to vote each hour the identical bushman, by simply christening him afresh for each occasion, is a dangerous weapon in the hands of politicians. This practice would have destroyed democracy, were these leaders even honest in purpose and patriotic in spirit.”
The seriousness of the situation is that any effort to keep the native vote from being fraudulently cast, is likely to interfere with the legitimate voting of qualified chiefs; the desirability of having those natives who are really entitled to the vote exercise their right of franchise is most important; but to give unqualified native voters the chance to cast fraudulent ballots is bad indeed. Of course this whole question of illegal voting should hardly shock us; in my own morning paper, the very day when I am writing this, these words appear in prominent head-lines: “Fraud in ballots a Chicago habit Butts Board told.” It is impossible for the pot to call the kettle black. The outside world, however, unaccustomed to the little peculiarities of “manhood suffrage,” will no doubt claim to be sadly shocked; it might even be that some clean-skirted nation like France or England might hysterically demand reform.
We have elsewhere claimed that the Liberians, too, know graft. Official salaries are very small; why then does political office possess such great attraction? Of course position and power count for something; but there are other solid advantages connected with office in Liberia as well as in other lands. When graft exists in France, Germany, even in respectable and pious England, it is not strange that it exists in the African Republic. More than that, graft is by no means confined to civilization; the native in the bush understands it both in theory and practice. It would be strange indeed if the descendants of barbaric grafters, who had been trained in civilized graft through a long American experience, should be free from graft when conducting their own affairs in a new land as rich by nature as is Liberia. The number of schemes which are proposed to the Liberian Legislature is very large; many of them are magnificent in their proportions, enterprises, and prospects; what could be more dazzling than the project submitted a few years ago by the Ellsworth Company of New York? I do not mean to say that that individual company used improper means to influence legislative action; but a company with as ambitious plans as they offered, if adequately capitalized, could easily have made the whole Legislature rich rather than lose their opportunity. In the same way Sir William Lever, in his effort to secure monopoly or large advantage in the palm-oil product of the Republic would, from a business point of view, be amply justified in making it well worth while for the patriots to encourage his enterprise. Of course, many of these schemes fail totally; many of them never get beyond a paper proposition; in the past, however, the Liberian Legislature has been much too free in giving concessions with monopolies. While the terms given to the English Rubber Company seemed to leave opportunity for competitive development of the trade by others, it practically put all competitors in the power of the company. Liberia is beginning to realize that in careless granting of monopolies and special privileges she has hampered her own freedom and interfered with legitimate development; not long ago the Government granted a concession to Edgar Allen Forbes and others; it seems to have been a legitimate and carefully-thought-out enterprise which he submitted; its development would no doubt be advantageous to the public; but it is found that previous concessions were infringed by some of its terms, and difficulties have arisen. On the whole, it would be much better for Liberia if the propositions submitted to it were less pretentious and far-reaching; it is better that she should have fifty different companies operating within her borders, each within a definite field and succeeding within modest limits, than that everything should be held in the hands of one or two great corporations which, when a moment of difficulty comes, may be able to bring influences to bear which will threaten or even destroy the existence of the nation.
Liberian officials quite well know the thing which we call junkets. One might almost think himself at home at times. When some crisis arises, and the “Lark” must be sent to a seat of danger, high officials, whose relations to the Government are not such that their presence is necessary at the seat of disturbance, take advantage of the opportunity for a fine outing. The nation may be in financial difficulty, but good food, good smoking, and good drinks seem easily provided; such an outing not infrequently gives the official opportunity to transact private business, for he may have interests near the seat of the disturbance. Junkets are presumably inherent in governmental activities of every kind; they are not confined to democracies, though they are common in them. Anywhere of course they are undesirable and should be curbed; nations, especially republics, should not be called upon to supply free outings, free business opportunities, free luxuries to individuals at public cost.
One of the reforms demanded by the British memorandum was the improvement of the judiciary. Here there was indeed real reason for complaint. Liberia has few well trained lawyers; it was not uncommon for a man to be appointed judge who had no legal training; there were not infrequent cases of personal and professional misconduct on the part of judges. President Barclay, in his message of 1908, a notable document be it said in passing, says the following: “International attacks upon this (our judicial system) commenced some years ago, and the movement was initiated by citizens of the German Empire living in Liberia. But the crisis has been precipitated by our people. When the editor of the African League, himself an ex-judge, an attorney at law, a citizen, publishes a special edition of his paper, headed “Startling Revelations,” in which the judicial system of the country is attacked both in its personnel as well as on its administrative side, when he describes himself as a scapegoat and martyr, and when months pass and no reply to his attack is made by the persons affected, what conclusion, do you think, can other communities of the world, having business interests in Liberia, draw?” In his address, The Impartial Administration of Justice, the Corner-Stone of a Nation, Justice T. McCants Stewart says: “It can not be denied, however, that our judiciary to-day is the object of serious charges both by foreigners and our own citizens, and they are charges which demand serious consideration. They can not be brushed aside. The British Government is not alone in making these charges. Our own people have made them, and our Chief Executive has declared to the Legislature that evils exist in our judicial system which must be speedily remedied if we desire to strengthen ourselves as a nation. Gentlemen of the Bar: Can we be quiet while our judges are charged both at home and abroad with: (1) ignorance; (2) excessive use of intoxicants; (3) the exhibition of prejudice or passion in the trial of cases; (4) shocking immorality; (5) accepting retainers from private parties; (6) sharing moneys as a reward for the arrest of criminals; (7) accepting bribes?” This is specific enough and bad enough. To the credit of the nation be it said that reforms have seriously been undertaken, and the present condition of the judiciary is greatly improved. It is rather interesting that we ourselves at this moment are agitating against a corrupt judiciary; it is scarcely likely that we are in a condition for stone-throwing.
Of course where there is corruption in the judiciary there is almost certain to be miscarriage of justice. During the time we were in Monrovia, there was great excitement over the case of Col. Lomax and Commissioner Cooper. We have already mentioned Col. Lomax. He figured conspicuously in the Kanre-Lahun matter, when he gained the undying hostility of the British; when Major Mackay Cadell was removed from his position as the head of the Frontier Force, Lomax took charge; he has recently been in the district of the newly acquired Behlu Territory. This is the tract of forest land, of little value, which Great Britain traded to the Liberian Government in exchange for the rich and desirable Kanre-Lahun district. Poor as that area is, Britain will never be content to leave it in Liberian possession. In taking over the area, Col. Lomax was sent to the new boundary with soldiers, and Commissioner Cooper was sent to aid in delimiting the boundary. Of course there was trouble; there would have been trouble had Lomax and Cooper been angels. At the town of Behlu itself, certainly within the new Liberian territory, there was difficulty, and several Liberian soldiers were killed. All sorts of complaints were hurried to Monrovia by the Sierra Leone authorities:—Lomax was causing difficulties; he and Cooper were interfering with the delimitation of the boundary; Liberian soldiers, instigated no doubt by Lomax, were tearing down the cairns which marked the boundary line; the British commissioners refused to do anything unless both men were summoned from the border, and meantime would charge up the expenses of the commission for the period of their idleness; Col. Lomax was accused of murder—it was stated that he had killed eight native chiefs. These complaints were so urgent and serious that the President of the Republic sent orders to Lomax and Cooper to return at once to Monrovia; to these orders no attention was given. The Secretary of State was sent to fetch them, but is said to have stayed in the district, apparently sympathizing in their attitude; it is asserted that the deeds of violence, destruction of cairns, and insulting of British commissioners continued after he was on the ground. The Postmaster-General was hurried to the boundary to bring back the Secretary of State, the Colonel, the Commissioner, and their henchman, Lieutenant Morris,—who, it seems, had been the active agent in the cairn destruction. Some days of inexplicable delay seem to have passed, when the Secretary of the Treasury, the Assistant Secretary of State, and Capt. Brown (one of the American officers) were hastened to the scene of difficulty to get the recalcitrants home. The Secretary of State, Postmaster-General, Secretary of the Treasury, and Capt. Brown started together for Monrovia; Lomax, Cooper, and Morris were reported to be already upon their way through the interior to the capital. Arrived there, Lomax and Cooper were promptly jailed; less promptly they were brought to trial. The Attorney-General presented the case against them. Lomax was tried for the murder of two native chiefs; Cooper for the murder of a third. The Lomax trial lasted two days; it was before the jury for but ten minutes. He was found not guilty, and was carried in triumph on the shoulders of friends, amidst a great outburst of feeling, from the court-house. The Cooper trial came the next day; it was promptly decided in his favor. There is no question that the Behlu difficulty is on; Great Britain will in some way get back the territory which she so generously traded to Liberia; undoubtedly in the diplomatic dealings regarding it much will be made of this Lomax case; there is not the least doubt that the native chiefs were killed; there is no denial that Lomax and Cooper were responsible for the killing; but the trial and its results are good psychology; they were as inevitable as anything could be. There was in this case no actual miscarriage of justice; Col. Lomax is a national hero; he embodied the national aspirations; he represented the nation as a victim of the injustice and greed of Britain through the years; his ovation was the result of natural sentiments. It may not be diplomacy; it may not be good politics; but it is in the very nature of humanity.
The great American government, after a silence, far from forgetting and abandoning the tender infant cast upon the shores of Africa, has come in our hour of danger to assist us on her strong pinions to a nest of safety. If we but follow her example and heed her teachings of economy, thrift and industry, and if we are just in our dealings with men and nations we shall never escape her vigilant eye, nor cease to be the object of marked manifestation of interest on her part.—Daniel E. Howard.