Show BEING SUED FOR I HEAVY DAMAGES American Missionaries Who Told the Truth About the Congo Free State GOVERNMENT INTERESTED TRIAL WILL BE CONDUCTED BY BELGIAN OFFICIALS London May 9 AH white men in inthe Inthe inthe the Congo Free State are Interested in inthe Inthe Inthe the trial for libel of ed two American missionaries Rev William Morrison and Rev W H Sheppard which will begin at Leopoldville May 2 t This case Is IB expected to be a test teet between the Belgian yve ment and the Ames Amer American mer merIcan ican lean missionaries who have long made themselves a thorn in its flesh by b their charges of and op oppression oppre pre lon of the natives The suit is brought by one of the con eon concessionaire companies called culled the Kasai Kasal Trust which has a monopoly of rubber gathering in the tile Kasai Kasat region It claims damages damage from each mis mla missionary for calumnious denunciation The Belgian government holds half of oC the I trust stock and a major majority ity fly of Its directors are Belgian officers so IO the suit may be considered practically practically practically ally one of the Belgian government against the missionaries ml Grave Charges Made The missionaries charge that the of officials officials levy upon the natives oppressive oppre taxes to be paid in rubber that whole villages including women and children are impressed by the soldiers for Cor measuring the rubber that they are often compelled co to travel many miles to the rubber rubb r forests and sleep there for more niece than a a week under unhealthy con eon conditions conditions that they are often cruelly punished for failure to fulfill the taxes proposed prop eed and that a larger portion of o otheir their time is taken for gathering these the e taxes that they are unable to te cultivate crops and raise food necessary for their support Both Presbyterians Morrison and Sheppard are members of the American Presbyterian mission The American consul W II IL Handley Hand ley has been instructed by the government to go to Leopoldville to watch the trial which will nm be con eon conducted conducted ducted by b Belgian officials About twenty twenty twenty ty American missionaries ml are stationed in the Congo and as ag nearly all of them made nade the same charges against a i the administration the outcome of that Ii Iii suit will have an Important bearing I upon up n their future there e S i ie |