Show WORLD cAiLinG CALLING FOR WEALTH OF T TROPICS OP CS Reason for Development of off f I Equatorial Africa The French ministry at a recent recent lI dl to build a t railroad l into into equatorial Africa This act action Iou Inns has r hiu hastened b by r tue he mu I control hI 1 the thu Cuu Congo region re Ie re- re gion giori gori in lu its present state stute is not on unity only I US useless to France but hut a u hea heavy vy burden burdena u and expense 1 If Ii the country Is to be worth anything It maintains the Inn In- tenor must be connected with French ports on the tine east AfrIcan coast and Its products be s sent ent out t to to th the world markets It long been a u. matter of or speculation lation n I If the tine natural resources of ot equatorial equa equa- tonal torIa Africa were worth development an and nud the expense and labor required to export them the tine New York Sun ob ob- ob- ob serves es The caravan trade trude across the thc Sahara to Mediterranean ports revealed revealed re re- re- re a great supply o of Ivory and aud tropical products and natives and travelers reported Immense reservoirs of ot raw material The explorations of Livingstone ant und and Stanley however gave the tine world the first estimate of or orthe the actual value e of ot the resources of equatorial Africa i The breaking out of ot the World war caused aus temporary ry abandonment of bt i many manny I European plans for COl the opening opening- I up of central Africa Alric Some ome of ot these plans plans' have been r revived within thelast thelast the thelast last year ear The i have built a R railway tny from the tit east coast to aid tine the export o of cotton from the vl nc newly developed Uganda cotton cutton Holds fields Th They y l have e 1 also ulso built bunt several links In the Cape e to Cairo railroad in the central African Africani cm lake region On the tine western coast th tine the Belgians have constructed roads of or SOO miles in length from frona their Atlantic ports Into the tine in in- tenor One o of these the railway t to Brazzaville ou on the tIne Congo Cono river the Fr French have ha been using The r French r found however vever that the nel Belgian traffic has Inns grown to such an ann extent lent that they were vene no longer able to dep depend upon this tints small railway Their plan Plain is to build a roa road from the tine head be-a of navigation on the tine COngo eastward east east- ward v with branch anch lines tapping the sources of native nathe supplies This road will place the tine development of or the tine Congo 1 region gion practically for the t time on a n commercial basis It Is II Isa a n pioneer venture but at the same time it Is n a natural outcome of or conditions con con- With the present demand for tropical mat materials the world orld is not likely ely to let t tints this greatest source of ot supply remain undeveloped S |