The Royal African Society

Editorial Notes
Source: Journal of the Royal African Society, Vol. 43, No. 171 (Apr., 1944), pp. 49-55
Published by: Oxford University Press on behalf of The Royal African Society
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 JOURNAL OF THE
ROYAL AFRICAN
SOCIETY
VOL. 43 NO, 171

APRIL, 1944

EDITORIAL NOTES
THE IMPORTANCE OF NORTH AFRICA IN THE WAR
The abiding importance of North Africa in the War has been illustrated
afresh by the arrangements consequent upon the decision that final prepara-
tions should commence for the opening of a "second front" based on Britain.
This has meant a transfer of commanders, but no transfer of the bases on
which depends what Mr. Churchillhas called the "third front" in the Mediter-
ranean. For that front Algiers and Cairo retain their importance. Their
distance from the scenes of actual battle, with the broad MediterraneanSea
between, still renders them ideal assembly points for the armed power of the
United Nations striking, or destined to strike, against the southern shores
of Europe.

FRANCE AND THE WAR

So large is the r61leof French North Africa in the War that, if Mr. Churchill
had to have an illness, it was a lucky fortune that placed his convalescence
at Marrakesh, in French territory. The opportunity thus afforded of full
discussions with General de Gaulle will have been of the greatest value. In
recent months French institutions in Africa have been greatly strengthened,
first by the successful formation of the Committee of National Liberation,
and then of the Consultative Assembly. This has been happily recognised
by the appointment of British and United States Ambassadors accredited to
the Committee. Further, in addressing the Consultative Assembly on
24th November in Algiers, M. Massigli, Commissioner for Foreign Affairs,
announced that the representatives of the British and United States Govern-
ments had informed him that their Governments considered that the agree-
ment made between General Clark and Admiral Darlan at the time of the
original Allied landings had been overtaken by events, and that they would
be glad to join in conversations with a view to its revision.
This fresh evidence of a permanent disposition to work with the French
VOL. 43.-No. I71 D
4 AA 43
50 JOURNAL OF TIlE ROYAL AFRICAN SOCIETY
as equal Allies has been gladly received. The exploits of French troops on
tile Italian front have given further proof of its justification.
In the meantime, as a first instalment of the new arrangements, Sir John
Anderson announced in the House of Commons on ()th February, the con-
clusion of a new financial agreement with the French Committee, to super-
sede that concluded in 1939, and of a new mutual aid agreement, in place
of that of 7th August, 1940.
* * * * * *

LIBERIA
On 26th January the Government of Liberia declared war on Germany
and Japan, and thereby added to the unity of Africa in the cause of the
United Nations.

BRITISH COLONIAL POLICY

On 26th January, in the House of Lords, Lord Cranborne,as Leader of
the House, made on behalf of the British Government the clearest exposition
that has yet been given of the Government's ideas on the question of inter-
national regional consultation. It may be of use to students of colonial
policy to reproduce his statement, which was as follows:-
"The idea of regional international machinery was still a novel one to some
people, and did not command universal acceptance. The principle of the
mandates commission was not necessarily the best kind of solution to these
problems. The regional commissions would be composed of representatives
of nations which had colonial possessions in the areas concerned, and they
would be able to tackle these questions on a practical basis. The Government
felt that they might prove in many ways an advance on the older system.
This idea of constructing machinery to link together existing territories
for certain purposes where common action was obviously desirable had for
some time been a recognised practice in the British colonial empire. He
instanced the East African Governors' Conference;regional grouping in the
West African colonies, where the organisation created by the Resident
Minister, Lord Swinton, since the War had been a striking success; and the
inter-territorial conferences between Southern and Northern Rhodesia and
Nyasaland.
Those were examples of how the principle of regional collaboration was
being applied with success in the British Empire. The Government had
found special problems in particular areas, and had built up ad hocmachinery
to deal with them. That was the British way, and he was certain that it was
the right one. It was no good devising a theoretical system and then imposing
it on all areas alike; the machinery must be suited to the special circum-
stances of the area. On that basis he would have thought there was no
limit to the advantages to be obtained from collaboration and co-operation.
It seemed to the Government, in the light of their own colonial experience,
that it was a principle that might well now, after it had been tried out on a
 EI)ITORIAL NOTES 51
small scale, be extended to the international field, with advantage to all
colonial Powers and the world at large.
There was one example of international collaboration on a small scale in
the Anglo-American Caribbean Commission. This provided concrete evi-
dence of how regional organisation on an international basis could be
developed. The report of the Commission, published last week, was ex-
tremely encouraging. The Comission was not, as some newspapers had sug-
gested, an experiment in joint government. It was an experiment in joint
control. It had no executive authority, and there was no interference with
sovereignty. It was just an experiment in practical collaboration, and in
the view of his Majesty's Government its success provided justification for
proposing an extension of similar machinery to appropriate areas through-
out the world. The conference between Australia and New Zealand at Can-
berra had adumbrated jointly a scheme for such an organisation for the
South Pacific. His Majesty's Government welcomed the conference as a
whole. They believed it was a valuable innovation in inter-imperial
machinery and relations. The multiplication of links between the members
of the Commonwealth must strengthen the Commonwealth as a whole.
In particular, they warmly welcomed the Canberradeclaration with regard
to regional commissions, and would be very ready to discuss their ideas at
the meeting of Dominion Prime Ministers which it was hoped to hold at an
early date.
Other colonial nations were doubtless also considering the possibility of
international organisation in the areas in which they were interested. The
omens so far as public declarations were concerned were encouraging. At
any rate the Government had made their position perfectly plain; they
would welcome the establishment of machinery of a collaborative and con-
sultative nature to facilitate the discussion and solution of problems which
transcended the boundaries of political units in appropriate areas. They
would await with confidence a favourable response from the other countries,
which would make possible more detailed discussion of the subject."

RHODESIAN AFRICAN RIFLES

Many will be interested to learn that a native unit raised in Southern
Rhodesia has now joined the East Africa Command. Its arrival in East
Africa is announced by the Nairobi correspondent of The Times in a cable
dated 9th January, as follows:-
"It has been announced that the latest addition to the East Africa Com-
mand is a battalion of the Rhodesian African Rifles. They are trained on
lines similar to the King's African Rifles, and their badge is an African
warrior's shield with crossed assegais. The unit was inspected by General
Sir William Platt during training exercises. This is the first complete fighting
unit, except for armoured cars and air force units, to join the East Africa
Command from Southern Rhodesia. There are, however, at least zoo200
Rhodesian coloured personnel and also many Rhodesian Europeans at
52 JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL AFRICAN SOCIETY

present with the Command, including a transport company and a survey

unit.
Most of the officers and white N.C.O.s of the battalion have been closely
associated as Government officers, miners, farmers, and members of the
British South Africa Police with their natives for years, and others have
been connected with West African forces in the present War. The majority
of the Africans in the battalion are members of the Matabele and Mashona
tribes."

WEST AFRICAN FRONTIER FORCE IN INDIA

Africa's contribution to the War has now been extended into a new Con-
tinent with the arrival of troops of the West African Frontier Force in the
Indian zone of operations. The following account of them was cabled on
13th January by the Special Correspondentof The Times at G.H.Q., India:-
"A force of West African troops, who are among the finest jungle fighters
in the world, is now serving in the Indian theatre, and will clearly be a most
valuable reinforcement in the jungle campaigns that lie ahead of the South-
East Asia Command.
Their irrepressible humour and magnificent physique have already made
a favourable impression among the local population, with whom they have
settled down on the best of terms, and the time may not be far distant when
the Japanese, too, will get to know them. This is the first time that a West
African expeditionary force has been sent oversea, though in the present War
units have fought with distinction in the Abyssinian campaign and other
African theatres. As is pointed out here, the defeat of the Axis in North
Africa has made it possible to bring this first instalment of the British
Commonwealthman-power to bear against Japan.
The experiment will be watched with great interest, for many of these
West Africans are jungle-dwellers, and are naturally more readily trained
for jungle warfare than Indian troops. They come from the four colonies of
Nigeria, Sierra Leone, the Gold Coast, and Gambia, and the contingent
includes almost every branch of the service.
The West African troops are, of course, led by British officers and they
differ from Indian units in having a full complement of British N.C.O.s, who,
wherever possible, are men who know the country and the people. The
Royal West African Frontier Force has expanded considerably since the
beginning of the War, mostly under General Sir George Giffard, then Com-
mander-in-Chief in West Africa, who has probably had something to do
with bringing a contingent to India. While the brigades from Nigeria and
the Gold Coast were fighting in Abyssinia a recruiting drive went on in
thousands of tribal villages of the jungle and bush. Primitive hunters and
fishermen joined with skilled tradesmen of the towns until a large force,
fully armed with modern weapons, was built up.
The Japanese have acquired their skill at jungle fighting by a long-term
programme of training, but these West Africans have an instinct for it that
can never be learned, and they should be far less prone to malaria than
 EDITORIAL NOTES 53
British or Indian troops, or, indeed, the Japanese themselves. Among the
West African contingent are Christians, Moslems, and pagans, and one of
the most far-reaching reforms introduced by General Giffard was that all
recruits should learn English as part of their basic training. We shall hear
much more of them."

DEATH OF DR. F. P. KEPPEL

All who are conscious of the very valuable assistance which has been given
by organisations in the United States to the cultural and human advance of
British territories in Africa will have heard with regret of the death of Dr.
F. P. Keppel, to whom, while President of the CarnegieCorporationof New
York, this country owed so much in its relations with Africa. We reproduce
here in his memory the fine study of his character and work contributed by
Sir George Tomlinson to The Times:-
"It will bring sorrow to many in the Dominions and Colonies, as well as
in this country, to learn of the death, on 8th September, of Dr. Frederick
Paul Keppel, who from 1923 to 1941was president of the CarnegieCorporation
of New York. During his 19 years of office he, more than any one man, was
responsible for the execution of Andrew Carnegie's purpose of promoting
'the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understandingamong the
people of the United States and the British Dominions and Colonies.'
In the administration of the funds available for distribution within the
British Empire he took a special interest, but even within this portion of the
field of what he himself described as 'cultural philanthropy' it would not
be possible here to survey the whole range of his activities. For example,
his dealings with the Dominions were for the most part conducted direct
with the institutions and other bodies which became recipients of grants
from the corporation, as well as with groups of advisers in each Dominion.
They can speak of Keppel's approach to their own problems with a degree
of knowledge which no one in this country possesses. But for the purpose of
planning help to the Colonies and in order to supplement the already wide
knowledge gained in the course of his own study and travels, Keppel made a
practice for some years before the war of paying biennial visits to England
for close consultation with the Colonial Office as well as with a group of
unofficial friends and advisers centred in Chatham House. Those who were
privileged,to take part in these conversations will long remember his pene-
trating and sympathetic spirit of eager inquiry. As he himself put it in his
last presidential report: 'No more important lesson can be learned than that
the key to success lies not with money but with friends, with the people with
whom one works.'
In the widest sense the objects of the Carnegie Corporation'sbenefactions
may be summed up as the promotion of education; and under Keppel's
guidance large sums have been devoted to specific institutions, including
libraries, in the Colonies. Among these the Jeanes Schools in East and
Central Africa may be mentioned as having a special appeal to Keppel's
sympathies. But his conception of educational philanthropy went far
54 JOURNALOF THIEROYALAFRICANSOCIETY
beyondl the needs of individual schools and colleges. Such projects as the
financing of Lord I lailey's 'African Survey' and Professor lHancock's 'Survey
of BritislhCommonweallthAflairs' were intended in his eyes for the education
both of statesmen andlmen in the street in the implications of imperial pro-
blems arn( responsibilities. But among his deel)est interests was the en-
coulragementof the kind of a(lult education which springs from intercourse
between people in countries with widely differing modes of thought and
experience. To quote again from his 1941 report 'during these 19 years (i.e.,
of his presidency) the individual rather than the curriculum or the academic
machinery has become the centre of our thinking. More and more of our
education is taking place outside the classroom.'
One manifestation of this tendency has been the appropriation by the
Carnegie Corporation of large sums to facilitate the exchange of visits
between the United States and the British Dominions and Colonies, or
within the British Empire. It was, too, at Keppel's suggestion that in 1931
the ColonialOfficeundertook the administration of large funds placed at their
disposal by the Corporationto enable selected colonial Civil servants to take
a sabbatical year away from their official work for the purpose of travel and
study. It delighted him to think that an agricultural officer in some lonely
corner of Africa might use a grant from these funds to study anti-erosion
schemes in the United States or rice cultivation in Java, but his delight
sprang not only from his interest in technical progress, but even more from
his faith in the spiritual value of personal contacts in a common cause
between workers in widely separated places. In his view such contacts
could not fail to forge new, if invisible, links in the chain of friendship and
understanding between the parent countries. In all this he neither sought nor
expected any measurable or immediate return. He was ready to cast his
bread upon the waters, firm in the belief that some at least of his ventures
would be attended (to quote again from his last report) by 'some reasonably
favourable conjunction of the stars.'
Keppel was a wise, witty, and steadfast friend, full of sympathetic, but
by no means fulsome, appreciation of British methods and ideals. He
typified Anglo-American understanding at its best and friendliest and, as
such, will be greatly missed."

DEATH OF DR. GEORGE WASHINGTON CARVER

Dr. R. E. G. Armattoe, a Member of the Society, sends us the following

tribute to the memory of another distinguished American-in this case of
coloured African descent:-
"Dr. GeorgeWashington Carver,the distinguished Negro scientific worker,
who died at Tuskegee Institute, Alabama, on 5th January, 1943, was born of
slave parents at Diamond Grove, Missouri, in 1864. He was educated at
Minneapolis High School, and later at Simpson College, Indianola, Iowa.
Graduating in science at Iowa State College in 1894, he proceeded to the
M.Sc. two years later. In 1896 he was invited by the late Dr. Booker T.
 EDITORIAL NOTES 55
Washington to take charge of the Department of Agriculture at Tuskegee.
He discovered on arrival that his duties, apart from administration and
normal academic lectures, entailed the re-shaping of the entire economy of
the district. In fact, he had to conduct mobile classes in the field in order to
persuade a despairing and ignorant community that its only salvation lay
in adopting a new agrarian economy. The soil, he found, was arid, eroded,
unproductive, and the system of farming out-moded. Every farmer in the
region was cultivating cotton as a staple crop. Carver's open-air lessons
included the cultivation of crops, soil conservation, fertilisation, insect con-
trol, plant pathology, and the canning and drying of fruits and vegetables.
Carverrecognised the necessity for introducing the peanut, 'Arachis hypo-
gaea,' and the sweet potato, 'Solanurmtuberosum dulce,' because soil and cli-
matic conditions were favourable, and the crops were already being grown
sporadically for local consumption by large sections of the community. He
realised early that the replacement of cotton by peanuts and sweet potatoes
was not a complete solution, and that newer and more extensive uses for them
had to be found. A long series of chemical experiments culminated in the
development of face powder, pigments, paints, stains and ceramic materials
from Alabama clays; milk, buttermilk, cream, cheese, condiments, coffee,
paper, plastics, stains, insulating boards and more than three hundred by-
products from peanuts; starch, tapioca, syrup, coconut substitute, breakfast
food, stains, artificial rubber, vinegar and paste from sweet potatoes; paving
blocks, insulating boards, rugs, and cordage from cotton. Peanut milk is
now being extensively used in infant clinics in areas of tropical Africa where
the tsetse fly is endemic.
Carver'sscientific achievements have dwarfed his artistic work, but those
who have seen his 'Three Peaches' at the Luxembourg, or his 'Yucca' at
Tuskegee, are unanimous in their regret that he had not devoted more
time to this department of life. As a man of science, he tenaciously refused
to make profits from his inventions and discoveries, and never once took out a
patent. It was characteristic of him to decline Thomas Edison's invitation to
join his staff, preferring to work in obscurity among the simple folks he
had come to know and love so much.
During his life-time more than sixty books, periodicals and films were de-
voted to his life and work, and he had delivered addresses at most of the lead-
ing universities in the States. Carver was awarded the Spingarn Medal in
1923 for distinguished services to science, and in 1939 he was given the
Roosevelt Medal for outstanding contributions to agriculture. The unique
position he won for himself in American scientific and social life was marked
by the Variety Clubs' award of 1941. This award was made by a national
nominating committee of thirty-four eminent editors, publishers, authors
and radio commentators, and consisted of a silver plaque commemorating
his selection, and an honorarium of one thousand dollars in cash 'in token
of his sublime service in restoring a multitude of helpless people to happy
and productive life through the instrumentality of his brilliant laboratory
researches.'
Thus grew to maturity and fame a lad who was once traded for a horse!"