chapter 8 (John Lane Co., New York, 1909).

SOCIALISM: Germany: A. D. 1902. The Socialist Congress on Alcoholic Drinks.

See (in this Volume) ALCOHOL PROBLEM: GERMANY.

SOCIALISM: A. D. 1903. Gains of the Socialists in Elections to the Reichstag.

See (in this Volume) GERMANY: A. D. 1903, and 1906-1907.

{620}

SOCIALISM: A. D. 1903. Opposition among Workmen.

A great Congress of 200 delegates from bodies of German workingmen opposed to Socialism, said to represent a total of 620,000, was held in October, 1903, at Frankfort-on-the Main. Its object was to promote effective organization of workmen, to which end it appealed to "all unorganized German workmen to join those industrial organizations which do not make enmity between the classes their principle."

SOCIALISM: A. D. 1908. Socialists win Seats in the Prussian Diet for the First Time.

See (in this Volume) PRUSSIA: A. D. 1908.

SOCIALISM: A. D. 1909. Statistics reported to the Socialist Congress.

The annual report to the Socialist Congress at Leipzig stated that the German Social Democratic party has a membership of 571,050 men and 62,259 women—total 633,309. The number of men had increased during the past year by 13,172, and the number of women by 32,801. There are said to be now only 20 Reichstag constituencies in which there is no Socialist organization.

See (in this Volume) GERMANY: A. D. 1909 (OCTOBER-DECEMBER).

SOCIALISM: Italy: A. D. 1904. Gains in the Election claimed by the Socialists.

See (in this Volume) ITALY: A. D. 1904 (OCTOBER-DECEMBER).

SOCIALISM: A. D. 1909. Gains in Italian Elections.

See (in this Volume) ITALY: A. D. 1909 (MARCH).

SOCIALISM: NEW ZEALAND. Government Ownership of Land. Graduated Taxation. Public Loans to Farmers.

See (in this Volume) NEW ZEALAND: A. D. 1905.

SOCIALISM: SPAIN: A. D. 1909. Socialist-Republican Alliance.

See (in this Volume) SPAIN: A. D. 1907-1909.

SOCIALISM: UNITED STATES: A. D. 1902. Socialist Platform adopted by the Western Federation of Miners.

See (in this Volume) LABOR ORGANIZATION: UNITED STATES: A. D). 1899-1907.

SOCIALISTIC POLITICAL PARTIES.

See (in this Volume) PARTIES, POLITICAL.

SOKOTO: British, Capture and Occupation.

See (in this Volume) AFRICA: A. D. 1903 (NIGERIA).

SOMALILAND.

See (in this Volume) AFRICA: SOMALILAND.

SONE, Viscount: Japanese Resident-General in Korea.

See (in this Volume) KOREA: A. D. 1905-1909.

SONNINO, BARON: PRIME MINISTER OF ITALY.

See (in this Volume) ITALY: A. D. 1906-1909.

SOUDAN.

See (in this Volume) SUDAN.

SOUFFRIÈRE, LA: VOLCANIC ERUPTION OF.

See (in this Volume) VOLCANIC ERUPTIONS: WEST INDIES.

----------SOUTH AFRICA: Start--------

SOUTH AFRICA: Suitable and Unsuitable Parts of South Africa for European Settlement.

See (in this Volume) AFRICA.

SOUTH AFRICA: A. D. 1901-1902. The Last Year of the Boer-British War. The Concentration Camps. Kitchener’s Block-house System and Protected Areas. The Opening of Negotiations for Peace. Text of the Treaty concluded.

When Volume VI. of this work went to press, in April, 1901, and its record of events was closed, the dreadful Boer-British War had still a little more than another year to be prolonged through; but it was to be, as it had been throughout the past year, a sheerly destructive prosecution of guerrilla warfare by separate bands of the indomitable Boers. The operations of such warfare,—its raids, its counter "drives," its little battles and skirmishes, its captures and recaptures, its breaking of railway lines, and the like,—cannot be detailed in a work like this. Nothing of any decisive effect was done at any time, on either side, to constitute an important event in the war. There was simply a wearing process in operation which went on, in an inexorable and horrible slow way, till the country on which it worked was a desert, and the endurance of its surviving people was worn out.

In November, 1900, Lord Kitchener had succeeded Lord Roberts in the British command. He decided to empty the contested regions of their non-combatant population, by gathering it into "concentration camps," thus resorting to a measure which the Spaniards had employed in Cuba, and which the Americans had copied from them in the Philippines. Accordingly, on the 21st of December, 1900, he had issued to general officers a "Memorandum" in which he said:

"Lord Kitchener desires that General Officers will, according to the means at their disposal, follow this system in the Districts which they occupy or may traverse. The women and children brought in should be camped near the railway for supply purposes, and should be divided in two categories, viz.: 1st. Refugees, and the families of Neutrals, non-combatants, and surrendered Burghers. 2nd. Those whose husbands, fathers, and sons are on Commands. The preference in accommodation, &c., should of course, be given to the first class. The Ordnance will supply the necessary tents and the District Commissioner will look after the food on the scale now in use.

"It should be clearly explained to Burghers in the field, that, if they voluntarily surrender, they will be allowed to live with their families in the camps until it is safe for them to return to their homes."

In "The Times History of the War in South Africa" it is remarked on this order: "The policy was inspired by two motives. In the first place, it was supposed that the removal of the families would induce fighting Boers to surrender, and would thus shorten the War. In the second place, it was a measure of humanity towards the unprotected occupants of lonely farms. The decision was taken somewhat lightly. In its primary object it failed absolutely. Far from providing an inducement to surrender, it lifted from the fighting burghers a load of embarrassment. To the British, military consequences were disastrous. To the Boers the gain was twofold. On the shoulders of their enemy lay the heavy tasks of removal and maintenance, involving enormous expense and a grave hindrance to military operations, while they themselves, relieved of all responsibility for their women and children, were free to devote their energies with a clear conscience to the single aim of fighting. {621} While one of the British aims was signally defeated, the other, that of humanity, was at first only partially attained. The scheme for the concentration camps was lacking in foresight. Adequate provision was not made for the hosts of refugees requiring shelter. The regular medical and sanitary staff were already fully occupied with the needs of the army, and men were lacking for the organisation and supervision of the camps. Sites chosen on purely military grounds often proved wholly unsuitable. Too much reliance was placed on the capacity for self-help to be shown by the Boers themselves, and the Boers proved to be helpless, utterly averse to cleanliness and ignorant of the simplest elements of medicine and sanitation. The result was that for a certain period there was a very high rate of mortality among these unfortunate people."

_The Times History of the War in South Africa,