FREE BOOKS

Author's List




PREV.   NEXT  
|<   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63  
64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   >>   >|  
and six were shot by the Dutch. Nor will they permit contraband articles of war to go through their country. While the Dutch may sell their own supplies as they please, all imports of rubber, copper, or petroleum must be accounted for, and their reexport to Germany is forbidden. Germany also holds 30,000 Belgian soldiers as prisoners. England took 18,000 severely wounded Belgian soldiers into her hospitals, and 80,000 refugees are being there cared for largely by private enterprise. The losses by the war are difficult of estimation. But at the present time there are 7,000,000 people in Belgium, most of whom must be fed by the outside world. Belgium is the one nation from which the people have never migrated. Beyond war there is only one power that can move the Belgians from their soil, and that is the influence of the Church. Representatives of American railroad and industrial interests are in Europe endeavoring to induce emigration from Belgium to the United States, but it is doubtful if these efforts will meet with any success. There are in the United States to-day only two Belgian settlements, one of about 1000 people in Montana and one of about 1500 in western New York. The Belgian loves his land and sits by his home though it be in ruins. The history of the land of the Belgians shows that, as the cockpit of Europe, it was the battle-ground of centuries; yet her people are more immobile than those of any other country in Europe. Earthquakes do not make sunny Italy or golden California less attractive to their inhabitants. About $20,000,000 (more than 10 per cent of this came from Belgian people) has been raised to feed starving Belgians, and $20,000,000 more should be forthcoming. The English war office objected at first to the American proposals for food supplies to the little country. It was held to be the duty of the invading Germans to feed the population of the conquered country, as the Germans had appropriated large stores of supplies that were in Belgium, notably at Antwerp. England finally assented to the proposal, as well she might, for Belgium would starve without food from the outside, irrespective of war losses. In normal times, she imports 240,000 tons of food every month. She also imports most of her raw supplies for manufacturing. Belgium is, therefore, to-day without food, or raw materials for her industries, and probably without outlet had her industries the ability to produc
PREV.   NEXT  
|<   39   40   41   42   43   44   45   46   47   48   49   50   51   52   53   54   55   56   57   58   59   60   61   62   63  
64   65   66   67   68   69   70   71   72   73   74   75   76   77   78   79   80   81   82   83   84   85   86   87   88   >>   >|  



Top keywords:

Belgium

 

Belgian

 

people

 

supplies

 

country

 

Belgians

 

imports

 

Europe

 

England

 

States


losses

 

soldiers

 

Germans

 

United

 

American

 

industries

 

Germany

 

history

 
battle
 

cockpit


Earthquakes

 
golden
 

California

 

centuries

 

inhabitants

 

attractive

 

immobile

 

ground

 

invading

 
normal

irrespective
 

starve

 

proposal

 

outlet

 
ability
 
produc
 
materials
 

manufacturing

 
assented
 

finally


objected

 

proposals

 

office

 

English

 

starving

 

forthcoming

 

stores

 

notably

 

Antwerp

 

appropriated