The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-04-26
Belgium and Its Troubles.

DG!Eluii dJu ITO IiUuUIGO.
, ID ELGIUM has been attracting atten
; ton of late because of interna
disorders. Workingmen have ere
, ated demonstrations under the leader
ship of the Socialist party and strike!
and riots have succeeded one another
Blood has been shed in the streets OF
Brussels. Catholic deputies have beer
assaulted and their homes stoned by
the mob. Government troops have fired
into hostile crowds and the common
people have carted away the dead and
wounded.
With regard to the trouble in Belgium
it should be understood clearly that
the cause is political and not industrial.
That is, the Radicals, although they, no
doubt, intend to use political power to
industrial ends, are bent just now only
on getting that political power into
their hands. The industrial movement
will come later. The demand made
at present seems to an American to be
| most reasonable. 1t is condensed into
| the formula 'one man, one vote" This
was the cry to which England rang out
many years ago, and it is characteris-
| tic of the English people that they
transformed their political theory into
political reality without resorting to
the measure which the Belgians now
contemplate.
AT present every Belgian over q can
vote once, but there are some Belgians
who can vote more than once. Every
man, for instance, who has certain
amount of property. or who, being over
80, has legitimate issue and pays a GER
tain house tax, can vote twice. Also,
every man who has certain educational
qualifications can vote three times In
this way the poor and the ignorant
have been deprived of power which
they think they ought to enjoy. At |
the last parliamentary election the !
number of citizens qualified to vote !
was about 100000. Supplemental votes.
however, cast by those who had right |
TO vote more than once amounted to |
about 10000. In a great many consti-
tuencies, therefore, the Radicals, al
though numerically a majority, were
beaten at the polls. Naturally. it is to
their advantage to effect a change in
the election laws.
An American Catholic trying to post
himself on Belgium, will naturally in
quire the meaning of clerical" party.
No matter what good purpose may be
urged by the advocates of a clerical
party, the answer given the American
Catholic is unsatisfactory. Belgium is,
clared ODE the most constitutional of
the limited monarchies of Europe. Then
what necessity is there for clerical ,
party, which implies favoritism a. d
A clerical party in Belgium is differ :
INT from a Catholic party in Germany.
N Germany Catholic party was nee
,ssary for the defense of Catholic !,
lights attacked by Bismarck. In Ire !
and it was the ''soggarth aroon'' who
TODD by the common people as against :
he landlord; hence the clerical Tor ,
'atholic) party which afterwards gave :
lace to the land league =
We believe this clerical party in Bel =
,ium is responsible for the disordered
ondition of that country We are in ;
lined 10 the opinion that those en- :,
owed with two and three votes belong =
D that party and are kept in power by ;.
ne provisions of that state enactment. !,
uch inequality of suffrage engenders =.
sentiment in the breasts of the COM
j..
nemies of Catholic faith to take adj n
antage Of the peoples discomfort and :,
in them to the abominable idea of 81
'cialism as the panacea for political II
nd social infirmities This they have
one in Catholic Belgium. .,
Belgium adhered to the faith during >;
Il the religious wars of the Neither 81
nds, sometimes belonging to Holland,
France, to Spain. What a grand
ace Belgium would have been ten !,
ears ago to have put in practical OPP III
alton the encyclical of Pope Leo to {,
asters and servants. Had the advice -
the pontiff been needed and fol-
wed by the Catholic capitalists of
elgium. there would be no socialist
rty and suffrage would mean 'one
an, one vote We would not hear {
clerical party either =
Perhaps Belgium may be plunged
10 the fires of a revolution before she M
purged Of political and social ills. ne
t it come. There is nothing like an SIT
ject lesson to destroy the dream Oh
lich socialism sets up. An object les ac
is needed just now in Belgium. IN
erefore, welcome u government es- De
'lished by socialists, even though the mt
story of the French. revolution be re- ye
tied. Then socialism viii die like ey'
, moth before the candle and the be
nmon people of all civilized countries Law
] have their eyes opened to faith and Ter
lson. eff
an,