The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1907-01-29
l..


In his commentaries on the Galhc
wars, Caesar tells US hat all Gaul was
dividcd into three parts. Il Of which
tho .'Belgac' inhabited, h terri
tory occupied by that people nearlf
1900 years & was approximately
the same as modern Belgium. since
then the country mas beer kicked and
,uffed about a great lea and has mad
many masters. At one time or
another it has belonged to B~urgunG@,
France, Germany, Spain, Austria,
and at one time united With Holland
under William Of Orange.
If julius Caesar could revisit b."
the light Of the moon the Belgian part
Of his province he would not recog-
nize it at all. 1t is now full Of teen
ing millions Of busy people whose Viz
tories of peace are no less renowned
than those of his wars Although
one Of the smallest countries on t1r
globe. il is one Of the most dense,y
populated 1t has an average OF ever
Go persons to every square mile 50
crowded are the people that the batf .
for bread is a fierce one with maly
The strong push aside the weak and
we see the survival Of the ittest.
The soil produces a~bundantly every
thing that viii grow in this climate.
a large portion Of the country on he
north and west is perfectly level ike
Holland. Much Of it is rolling and
hilly. bat all Of it is rich and produce
tive. About onc-haif OF it is in cui-
tivatiOn and something like d fourth
is pasture lands, the other part tim
bered or marshes. Twenty per cont
OF the people are engaged in larni 2g.
me government fosters and O
ages agriculture, and in every prov
ince there is an agricultural coml"iS-
sion appointed by the King. Inc
farms are very small, about what We
ra,,I1 100 good orc III 1-lt
they keep them rich and a little soil
produces q surprisingly large quantity
of truck.
Perhaps no one thing would surprise
old man Caesar more than the high
ways and bridges III the northWc
portion of his province. No athe:
country has better or pretticr public
roads, and il is a pleasure - drive
ever them. Many of them are paHe,l
with stone blocks and have . Tp& Of
pretty trees on each side. The 81
perior advantages Of good hisnWaNS
arc especially obvious at this TIM i
year when there is so much ram.
More than once l have seen tn slo
shining brightly and in less than
fifteen minutes it would be showing,
raining or hailing.
Belgium is essentially a maaufa"-
turing country. and it makes q it'll
VI VI bt'AiiS - 4 O 0t'tAti 'tS 49, -
the fine lace which the !3'iieS rave
over so much Il is fun of fa2torio-
ana the smoke from them can be seen
in every direction. The whole coun
try is a scene of busy life and activity
1t is no place for d lazy man.
Belgium is one of those countries
that have no language of choir own
The language of the court is i'"cacf
and Flemish and every lawyer Ist
be able TO plead in both. but she pHo-
pie generally speak every thing. The
kingdom is surrounded aby Er inc@
Germany. Holland. and just across The
channel is England. A busin rs man
to be successful. should be abb t.
talk at least those four languages. fut
whether he can or not. he Viii NY
The business men here have fn ,Nt
to business and they 10 business. They
are right up With the procession. Tho
TOO. are orkcr from aWaA
bac.. They enter the arena Nitl
mon and ask no quarters. They ped
die, fruits. flowers and vegetables, sci
newspapers. black shoes, keep ga
etc. T!ley ask neither the weatnDl
o the men any odds. | have mover
before seen women make such . brave
fight for an honest living. They dc
serve a better lot.
The country is thoroughly Roma!
Catholic. out of over 100000 people
less than 10000 are Protestants. RI,
public schools are in the hands Of To-
clergy. and Catholic the country vii
remain. To a mar born and reared
in the United States, where there arr
so many M~ethodists, Baptists. Prcsby'
terians and Episcopalians, it is sur
prising to find virtually none Of then
iii these parts. What is still more
surprising nan of the people seen
never to have heard Of those denOmi'
nations. Any American who belong:
to either and who has the big head
over his church, ought to visit thi:
country. and it viii give his sectariar
pride q jolt. a large per cent of thl
people never heard of John Wesley
and John Knox, IND some e~videntl,
never heard Of John tht
Baptist. had a pleas
ant conversation with d gentle
man over in Rotterdam man hold
ing a good position and we'll posted il
the affairs 81 his own countrN-and
never could make him undcrstant
what | meant by q Baptist. | trict
him on the M~ethodistS and he dropped
his head. studied for a moment. an(
repeated to himself. messengers
Messengers" and then answered tina
he knew Of none. | changed tn
subject.
The BeIgians do some things Xix,
they DO over in Holland. but not
81 eat many. They tax doors. win
COWS anu dDSS. ANU dl>C q SDtSioi -
for every servant you keep and 70
cv"ry horse YOU keep. Not an az
Va1orem tax on thc horse. but for hay
ing 4 horse: and likewise = tax 70
having a servant. The dogs also ar
put to work and are worked hard.
The state OWNS and operates its rail
roads and the service is very SatiSfaC
tory aud popular With the people. g
am informed. I;ut hoW it uoui
Woik - our country is another Dues
tit. II might Wor! all right and i
might not leave that to the / hi
tic ans.
Viii" IN brussels | hay lockcd III
SOME IF tho historical places and visit
"I ilsnn. | was anxious to soc IN
house III which occurred thai famoI
bali eAcH by the DutChc-S of Rich
nt"ud on the eve Of the battle of Wal
rrlo". and which was immortailzcd b.
Enron III the poem beginning.
"1icfr was a sound of rcVclry h.
night" etc.
Like lire birth Of AnlrcN Jackson, j
larponoJ at more thau one place
Thee j. 10 roubi in finding tn
place there are four Of them. y
one really knows where it to-k place
but those clever people arc AWAY
ready to CRAFTY the travellers 10y
for III" historical OF the heroic. On
guide WIS showing some visitors til
sights. He DniuteI out u paintiu. q