Arizona republican., 1912-07-08
It Is Found in the Subjects of Suffrage and Schools w oh Furnished the Ground Work for Recent Revolution
PLURAL VOTING
 TO BE ABANDONED
But It Will Take a Two Thirds Vote to Change the Constitution; Il; Always Present Ground for Dis content

i BRUSSELS, July 7.-The recent election rioting throughout Belgium ] which stopped just short of an open 1 revolution. has fixed the minds of the l leading men of the country upon the problems involved in the dispute and 1 the likelihood for the future of Belgi- um. The general belief is that trouble will breax out anew unless the govern ment makes some concession to the Op- position on the two great questions which are the basis of the differences, namely, the suffrage and the schools. The industrial masses, especially those in the Wa1loon provinces. seem to be convlnced that their rights are re stricted in political sense through the existence of the plural system of vot- ing. They declare that the time has gone in the world. especially in a mod
 ern and civilized country like Belgium
 when an individual can have more than
 one vote. To them the idea that a man
 may have two and three votes because
 he owns property or because he has q
 superior education is an offensive at
 tack against the rights Of man.
 Everybody in Belgium is careful to
 point out that the school question
 should not be misrepresented by in any
 way assuming that it is @ religious
 question Practically the entire popu-
 lation of Belgium is Catholic, and no
 question of religion. as such, has been
 Or is involved in the Belgium physical
 and polemical warfare. The school
 question is mixed up with the lang
 ich i,,+ ic rpclllr
 of the old time differences between the
 Flemish or Dutch people of the north
 west and the WallOOn or French speak
 ing population in the south and south
 east The Flemish recently succeeded in their fight to obtain an obligatory
 teaching of Flemish as well as French
 in the public schools of Belgium. This
 has been accepted by the WalloOn
 provinces, but the latter claim that the
 Flemish have gone too far in this re-
 spect and are really wasting much val
 uable time of the inhabitants of Bel gium in the teaching of a language which is more or less of a dead tongue.
 The clerical question may be said to have the Flemish on the clerical side anu the Walloons on the anti clericai.
 It is in the Flemish departments that the influence of the plural vote is mostly felt. and which, even under the present system of proportional repre- sentation in the election of deputies,
 gave to the clerical party an important
 victory at the last elections. The cler ica1 or church schools have increased cOnsidera bly, in recent years in the fol-
 lowing manner: Every commune in
 Belgium has the right to public
 school. but every commune is not rich enough to support such an institution.
 In a large number of cases, when thls
 condition existed the church stepped in
 anu offered to found a church school
 and to pay all of the expenses therein
 incurred. The liberals and socialists contend that this initiative of the
 church has sometimes even prevented the establishment of a public school, as
 the communes, attracted by the idea of
 having a good school which would cost them nothing, have accepted the church
 schools when otherwise they might
 have founded the public or neutral
 school. Suggestions by the present, as
 well as the preceding government, to
 reimburse the clerical schools in some
 form of subsidy. was what immediately
 aroused agitation upon the general
 school question.
 The racial differences between the
 Flemish and the Walloons. which have
 long been on the point of an outburst. hastened the recent clash. Although It
 is not expected that the Walloon prov
 inces will do anything as yet toward
 approaching France, it would not sur
 prise many people, if they insisted at
 least upon an administrative searation and some kind of autonomy.
 The danger of the present situation
 lies in the convictions of the liberals and socialists that without the univer- sal single suffrage there is no chance for them to get into power. They realize that the single vote cannot be
 obtained without d revision of the con- stitution and for this a two thirds ma jority is needed in both houses of par liament. Only a slackening of the cler- icals from their position, it is believed will avoid renewed clashes.
 Another great problem which is to- day agitating Belgium is that of na- tional defense in case of a European conflict. The Walloon people are quick to say that in case of a war involving Germany, Belgium would he immedi- ately seized and overridden by German troops Therefore, it is claimed, the Notifications on the German frontier should immediately be strengthened so that Belgium may make a stout defense to safeguard her national honor and her national existence in time of war.