The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1912-07-07
BELGIUM FACESA
CIVIL REVOLUTION
Suffrage and Schools Basis
of Troubles
ELECTION RIOTS BAD
School Question Mixed Up With Old
Language Question and Has
Nothing to Do With Religion.
Racial Differences

Brussels, July 1.-The recent election
rioting throughout Belgium, which
stopped Just short Of an open revolution,
| has fixed the minds of the leading men
| of the country upon the problems in
| volved IN the dispute and the likelihood
| for the future Of Belgium. The general
belief is that trouble will break out anew
unless the government makes some con-
cession TO the opposition 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 Walloon provinces, seem TO be
| convinced that their rights are restricted
| In a political sense through the existence
of the plural system OF voting. They
declare that the time has gone in the
| world especially in modern and civil
lied country like Belgium, when an in
| dividual can have more than one vote.
To them the idea that man may have
| two and three votes because he owns
property or because he has a superior
education is an offensive attack against
| the rights of man.
| Everybody In Belgian is careful to point
out that the school question should not
be misyepresented by in any way assum-
| ing that it is a religious question. Prae-
tically the entire population of Belgium
| is Catholic, and no question of religion,
as such, has been or Is involved in the
Belgian physical and polemical warfare.
The school question is mixed up with the
language question, which in turn is re-
suit of the old time differences between
the Flemish or Dutch people in the
northwest and the Walloon or French
speaking population in the south and
southeast The Flemish recently succeed
ed 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 Waloon prov
inces but the latter claim that the Flem-
ish have gone too far In this respect
and are really wasting much valuable
time of the inhabitants of Belgium in
the teaching of a language which is more
or less of dead tongue.
The clerical question may be said to
have the Flemish on the clerical side
and the Walloons on the anti-clerical
1t is in the Flemish department that
the influence of the plural vote is mostly
felt, and which. even under the present
system of proportional representation in
the election of deputies, gave to the
clerical party an important victory at the
last election. The clerical or church
schools have increased considerably in
recent years in the following manner
Every commune in Belgium has the
right to a public school, but every com
mune is not rich enough to support such
an institution. In a large number OF
cases, when this condition existed, the
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 pre-
Of
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 the1
might have founded the public or neutrg
school -
Suggestions by the present, as Wells
the preceding government, to reimbse
the clerical schools in some form ofeu''
sjdy. was what Immediately arouse Dc
tation upon the general school qu|u1ro wi
The racial differences between -
ish and the Walloons, which aNe 'ons
been on the point of an outburs "as o. ~
the recent clash. Although - IN III,
pected that the Walloon proY a,,,,roo ching
ANYTHING as yet toward app ' va nla,a
France, it would not surp'se many PEI
pie if they insisted at lessl upon IN. a., =,
istrative separation anf some KIM VI
autonomy. aa,4 s,+,aHo,
The danger of the present stuatloi,
lies in the convictiorol eiio -. -. -,
socialists that withof tfie universal slnsle
s,,rTraye there is no chance for them
to get into pow They realize tnat
the single vote c{nont be obtained with
ont revision n the constitution, and
S eor this two two birds majority is needed
~ o' hotb bonss of parliament. only
=, ~ the clericals from their
,nsitior # y believed. will lavoid renewed
clashes. ,, .t,at ,s +odoy |
r,tat;,,y Belgium is that of national
defe,,ssfin case of European conflict
The yalloon people are quick to say
,hatfn case of a war involving Ger
r,a,y, Belgium would be Immediately
Led and overriden by German troops,
therefore, It is claimed, the fortlfica-
Ems on the German frontier should I'M
nnediately be strengthened so that Bel
eium may make stout defense to SAFE
guard her national honor and her ma
floral existence in time of war.
The Belgium government mas sent
chief Engineer Zanen, Of the depart
ment of roads and bridges. to the United
states to study in the great American
norts the latest systems of locks, draw /
bridges and suspension bridges. This Is
in view of the new harbor works pro-
posed for Antwerp.