The Washington herald., 1912-07-01
FORIEGN GOSSIP

lcoI5filht is1 b coart Go.aip srndlraisl
TIE attempted revolution IN Belglum b
perhaps the most obscure IN rs causes
and circumstances Of the kind. and.
withal, the most paradoxscal- How could
4 have been religious strife. when all
BeiGians, at least nominaily. belong 70
one and the same religion ana religious
tolerance and liberty are complete. We
hear II had 70 90 with education. yet
public education Il free and universal Ia
that country. We are told that Il was
due 10 unequal and unfair suffrage Yet
FOR q score OF years universal suffrage
has prevailed there.
The truth is that Ia some respects the
Belgian troubles arise from all Of these
causes combined. but the main source Of
the outbreak lies In the old and appar-
entity ineredicable animoslty between
Flemings and Walioons; In other words,
between reutons and Gauls, feud as
old and lasting as the races themselves.
In this respect the people are divided
pretty evenly. the Fleminga being In a
small majority. In religion they ars
nominaily all Roman Catholics. But Il
may be assumed that the many Social
lists have repudiated this belief. or for
that matter any other church. and are
now contending for complete seculariza-
ton OF the public schools. Education IL
universal, free and compulsory; but II Il
hardly efncient. since Of the population
above seven years Of age more than one
NTH cannot read or write. This arises
from the fact that there is a dual school
system, secular and clerical, each COM
munlty deciding for itself which It pre-
fsrs.
The socialists contend that all clerical
schools should be supported by the
church alone, while the Clericais insist
that they should be supported by the
state, just as the public schools are;
since they are doing the work OF the latter
ana are under the same state supervision
and control The controversy over the
franchise arises from the fact that while
suffrage is universal and even compul-
triple voting.
Every male citizen twenty-five years
old has one vote, without property or
other such qualifications. On attaining
the age OF thirty-fve, providing he is the
father Of offspring, born in wedlock. and
pays 81 or more Of direct taxes. he gets
second vote. Two more votes are
granted for property. ohiciAl status, and
university diplomas. The result Of II may
be seen in the fact that OF a population
cf 100000 In 1904. there were 15s.6 SO
voters with 2ls7.965 votes. This plural
system Is bitterly denounced by the So
clalists and TO some extent by the LIB
erals, and is doubtless leading cause
OF the outbreak.
But the most serious phase Of the case
is the possibility OF Intervention. France
end Germany both have been casting
their eyes upon their little beehive OF q
neIghbor, and while neither would make
any aggressive move without proyocatlon
upon Belgium, the occurrence OF disorder
and anarchy there beyond the power Of
TO quen might well be taken by one or
the other as a preteXt for Intervention TO
restore order. and this in turn again
may lead to other and more serious COM
plications
he.walloon provinces even now are
said to be a hotbed Of agitation for
annexation by France and II Is quite
easily to be imagined with what sen
timents such a propaganda Is regard
ed at Berlin. Belgium is q neutral
state, the integrity of which has been
guaranteed for the last eighty years
by Austria. Britain. Prussia, and Rus
sIa. But what is a little thing like such
a guarantee between rivals?
The walloons OF to-day are the de-
scendants of the Gauls OF the Belgium
marshes. who gave Caesar 30 much
trouble in his war against Gallia, and
their language to this day bears q close
No doubt they are the "separatists,
whom the Belgium ministry has to
watch very closely. And as the inhab-
itRnts OF Flandern, the sturdy. hard
working Felmings are strongly clert-
cal and OF German stock. the authori-
ties have their hands full to keep one
OF these antogonistic races from fall
ing foul OF the other.
The policy Of France In Morocco
ought TO give Spain what territory
she claims and a free hand to govern
IL. so that Spain's war methods, crossed
often with want OF method, should
serve the French as a foil The Liber-
al Canalejas ministry is an accident, I
take II. When II falls. its successor
will be clerical. as clericalism is un-
the escuriaL This. OF course. must con-
iIct with the Islamite zeal OF the
Moors, to whom, In such a conflict, the
prophet will be as the Pope has been
to the Irish peasantry. France being
freed from all direct links with the
Vatican, and which. looked at broadly.
to-day Is considered a free-thought
country, never need fear to collide
with Islamism in Morocco.
There Is no excess Of military execu-
tIons, OF the forced conversion OF Is
lamite children, for which they are
not ready And yet Gen. Lyautey, the
resident general, foresees with grave
apprehension the cracking Of an aw-
fully hard nut.
Prince Jaime, the second son OF King
Alfonso OF Spain. who has been in Frei-
burg DIN Breisgau. in South Germany
under the care OF an eminent aurist, has
returned to Madrid, but not relieved
from his chronic aIlment. He can hear
the sound OF a loud trumpet, but he
cannot speak, and may never be able
to do so. The only hope for direct sue
cession now is centered in the eldest son
of the royal pair. the Prince Of the As
turias, now hve years Of age. He has
long string OF names, but uses the
sian atura Of Alfonso when writing his