Arizona republican., 1913-04-14
BELGIUM TODAY WILL FACE BIG
 LABOR STRIKE
It Is Believed That Three Hundred Thousand Will Go Out in Effort to E.n- force Demand for Man hood Suffrage
ASSOCIATED PRESS DISPATCH

BRUSSELS, April 13.-Both sides of the labor disputes are awaiting the commencement tomorrow of a general strike to force the government to grant manhood suffrage. the progress of which will be watched by Europe with deepest interest. It is believed that three hundred thousand men will go out
 The respective forces are prepared in everyway possible. The government has massed troops at strategic points. The socialists have arranged to assist the strikers with food
 The strike was to begin some time ago. but was postponed to allow time for another and final appeal to the government for the granting of cer- tain reforms. including the introduction of universal suffrage, the abolition of the plural system of voting and cer- tain changes in the educational laws of the country. The government, which is controlled by the clericals. refused to entertain the propositions and as d last resort the general strike was ordered.
 Although upon it's surface the pres ent trouble is of d political nature, the underlying causes are really the racial, linguistic and religious differences be- tween the Walloons and the F'lemings, which constitute the two most import ant component parts of Belgium's pop ulation. The revolution early in the last century which freed Belgium from the Dutch control was effected chiefly by the Walloons, a French speaking race. and the control of the government remained in their hands down to 1884 For the fifty years preceding the Elem ings had been working to prevent the extinction of their language. which is virtually identical with low Dutch. The movement which was at first literary. soon assumed d political aspect. The Flemings, being Catholics enlisted the support of the clericals and at the cleo tion of 1884 they succeeded in obtaining control of the government They have i been in power ever since.
 The Flemish and Clerical party, fully realizing it's numerical weakness, forti- 1 fled it's position and sought to perpet- uate it's power by the plural system of voting, which alone has been able to maintain them in control. Under this l system IdlitfHOOu anu certain DTOD- erty and educational qualifications en- l title voter to two or even three votes at all elections. This system has been 1 extremely obnoxious to the enormous l mass of poor and uneducated working l men. but all efforts to bring about d l change of the system failed
 1 It was on June 1, 1912. that the dis l satisfaction which had been steadily growing for years among Belgium's un- l fairly represented lower classes burst l into the open. following the elections 1 which retained in power the clericals The government feared a revolution
 ary outbreak and as matter of pre-
 caution mobilized the army and polio, 1 force and called in the reserves 1 Armed forces were rushed to all tn,
 centers of excitement and Brussels wa
 practically in a state of siege. Ther,
 was a great ferment in the big coa
 mining district known as Le Borinage of which Mons is the center. The min
 CTS wanted to strike en masse and onl. l (Continued on Page Three)