The Washington times., 1914-10-10
WHAT ANTWERP MEANS.

dispatches which the censors today
passed. The river Scheldt, rival tt
the Thames" passes under contro
| Cf new master. For near a thou,
sand years it has been one of the
capital prizes in the great wars OF
Europe. Possibly there is no city ir
the world whose history would come
nearer to being also a history of tk:
! Occidental world.
How closely united its fortunes
have been with those of the British
ration IS constantly suggested
throughout its story. 1t was found
ed by the same Saxon5 who overran
England. Its people were converted
to Christianity by Irish missionaries.
The right of habeas corpus and of
jury triel came to Antwerp, as to
the people of England, among the
heritages from the glorious era of
Alfred the Great, most noble, able,
and enlightened prince of all the
middle ages. Antwerp became one
Of the first manufacturing cities of
the world; before the manufacture of
wool was known in England, raw
wool vent from that country to Ant
werp in vast quantities; and the be-
ginning5 of British woolen manufac-
ture were made ct Antwerp Dy =
British company which -eceived a
special charter to carry Oh the husi-
ness there. The ancient intimacy be-
tween the Artwerpians and the Brit
ish is further indicated by the fact
that. centGries before America was
discovered, British exchanges were
set up in Antwerp and specially fos-
tered and protected by the English
government.
British policy has for many CEN
turies clung to the purpose of main
tainiHg Antwerp always as sort Of
free city; it must not be held by any
powerful rival of Britain. Antwerp
has alw; VS. thrived when Britain's
ascendency was able to guarantee its
Independence; it has suffered when
the intrigues or ambitions of other
powers brought it under control of
any rival of Britain. Modern Ant
wcrp, with a modern commerce,
Gates from Americas discovery; the
city sprsng TO great Importance with
the Opening of the East and West
Indies and the inauguration of mod
ern trade routes all over the world.
But in 157e Antwerp was taken
by the Spanish. pillaged, and its peo-
pie driven away. 1t stood another
bIt unsuccessful siege few years
after, and at length fell into the
hands # the Duke cf Parma. There
was another era of disaster. The
commercial community scattered,
mainl- going to Hamburg; which is
certainly suggestive scrap of his
tory in the light of today's news. for
Hamburg is once more the great
rival that may be expected to gain
most by The ruin Of the Belgian
city.
The French revolutionary armies
took Antwerp, ard when Napoleon
came on the scene he Undertook to
develop it as q nenare aga;nct Erg-
land. After the Napolconic vars
Belgium and Holland we're united
FOR a time and Antwerp suffered
much because the Dutch hated the
old city. and tried 20 suppress its
development. The Belgian peonle re-
volted. and England and France
united. as thew are Ding today. in
saving them from onrre.;sion. Eu-
rope agreed that the kingdom of Bel
pium should be set off AMI guaran-
tced its irdeDcndencc. 1t is not
without irtorest that when the time
came &c End a name for the new
country. there was no verv GeeCrir-
i've one that all factions liked. Some
historical artinuarv suggested that
Caesar Rad paid high compliments to
re Relgae. near two thousand years
earlier. and that as this new country
was the ore in which Caesar had
warred. the name might appropriate
" be revived. Until that time. the |
name had completely passed out of
history.
Militarv and historic authorities !
have declared that Ant Terp is NOE !
irpcrtant to Brit"io that arv cf its
great military GItrosts on TIE roads |
# the world; thar Suez, or AdeN. or
Malta. or the Cane. or even Gibral- |
lar. The English historian. Alison. !
the centuries. said that
Rritain's great foreign wars had all
been fought to keep Antwerp ont Of
he haris of her enemies; so it will |
be easv to understand that there was
-athcr less of altruistic concern for