The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1914-11-20
Figures Shou
Belgians Are
Good Farmers
INTERESTING DATA CONCERNING
PEOPLE GIVEN BE.
LOW.
THEY WERE THE BRAvEsT OF
THE GAuLs IN CAESARS
TIME.

| WASHINGTON, D. c., Nov. 90
Prhaps no other organization in the
United States is keeping in such close
touch with the geography OF the Euro
pean war as the National Geographic
Society, of Washington. While it is
! furnishing geographical data daily to
the press, it is itself receiving
wealth Of geographic material with
reference to the countries at war,
their peoples, their customs, their in
dustries, and their geographic history.
In communication on Belgium: The
Innocent Bystander," William Joseph
Showalter tells the more than 100000
members Of the society:
"Thc Belgium of today has an area
less than one.fourth as great as Mis-
sissippi, yet at the outbreak of the
present war it's population was four
times as large as that Of Mississippi.
twenty-five and half countries like
Belgium could be tucked away in
state like Texas, and their aggregate
population would be more than that
of the United States and Germany to-
gether"
According to this writer Julius
Caesar himself bears early witness
tc the bravery of the Belgians, who.
he says, were drawer than the Acqui-
tanf or the Celts, due to the fact that
they we're nearer the Germans, with
whom they were constantly at war.
Within Belgium's 1873 square
miles OF territory, smaller than Mas
sachusetts and Connecticut, with a
population of 1873, 900, there lived, at
the outbreak OF the war, nearly three
million French.speaking Walloons who
cannot talk with like number of
their compatriot Flemish speaking
Flemings. In their habits of mind and
methods of gaining livelihood they
differ as widely as the English and
the French, but the bond OF religion
has bound them together for genera
tions, with never n fratrlcidal war in
their modern history.
The Belgian constitution, framed in.
1880 by a convention Of Belgians,
guarantees freedom of conscience, OF
education, and of press, and the right
Of peaceful assemblage. The king
ship is filled by succession. There is
a cabinet. a senate, and house OF
representatives. A senator's pay re-
markable as it may seem is a free
pass on the railroads without a dollar
of actual salary. a representative gets
free pass and $500 year.
The suffrage laws are interesting.
A Belgian gets one vote when he
reaches he age of %. II, at the age
of 35 he pays one dollar In taxes, and
is married or widower with legitt-
mate children, he gets second vote.
If he pays a certain amount of taxes
or holds university diploma he is en-
titled TO two additional yotes-except
that in no case may man cast more
than three votes. In selecting rep
resentatives, parties and not men are
voted for, and each party gets rep
RESERVATION in proportion to its voting
strength.
The Belgians are fine farmers.
They grew, last year, 81 bushels OF
wheat to the acre where We krew 10;
SO bushels of barley to our "a; 312
bushels OF potatoes to our 90.
Belgium has been land Of low
wages and cheap living. Many of the
people who fashion our exquisite Bel
gian laces get only five dollars
week, and the average wage-earner's
income is only about $165 a year. But
with all that, the Belgian housewife.
an artist in making little go long
way, has fed her family well and
clothed them comfortably.
There were no milkmen in Belgium,
for the women drove the dog carts
that constituted the nations milk wag-
ons. Every milk can had to shine, ev-
cry dog had to have harness to fit
him, a bowl for his drinking water,
and a carpet or bag to lie down on
when tired. No dog in Belgium, ex-
cept those of the rich. escaped bear
ing his share of the family burdens.
The people of Belgium were the
worlds greatest beer drinkers before
/! the outbreak of the present war, with
ass gallons per capital per year, as
compared with the German consump-
ton Of 26.S gallons. On the other
hand the Belgian used. only one gal
lon Of wine as compared with the
Frenchman's thirty.four gallons.
Railway fares were very low. A
doubledaiiy Journey OF 20 miles cost
S73kk cents q week; ofi44 miles so
cents "a week. Every person entering
| q 10 {IrnafI ztafions had to pay one cent