Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1914-12-12

suit from war Is yet uncertain,
~ Belgians, however, will not
change. They have a fixed
place in world trade and industry, says
Charles M. Pepper, in the Washington
Star.
In the surprise party given the Ger
man army of invasion they showed
themselves an astonishing people. A
national character was revealed which
the world never suspected. This char
acter will not be altered whatever may
be the outcome of the German occupa-
ton.
The peaceful people who showed
their military prowess are stoutheart-
ed and logged. They are also essen
TALLY Industrial, and their industrial
qualities, once the struggle in arms is
over, will reassert themselves.
A winter spent among them study
ing economic conditions, which supple
mented several trips of the usual tour
list superficiality, gave me some in
sight into the industrial genius of the
people. The first impression was one
of homogeneity, in spite Of the
differences between the French and
Flemish populations, the two Ian
guages, and the provincial traits.
The impressive thing was that in
developing an industrial civilization a
Belgian nationality also had been de-
veloped. 1t is this nationality that
must be reckoned with in settling the
questions growing out of the great
war;
Only residence among the Belgians
can give a proper conception of their
wonderful industrial organization.
War maps have made clear the coun-
try's geographical situation as buffer
between contending nations. These
maps, however, do not exhibit the real
Belgium.
Population ls Dense.
Taking something near its own size
for comparison, Belgium, with an area
a thousand square miles less than that
of Maryland, has six times the num-
Der of inhabitants that Maryland pos
sesses. Belgium's area Is little more
than 1000 square miles, and its popu-
lation is 100000 1t has more than
$50 inhabitants to the square mile.
So large population in so small a
territory could only be an Industrial
one, although there is a farm area,
and Belgian agriculture Is of the inten-
sive variety. The basis of the ant
like industrial life is partly natural re-
sources in the form of raw material,
and partly accessibility Of other raw
material which can be easily as
sembled
Liege, the Belgian Pittsburgh, came
into being because of its own coal
mines and the coal mines of Namur
and Hainault provinces. Iron ore was
available from Luxembourg and AL
sace-Lorraine and the Meurthe-Moselle
district of France, and also by easy
water transportation from Sweden on
the north.
The blast furnaces produce the pig
iron, some for expectation, and some
for use in finished iron and steel prod
ucts. The Cockrell works were estab-
lished more than a century ago. Fac
tories for firearms followed. II the
Liege works do not rival the output OF
the Krupp works at Essen in heavy
ordnance, they are not far behind. 1t
is, however, in the products of peace
that Liege excels.
Belgian steel rails are laid down in
South America and the Orient in COM
petition with England, Germany and
the United States, and the powerful
little Belgian locomotive is a common
sight on the mountain railways of the
Andes.
Belgium has zinc deposits in the
province of Liege and that is the basis