The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-07-03

war is that if there is a position open an Englishnlan who applies must be given the preference over any for eigner.
 There are nearly 2,oO0.o0o Belgian people in France who have been forced to leave their own country. T stayed in England,'' continued MT. Merckx, until my money was nearly my luck here. I did not have mohey enough to pay the entire passage in the steerage but a Belgian friend who had still less than I, and could not leave England lent me a pound.
 tsWe were four who came here to- gether, Laurente Van de Weerden, File Smet, myself and the other whose name I would rather not men ton. He could not find employment here so he has gone back to enlist in the army. Van de Weerden was soldier and was wounded in the at who remain will stay in Bridgeport as long as we have employment.
 Although MT. Marckx could not speak a word of English until he went to England in December he now con- verses readily and fluent1y. He ex- plains his speedy acquisition of the language by saying that in Belgium most of the people speak both Flemish and German and many of the root words in English are derived from these tongues. MT. Merskx is con vinced that the Germans cannot win this war and eventually they will be defeated and forced back into their own country.
 But it may take a year or two to do thiS," he said. t'I have been in formed that as the Germans advanced through Belgium they have fortified all the points of vantage in the diff ferent towns so that it will be neces- sary to beat them back step by step. I have heard too that in, the towns many of the Belgian workmen have made iron picks and hidden them to fight the Germans when they are compelled to retreat. The Germans have seized the coal mines and all sources of mineral supply in Belgium and are working for their own advan- tage. They have taken factories too.
 ssI met in London the general su- perintendent of an ammunition fac- tory. The town where his factory is situated was captured by the Ger mans and although he got away most of his workmen had to stay behind They refused to work for the Ger mans, however although the latter tried to make them. Work or die was the German order and the first day they shot one workman. Next day they shot five and the following days1O. The fourth day 20 men were lined up and shot and the Germans announced they intended to keep in creasing~the ratio. So the workmen had to give up and go to work for their captors making ammunition with which to shoot their own peo-l pie.
 s'The action ef. the Germans in de- stroying Louvre will forever stand as a blot on their military honor and prowess. Only the sIurns have been left standing in that city :the beau tifu1 public buildings and churches have all been destroyed. The lfbrar- ies, too. which contained documents and manuscripts, some of which date back to the 11th century. have also been destroyeds with all these price less papers, none of which can be re placed.
 esThe German excuse for this action, is that, their. troops were fired on by tsnipers while passing through the streets. If this was true it seems to me it would have been easy for them. to have caught the guilty persons and punished them but it was wanton and cruel act to destroy the beautiful heart of Louvre
 MT. Merckx who at present is ern- p1oyed as a draftsman, is desirous of engaging in. newspaper work in this country and intends to arrange a lee ture tour as soon as he is more fla When he first came to this country he stayed for "a time in Brooklyn but procured his position here,