The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1915-05-23


ed the enterpris'ng character or the
people.
The valley. Ike All parts OF Belgium
was extremely fertile Agriculture vleo
with nianufacture for supremacy. Tne
rich plateau that stretched TO the
north aind west from the banks OF the
Mouse waved with its golden harvest
every year. while meadows brought
abundance OF fodder for horses ana
cattle. 1t is safe to say that hardiy
an acre of uncultivated land. where
that land was ttllable. could be foudl
In the entire Kingdom, and the scenery
naturally beautffui was d1versihed with
gardens, cornnelds and in certain sec
lions, vineyards.
NOW, the entire aspect OF the valley
OF the Mouse has been changed. 1t is
the. center of the tremedous contest be-
tween the armies of the warning ma
lions. The hundreds of tall chimneys
no longer send clouds of smoke into
the air: the machinery is silent. and
the hundreds Of thousands of skilled
artisans throughout the sections are
idle.
The Pittsburg of Belgium
The city Of IAege has been likened
by many of the city of Pittsburg in
thts country. The greater part of it's
industries is made. IN of coal mining
ana manufa curing Of steel and its
products. Statistics show that up to
the outbreak OF the war, Liege was
ranked al ONE ~ the greatest manu-
Yacturirr citias IN Europe.
BeIgirnn's comm erce was vast. con-
siderine the size Of the country. It's
jnporte In 1912 were ss56.ss6. 900 and
its exnorfs were 7s2 ssS. 600. It's i'm
norts from the Tinted states were
~. $50 600 and its exports to this coun-
try wars s2Sn10 900, n had 4o2
miles mr. railways under State contror
One OF the great sources of Bel
r.,,po,a nromnerfivs Was her very corr
Sda-sh,s r,trersi wealth more esneci-
no coai which Was known To exist m
Hainau1t earlv In the eighteenth Cen4
turv. although it was not until the end
OF the Dutch rule that steps were TAX ed
| to exploit the mines in a serious fash
| ion. The last complete census showed
| that there were employed in the mines
| 12S313 men and women, while in the
| iron and steel works 134.S3 work
men were employed. Above ground,
5.Dss women and 5000 girls were en-
! ployed In the mines. Their wages
averaged 1.417 francs a year--a little
| less than $500. The production of coal
| has been around 25,000,000 metric
| tons a year in recent years. but more
| has been consumed, the imports ex-
ceeding exports by I 900. 900 to 1000
| 600 TONS O. year
| Labor was so fully organized on
| militant lines in Hainault and the
| Liege districts and the restriction of
| the output had so firm a hold on the
| workmen's minds that there was little
| prospect of any annual increase In the
| output despite the fact that new coal
| fields in the region known as Campine,
| a barren moorland in the province of
| Limburg. were known TO be very rich
| in their coal deposits The Liege dis
| trict was also famous for Its extern
| sive manufacture OF. guns, arms. am
munition and mutations Of war, its
| fame dating from long before the in
vention gunpowder.
| Canals have ALWAYS proven of vast
| Importance in the commerce of Bel
| GUM. These canals. while not as
| numerous "a those of Holland, are
highly importa Mt In the transportation
of coal and manufacturing products.
! The rivers. particularly the Meuse,
| Scheldt INse. Dendre and Dyle, are
| nearly ali canalized. making the m
navigable throughout the entire king
I dom There are or were, In Belgium
1
| OF about / .020 miles, in addition to
| which were five ship canals with a
| total lenght of about 100 miles. The
| Mouse partly French and partly a
| Dutch river. is in many respects the
most important of all the Belgium
waterways because of it's connections.
Belgium has practically no iron
mines, for they have long since been
worked out. and it depends entirely
upon its foreign source for supply.
/ This Is abundant and the great rolling
| mills of the Mouse Valley have been
kept humming- with industry for de-
/ cades. Pig iron production has been
about 2,26Q,000 tons a year. and pig
iron imports, 100000 tons In recent
| wears the steel output has been some
what above 2.e00, 900 tons of ingots
| The zinc production, according to
the last available statistics, was val
ued at s1,s07.o0o. The textile and
| ia brics manufactures have been a
| great source of revenue. as well. In
1 mara 000 COTTON