The Washington herald., 1915-09-19
By JAMES MORGAN.


Of little Nation that has grown rich
by taking advantage of its disadvanta-
ges and by minding it's own business,
but to which the war has brought
many hardships and perils.
The most remarkable Of all the neu-
trail countries Of Europe is formed by
the few little marshes that fringe the
Continent and constitute the kingdom of
the Dutch
country which draws fifty feet Of
water.
In which men live as in the hold Of
nature:
And when the sea does in upon them
break
And drown a province. it does but spring
leak
When the Roman legionares waded
out to that strange bit of flotsam. then
only 800 square miles in extent. they
found a race OF men who were the most
stubborn foes and the most welcome
allies they encountered anywhere in the
west. Charlemagne rose to world power
on the ruins Of Rome, but the denizens
of those lonely swamps boldly pro-
claimed their determination to be free
as long as the wind blows out Of the
clouds" s.
More centuries rolled by, and that tire
less breed of human beavers had wrested
from the North Sea territory as large
as that of the State of Massachusetts,.
The Hapsburgs had succeeded the
Caesars and. with Charles v. the great
est of the Hapsburgs. on the throne Of
Spain, they were at the climax of their
imperial power.
The Netherlands were the richest prov
ince and the doughty bog dwellers there
the boldest rebels in the vast empire on
which Charles boasted the sun never set
But the sun of Spanish dominion over
the earth was destined to set on this
unconquerable speck of land at the end
of a struggle for freedom which has de-
served from history the imposing desig
nation of the Eighty Years War
The Grave of spain's Empire.
The Dutch frst sought justice in peace.
but when their deputation appeared at
the vice regal court the courtiers assured
the Spanish captain general. Don't be
alarmed: they are only a pack of beg
gars." The soldiery of Spain went forth
to put down the rebellious province. but
the people cried. Better drowned
land than a lost land They cut their
dikes and let loose the ocean to over
whelm the invading army. They took to
the sea and their water begsars" har-
ried to death the commerce of Spain.
Holland really is the narrow grave of
the Spanish empire. She dealt it the
fatal blow and she wrote its epitaph in
the treaty of peace, where her one-time
ster was compelled to acknowledge
that she should be independent as long
as the clouds are wet with rain
It was well-chosen and binding
pledge. For the clouds of Holland are
the wettest of any in the sky.
When England took up the challenge
that Spain had dropped. the Dutch fleet
swept the English Channel in triumph
and De Ruyter even sailed up the
Thames. where he burned English ships
in sight of London. Then Louis XIV
entered the lists against the burghers.
but in the treaty of Utrecht they die
tated terms even to the Grand Monarch
of France.
4 Secret of Success.
Having at last taught Europe to let
them alone. they washed their hands Of
princely broils and dedicated themselves
rather than a splendid land. Wherefore
we have a nation which for just 9o2
years has minded her own business with
a success that puts to the blush the
great military powers and the armed
alliances that surround her on all sides.
Holland has not taken the aggressive
in any of the wars of Europe in two
centuries. She no more than looked up
from her ledgers as Frederick the Great
and Napoleon whirled by.
She claims no seat at the chessboard
of European diplomacy. no voice in
the concert of the powers Her naval
fleet and her standing army are be-
meath the attention Of her martial
neighbors.
The Spoils of Peace.
Yet see her spoils: mark how well
peace pays. She is no larger than
Maryland in area. than Illinois in pop
ulation. She has no mines. few fields
and little natural wealth. Nevertheless
Holland stands fifth among the great
commercial nations.
Neither Spain nor italy. neither the
Russian nor the Austrian Empire. but
only England. the United States. Ger
many and France do more business
with the outside world than this little
kingdom OF the Dutch. And her i'm
ports and exports SO nearly equal
those of the French that she crowds
France for fourth place.
Her great port of Rotterdam is
fourth among the busy harbors Of the
world. 1t has more shipping than Lon
don: . third more than Liverpool or
Marseilles. and is outdone round III.
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