Bisbee daily review., 1916-04-16
FLEMISH QUESTION PROMISES 10 ARISE
 WHEN WAR IS CLOSED
Flemish Population of Bel gium May Desire to Be Sep- .rated from the Balance of Country at End of War.

THE HAGUE, Netherlands, April 8. ! Correspondence Of the Associated
 Press). The Flemish question, in the
 new form it has assumed during the war, is one of the problems that is ex- pected to figure seriously whenever peace negotiations come to the deter
 imitation of the status of Belgium. ! There is already in existence one Flemish movement, with it's own press organ, the "Vlaamsche Post" (Flemish Post, whose motto is an entirely sep
 arate Flemish Kingdom, comprising ! not only the Flemish part of Belgium, but also the original Flemish provirc-
 es in Northern France.
 The larger half of the population of Belgium is of Flemish race, speaking
 various Dutch or Netherlaldish dia- lects known collectively under that
 term. The last census, in 1910, showed
 that of the 7,423, GOO inhabitants of the
 country, 3,220,000 spoke only this
 Flemish or Netherlandish language
 and 2,S00,000 only French. The differ
 ance in the numbers of those who
 spoke mostly Flemish and those who
 spoke mostly French was some 700,-
 900 in favor of the former Further.
 the five Flemish provinces can boast of 4,776000 inhabitants, whereas the four Wallcon or French-speaking prov
 inces, including Luxemburg. have only 2.73s,000, showing thus a difference
 of 100000 in favor of the Flemish. AS regards increase of population, too, the latter have the advantage, the increase in the Flemish provinces in a recent year amounting to 5S,359 as against only e,e96 recorded for the Walloon provinces. Such big cities as Antwerp. Ghent, Bruges, Malines and Brussels fall within Flemish Bel gium, and of these only Brussels has lost part of it's Flemish character, though more than half of its 100000 inhabitants still speak no other lang uage.
 Up to 1880, the year when Belgium obtained it's separation from Holland, the Flemish or Netherlandish Ian
 guage of course held it's own; but the separation gavet he chief political in fluence into the hands of the French speaking part of the population and the Flemish movement really dates from that time While the Constitu- tion recognizes both the French and from that time
 Flemish as official languages, and whilethe latter is admitted into the law courts and reigns supreme in the elementary schools of Northern Bel gium, being also the medium for about half the lessons at the State secondary schools there, a good deal of the languages rights exists on pa per only. For the bureaucracy is French-speaking, t"Franskiljons") the middle class largely so. and Elem ish is practically excluded from science and all higher education. which is a serious handicap to the Flemish people and helps to prevent them from keeping abreast of the times in the matter of education and knowledge. Only at two of the four universities is a very limited number of lectures delivered in Flemish, so that university education in their own tongue has long been one of the guild ing aims of the movement under con sideration, and the question of a Flemish university at Ghent has been revived with fresh vigor in the last few months.
 But now the war has given quite a new turn and aspect to the movement. {. The immediate effect of the German invasion was that the Flemish people l turned toward France, abhorring the invaders. Since then, however. three . Flemish groups have gradually be- i come distinguishable All three of these groups agree in the resolve | that peace must bring for Flanders ! adequate satisfaction of her just na- tional demands. The unity stops here, ! however, fer opinions differ wisely as | tot he road to attain this end.
 The two views most sharply appos- ed to one another are represented by l the respective journals, VRY BELGIE | C"Free Belgium"), recently started in this city, and the Vlaamsche Post i The first group ridiculed as the "Quietists" or Do Nothings," desire at all costs to maintain the na tional political truce, and to reposo | complete confidence in their govern ment. It is unthinkable. they argue, that Belgium, which is only fighting for the rights of the small peoples, should not recognize the rights of the Flemish people within it's own borders
 the more so they constitute the great majority of the army still in the field. But the other party, the Ghent Radicals, termed traitors" in their turn by those opposed to them, look upon it as madness to trust the Wal looms and Franksiljons and their gov ernment, declaring, on the ground of all that. has happened since 1880, that in Belgium there is no hope for their people, and going so far sto demand a separate Flemish people.
 Between these two extreme groups come two organs of public opinion the Vlaamsche Stem (Flemish Voice). started at Amsterdam since the war. and the Antwerpsch Nieuws ("Ant 1 werp News s'0-which contend for what they term administrative sepa ration, sort of Home Rule system. under which "Wallonia" would he French and Flanders Flemish. each thus possessing it's own particular language in united and restored Bel gium instead of there being two Ian guages for the whole coutnry. This :. latter idea has on an earlier occasion been rejected by the Flemish them- GalVaC nnu- tbn lNaII,o, !