The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-09-27
BELGIUM COMING
 BACK INTO OWN,
 BARON DECLARES
Flemish Minister of Foreign Affairs Sees Complete
 Freedom in Future.,

| 0OIu duu lHOepenOenCe, Sdlu
 Beyens, Minister of Foreign Affairs o1 l Belgium, in the course of an author ized interview given to The Associated Press.
 Baron Beyens is one of the notable | figures of the present war, for up to | the beginning of the war he was the Belgian Minister at Berlin and went through the crisis culminating in the first blow at Belgium and the imme- diate entry of England, France, and all Europe into the seething struggle. Then, leaving Berlin, he entered the Belgian cabinet and his since directed the foreign affairs of the country, find ing time also ts write a book which graphically describes "the week of tragedy" at the German capital when the British and French ambassadors and himself made their last attempts to prevent the European conflict.
 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, where Baron Beyens was seen, is in- stalled at Ste. Adresse, a suburb of Hayre, in the Villa Hollandais, rus tic chalet occupied in ordinary times by seashore visitors, but now bearing on the outer gate a small placard reading: Ministers des Affaires Es- trangeres de Belgique." A foreign of flee usually suggests marble halls and big diplomatic rooms with ambassa- dors sitting among oil paintings and mahogany furnishings. But the Vil- Ia Ho1landafs has nothing of this kind. Three small pine structures have been put up in the garden for various dip lomatic and consular branches. Inside h. -:- tia ~a summer cottage, but everything is scrupulously well done and effective.
 Baron Beyens expressed at the out set the deep sense of appreciation felt by Belgium toward the people of the United States, and, in particular, to- ward those who had directed the work of sending food-supplies to Belgium.
 T am always glad to meet an Amer ican," said he. land to express my gratitude to your people in general and to those who have literally saved our people from starvation. It is difficult for me to say how much we feel in- debted to MT. Hoover, head of the Committee directing the relief work of Belgium. He has proved himself 8 man of great resource and great abi1- ity in the gigantic task of providing for a whole nation which found itself suddenly threatened with starvation or at least with cruel privation. It was task, moreover, requiring much dip lomatfc tact as we'll as bdsiness knowl- edge, for the Relief Committee was obliged to deal between the German officials on the one hand and the AL lied officials on the other. But all, 1f ho finite skill; obstacles which seemed at come, and practical results have been realized which are of the highest inn portance to Belgium and the Belgian people.
 'The American Minister at Brus- se1s. MT. Brand Whitlock, has also won our unbounded admiration and respect in performing work of colossal mag nitude under most trying conditions. Remaining at Brussels while the gov ernment was constrained by circum- stances to establish itself temporarily outisde of Belgium, the American min- ister has been, with his courageous Spanish colleague, the bulwark be- tween our citizens remaining in the in vaded regions, and the German mili- tary and civil authorities temporarily in control. Outside of the horrors and atrocities Of war which have been committed, the Ordinary administra- ton of civil affairs has been carried out with an iron hand and with rigor- ous harshness. In all this Minister Whitlock has stood between our peo- pie and the rigors of the German miIi- tary administration. and such lem fence as we have received has come erect intervention.
 "But," added the Minister, "the names of Americans who have shown this goodwill toward Belgium in very practical ways is almost unlimited Dr. Watson of the American Church at Paris, and Mrs. Watson. MT. Bliss, the American Charge d'Affaires at Paris, and his wife, Mrs. Wharton the we'll known American writer and many, very many. others. To all %of them Belgium is deeply thankful"
 Turning now to international affairs, in which he had taken such an active part at the debut of the war, Baron Beyens went on:
 we had every reason to remain at peace with Germany. Beglium had no hostility to Germany. We had many Germans among us, as you have in America, and many of our people spoke the German language. A spirit of good-fee1ing and of confidence pre- vailed, so far as we were concerned. I have reason to know this as I was Minister at Berlin up to the opening If the war, and had opportunity to observe the mutual relations existing
 Germany sought to spread the leg end that Belgium had a secret treaty with England relating to Antwerp. But. that is false. There is no suh treaty, and never was such a treaty. Ger tainly if such a document existed I would know of it, and affirm to you on my honor, that it does not exist. No, the legend of the secret treaty is a pure invention set up to justify, in the eyes of the world, the crime against Belgium.
 "In refusing the demand of Ger many to cross Belgium, we were sim ply performing duty. We were bound to act toward our German neighbor on the East just as we would have done toward our French neigh bor to the West, for our duty and all our interests tended to maintain the same attitude toward the powerful neighbors on our two frontiers. Sup pose France had been the one to ask the right to cross Belgium and to at tack Germany. We would have been |