The labor standard., 1919-09-01
WHATEVER material advan- Vn tages may accrue by-and-by
 to Belgium from the restitu-


 to Belgium from the restitu-
 tfon of her old possessions in the Eifel, there can be no dispute that the most picturesque townlet in all those border regions of the former duchies of Limburg, Juliers, and Berg has passed at once into her hands in the ancient and little-known, because secluded, human habitation on the Roer which bears the picturesque name of Montjoie, writes Demetrius O.. Boulger in the London Graphic.
 In the days of the Franks, before milestones came into vogue, it was the practice to mark the stages along the main routes by erecting a pile of stones, and sometimes it happened that the spot selected was on a field of battle. These heaps or piles were termed "Montjoie" from the Latin words Mons Jovis, and when the name Montjoie was incorporated in the bat tle-cry of France it signified no more than Forward St. Denis. The Burgun- dian battle-cry, "Montjoie St. Andre" St. Andrew. Baedeker's plausible suggestion that the Romans built fortress here and gave it a high-sound- ing name may be relegated to the or der of fairy tales.
 MOntjOie then was nothing more than stage or resting point on the high road of the Franks across Aus trasia to the Rhine. Situated in a gorge of the upper Roer, it gave the n0c incf fro,, f1an f< f1a centers of Frank, not Teuton, culture in the Aix, Ju1iers and Stollberg re- zion.
 In Picturesque Setting.
 Unlike Malmedy, Montjoie aspires to no political role. It rests it's claims to fame in the picturesqueness of its situation, and the charm of its medieval buildings bordering its mar row streets. The Roer, here only shallow stream for three parts of the year, ripping over stony bottom, flows through the town, and in some places even under the houses: It is swollen in the early spring by the melting snows of the Eifel, but it has scooped out for itself so deep chan nel that floods are rare, as it sweeps along with increased volume past Duren and Juliers to join the Mouse in Holland.
 Surrounded by the most beautiful forests of the Hertogenwald or Hohe Venn, which completely screen the lit tie town from view, the valley is so narrow that cricket ball might be thrown from the height on which are the ruins of the old castle to the oppo- site cliff on which is the Haller or watch tower. This was placed where It is because it allowed of a better view up and down the valley in the Jays when the robber counts of Reich enstein levied toll on travellers even if .hey did not completely plunder them.
 The scenery is finest in the direc- ton of Kalterherberg, where the Per Ienbach may be traced like silver thread as it flows through the wood to join the Roer. This stream is called the Pearl brook because the dukes of Juliers used to derive from it the pearls for which their treasury was famous. It is true that mussels are still found, but Tho one has claimed lOI 1udLS d ioh6 ooy Io AoNS uASSos cred a pearl.
 Quaint Buildings, Narrow Streets.
 The little town is worthy of its set ing. Against the rocky and pre- cipitous sides of the mountains, through which the river has cut way, aided, perhaps, by volcanic. action, the inhabitants have run up lofty and many-storied buildings, which seem to aspire to reach the summfts that confine them in so small and cramped B space. Houses of five and six stories are quite common, and even loftier ones may be found. The consequence Is that the main street, which at some places is not broad enough to allow of two carts passing each other, is at all times of the day in the shade, and that early in the evening it is buried In gloom. This is the more noticeable because up to short time before the war only oil lamps were used in the public ways. Locomotion after dark was attended with no small inconven- fence, and even peril, for false turn down one of the numerous passages under the houses might easily lead to B ducking in the river.
 The houses, mostly in the rocOcO