Omaha daily bee., 1919-12-21
Brussels Is Aflame With
Prosperity, Rivalling
Old Gay Life Paris Knew
Belgium Only Country in World Benefited Finan-
clally by Wars Aftermath-G German Trade Re-
Observation-Disclosures Is Flourishing- Pleasure
And License Run Rampant in Her Capital-Ap-
parently Trying to Emulate Prewar Berlin

do not think for a moment tina
there IS any prospect of strikes.
Production of the Belgian mine.
is rapidly improving. 1t has now
reached 80 per cent of the prewal
figures. The coal situation in thi.
country is far better than, in an,
other in the world"
After l had left NJ. Vandervelde
met an eminent authority who asked
me what l thought of Brussels to.
day. l replied that I had never seer
9 city so prosperous, gay and com
Portable, 50 abundantly PROVIDE
with all the good and pleasant things
OF life. He quite agreed with me.
Shoulders to Wheel
The Belgians," he said. were a,
first inclined to be disappointed be,
cause they had not received 4 larger
share of the indemnity to be paid by
Germany. But now they recognized
the just claims Of France and Britain
and they have set their shoulder to
the wheel of reconstruction with a
will and determination which might
prohtably serve as an example to the
workers of other nations"
Practically every factory, he told
me. which was In operation before
the war is at work again. There
are very few unemployed, and the
general prosperity is as it never vas
before.
Paris can no longer rightly be
called gay city. Life in the French
capital offers too many checks to
exuberance of spirit. The lack of
small change is the first and most
constant irritant. 1t is not All incen-
tive to a happy evening to have to
pay 5 francs for 4 glass Of beer or
wine or cup Of coffee, receiving a
bundle of Metro tickets by way of
change. 1t is true that articles of
the value Of z francs can be bought
with = booklet Of Metro tickets. but
If It be of less value than tina. the
purchaser and vendor are still faced
with the difficulty of finding . substi-
tuts for the monetary differences.
Comfort In Brussels.
Physical discomfort in. Paris is
acute from the shortage Of coal. In
the hotels, restaurants and houses
it 10 terribly cold. Here in Brussels
l am almost superheated; my bed
room Is supplied with its bath and
lavatory, with hot and cold water.
Except in the most expensive hotels
in Paris the hot water pipe yields
water at precisely the same temper
atures rs the cold.
But here in Brussels the whole
city is beautifully lighted and
warmed. Coal may be dear, but
there is evidently plenty of it. In
stead of 4 restriction of street, car
service, as in Paris, the authorities
here would be hard put to it to
squeeze more cars between those
which already play follow-my-leader
round the network Of lines which
compose the efficient street car
system Of Brussels.
The cafes are open until 2:3l a.
m. and are crowded to the last min
ute. Spirits-except eognac-and
liquors are forbidden, but all other
forms Of alcoholic refreshment are
obtainable. Prices are very high,
but even In the most expensive
cafes the workman and his wife
often accompanied, It IS sad to say,
by very young children-may be
seen enjoying themselves up to the
very last minute before closing.
Pleasure and Iicense
Brussels, indeed, seems to be try
ing to emulate pre-war Berlin.
Wake up at any hour of the night
and you hear the hum of merry life
in the streets. Citizens are simply
wallowfng in pleasure; there seems
to be no limit to expenditure, nor, it
must be added, to license.
Whence comes the money! From
trade with Germany undoubtedly.
In every hotel, In every train,
men are to be heard talking of bar
gains they have secured In the oc-
cupied regions-bargains placed
within reach Of the low rate Of the
mark.
1t il worthy of note that ali these
men with whom / have come in con-
tact are keeping a keen eye on the
German mark. It is their confident
opinion that when ratification is
complete the mark will rattle up in
value from l20 to the pound, its
present rate, to 50 at the highest.
One man told me that his firm was
holding 1850 marks against that
day.
Brussels fourishes while Paris
languishes. But an unkinder cut at
French pride is the increasing favor
which the exchange is showing to
the Belgian franc. French money
is no longer accepted at Its face
value in Belgian shops.