Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1919-07-08

which is the outstanding feature in so many
countries The financial situation is, however
complicated by the presence in the country OF
millions of dollars of worthless German paper
with which those UnWelcome guests paid" for
the many articles which they took forcibly from
the native tradeSmen. The Belgian govern
ment, acting with great promptitude and fore
sight, has bought up almost all of this paper
and is holding it as part of the debt which
Germany must pay in settling her accounts.
The main problem before Belgium, in the
opinion of her leading business men, is rapid
resumption of international trade. There dis
room to spare for American capital and en-
terpriSe in helping to restore this country. Bel
gum has always been a good cuStomer in the
international market, and there is little fear that
the investments SO badly needed by this
stricken nation will not develop profitable re-
turns for those who make them.
AS an example of the way Belgium is set
ting her house in order to prepare for visitors,
commercial and otherwise, Dr.. DueSberg cites
the improvement of the railway system In the
early days of this year the rail journey from
Brussels to Liege, about seventy miles, took
seven hours, passengers being herded in broken
down WndowleSS cars. Just before sailing for
THIS country a few weeks ago, Dr. DueSberg
made the same journey in little over two
hours. Steps are being taken to electrify a
large part of the railroads within the next year.
Belgium will gain little territory by the
peace terms. The edict at Versailles is that
she shall annex only small portion of former
German territory on her eastern border This
IS ailotted to her, it is diSa, because the popu-
latlon is predominantly Flemish, and because the
district contains some few coal mines to recon-
penSe her for the domestic mines DESTROYED by
the Germans. The Belgian people on the whole
seem perfectly contented with this small ac-
question:, preterring small and HOMOGENEOUS
nauon 10 large one torn by racial disSenSion.
There was germ of racial dissension before
Wy HlI11 INprc fulfill aFfo 6
the German propagandiStS to develop it is
typical of the entire failure of kultur The
Belgian people are composed of two races
the FemingS and the WalloonS, the former
of Dutch extraction the later closely allied to
the French in all characteristics. Much time and
money was spent by the Germans in trying to
create disSension between these stocks, with a
view to annexation of the Flemish provinces
Inc propaganda was never successful and COL
lapSed utterly with the withdrawal of the Ger
man troops few Belgian professors sub
Siolzea by the Germans to spread the diSSen-
sion are now facing uncomfortable futures in
Switzerland, Holland and Germany.
The coming of peace and the return of the
soldiers has revealed very interesting and
marked difference between the attitude of the
civilian population toward the Germans and
that of the army. The returning soldiers whose
only experience with the Germans has been on
the battlefield, where things are more or less
Cqual anu uclHOCldtlC, 40 not nave the same
bitter hate in their hearts as do those families
who faced the German military force in its
most arrogant and unjust roIe-that of Con-
queror and Dictator.
All Belgians, however, are unanimous if at
tributing to little paper, ola Livre Belgique,"
much of the credit for maintaining the spirit
of the nation. This journal, published sur
:eptitiouSly in the invaded territory all through
the war, never tagged in its optimism for the
future, never ceased burleSquig their heavy
,Teuton conquerorS who were at their wits end
in trying to track down this journalistic CAD
fly. The editor of the paper unfortunately
died just a few days before the signing of the
armiStice, failing to see the freedom for which
he had worked so CALAMITY, accomplished