The Birmingham age-herald., 1920-06-05

enjoyed great prosperity. Some of them having earned unprecedented in come. The banks which participated in this loan will be able to add to thier prosperity, although it may be that considerable portion of the loan, if not all, will be offered to the public. The impression is that if such offer be made to private investors, il would speedily be discovered that investment capital is plentiful when opportunity of this kind occurs.
 BELGIUM'S RECOVERY
 But after all. the chief feature asso- ciated with this latest International financial transaction is to be found in the proof that Belgium. perhaps to d, greater extent than any of the allies, has recovered from the effects of the war. In Belgium no urgent appeal has been made to the people to get to work. There the plain people are united in an effort to bring about great produc- tion and to utilize to the utmost of the resources of Belgium. Today, after 1S months of hard work, the railroads in Belgium, the telegraph and tele- phone -ystems are almost entirely re- paired the canals are again made navi- gable and many of Belgium's indus tries have been revived. That little Kingdom is producing more coal than it did In 1913.
 
 dent of the Guaranty Trust Company of New York, and who has been for sometime tigating financial and economic conditions fin Europe, sen. a cable dispatch a few days ago from Brussels, in which he spoke especial ly of the fact that throughout Bel gium almost every inch of ground available for agriculture is now under cultivation and it is being so cult- vated that the soil will be able to yield two crops a year instead of one. So far as manufacturing industries are concerned. Belgium is still in need of raw material. Fortunately the out put of coal is aiding greatly in recov cry work Bituminous fields in the northern part of the country, not ex- plotted before the war, are now being worked and the belief is strong in Belgium that within year or two the Kingdom will not need to import any coal.
 INTERNATIONAL TRADE
 So rapidly and great has the king dom recovered from the effects of the war and so earnestly and steadily are the people at work, that today Bel gium's exports to Holland France Italy and Germany are so great as to give to Belgium favorable trade balance. It is also rapidly recovering it's trade with England. This would be impossible were it not for the fact that the Belgian people have utterly repudiated bolshevism Radical social ism, and are occupied wholly with in dustry. Belgium, however, is depend ent upon the United States for some raw material and some food. If that were not SO her trade with this coun- try might give Belgium a favorable trade balance Belgium ranks fifth among the nations as market, for the products of the United States In the first two months of 1920, her i'm ports from the United States were only slightly exceeded by her imports from Great Britain.
 Tn view of report of this kind which tells of the amazing recovery of Belgium and it's unquestioned pros perity in the future, 1t is not to be wondered that many of the American banks have responded to the appeals made by the Guaranty Trust Company and J. P. Morgan and Company, so that now tho refunding of the Bel gium acceptance credits of $50 900 900 is assured