Indiana daily times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1914-1922, 1920-03-27
BELGIAN PORT
REGAINS MUCH
OF OLD TRADE
City of Antwerp Thrives
With Resumption of
Industry.
BOOMING AT sHIPYARDs

ANTWERP, March 27.-All the ex-
traordinary energy and hustle which at
the present time pervades Belgous finds
its concentration point at Antwerp. The
city is the commercial capital Of the
country and is just one solid lump of
business activity.
Said director of an engineering
works as he raised his hands in self
pity: 1.-THE pressure is SO much that
life is scarcely worth living" And the
Antwerp business man genuinely feels
that. When, however, he counts on his
profits he begins to think that there may
be something still left in life after all.
Every avenue Of trade has been recon-
structed and is being used to full ad-
vantage.
There is a good instance Of how the
Belgian is swapping up business. Motor
lorries bought from the British govern
lnent as aids for the transport troubles
Of Belgium are now being sold back into
England to the very considerable salts
faction of the Belgian contractor. An
Englishman from Northamptonshire has
purchased well over 10000 pounds worth
of DAIMLER lorries, which one time car
ried the British army. He was more
than pleased at the deal, knowing the
price he can obtain for them at home.
ard as for the Belgian seller his paw
had to be expressed in terms Of cham
payne.
PLAINLY SHOWN AT
QUAYS AND DOCKS.
walk round the quays and docks
of Antwerp shows plainly how this
city, as the great front door Of Belgium
has, in a year, got back to nearly nor
NAL working. The basins are well filled
with shipping. The warehouses stacked
with merchandise, wool and sother raw
materials. The actual task OF loading
and unloading has been vastly speeded
up above the pre-war rate. They will
clear a ship IN Antwerp quicker than
London can do it.
shipyards form the premier industry
of the city aud they are now practically
in fun order booked up with work for
many months ahead. They are running
continuously on the two shift system.
which means sixteen hours labor each
day. OF the two yards building and re-
pairing big ships In Antwerp Engineer
ing Company suffered most from the
Germans. 1t was seized and used for
the construction OF the submarines
which, taken by canal to Zeebrugge.
made the port such an annoying spot
to the allies. Three SHIPS being built
by the company when thu enemy came
20 Antwerp were simply smashed up
and the material used for bomb proof
shelters. Later all the boilermakins
tools In the works and the dry dock
machinery was carted away into Ger
many. The Office records we're not
spared either. Thus when the war ended
IL was a case Of beginning all over
ceeded wonderfully Material for the
broken ships was carefully traced and
collected. over ! 100 tons Of stuff was
gathered in this way and was found to
be so little deteriorated by Ave years
exposure that It could be reutilized.
Tools and machinery were obtained in
various ways, orders for steel and ma
terial contracted for in variety OF
places. Now the company has commits
sions IN hand for eleven ocean going
ships and is employing several thou
sands Of men. A wonderful record for
year and there is satisfaction in know
ing that the heads Of this company are
English.
CONTINUED WORK
UNDER HUN RULE.
The other main shipyard that OF John
Cockerill & Co, was not greatly inter
fered with by the Germans and con
tinued building small river and canal
craft for Belgian owners during the oe-
cupation. Now the yard has come back
TO its pre-war property. II has two
passenger liners laid down and a mum
Der Of minor vessels on the stocks. The
only handicap is shortage OF material,
which applies to every industry through
out the country. The smaller yards have
Sll as much as they know what TO do
with. while the repairing shops In Ant
werp are buster than they were before
POSSIBILITIES.
Generally, the engineering workmen
have stuck TO their jobs good ana hard
during the period of reconstruction and
the following boom. They have made
demands and threatened strikes and who
would not when the cost OF living in
ones country had increased 341 per cent
that is M official figure. All serious
labor trouble has, however. been averted
so far for the simple reason that the
masters have given the men all they
asked. The average rate OF wage Is now
three times what It was in 1914. A
fresh demand has been put forward
within the last few days, which will
bring IL to four times the pre-wa figure.
1t remains to be seen If the employers
win yield this. They are inclined to be
distinctive FESTIVE about 1t.
Antwerp is also back to its diamond
cutting once again. The trade died
during the war because the skilled men
migrated across the Holland frontier
and went to recruit the industry in
Amsterdam and elsewhere. Rather
slowly they have come back and now
Antwerp Will cut diamonds for profiteers
home and foreign, as well and truly as
its Dutch rivals.
III y