The Catholic bulletin., 1920-01-10
At INTIMATE GLIMPSE OF BELGIUM
Continued from page L..

privilege of speaking in both. They
are appointed by the king, but are ac-
count able to the assembly and are re-
mo- able by vote of both houses.
y senator is elected for eight years,
unless the assembly is dissolved dur
ing his term, when all seats become
vacant and new assembly is elected.
No man is eligible until he is 40 years
0f age, which is a higher qualification
in point Cf age than is required in our
own Senate. We pay our senators
we'll, and by law forbid them to ride
upOn free passes. In Belgium a sen
ator serves without pay other than
railroad pass. But as the railroads
there are State-OWned ard state-con-
trOlled, no one thinks of objecting to
senator accepting free Transports
tion. especially since that is an mex
pensive way Of paying legislative sal
aries.
The Representatives.
The members of the House of Rep
resentatives are elected~for four years.
70 be eligible they must be % years
old. Unlike the senator's, they are
paid a salary of about $500 a year,
with railroad pass into the bargain
The suffrage system, for being some
what complicated is perhaps one of
the most progressive. Every citizen
who has reached the age of 25 years
IS entitled to vote. When he reaches
80, if he is a married man or q wild
over with legitimate children, and
pays 4 direct tax of $1.00 year, he is
entitled to Il second vote. If a man
mas certain amount of property, or
il he holds a university diploma, he is
entitled to two additional votes be-
cause CT that fact, except that in no
case shall he be entitled to more than
three votes. This system of plural
voting tends to preserve a sort of re-
lati0n between the influence of the in
diVidual in government matters and
his qualifications to exercise that in
tluence. 1t has failed to satisfy the
Socialist element, whose slogan is:
one man, one vote.
In addition TO plural voting, there is
proportional representation, giving the
smaller political parties their fair
quota OF representatives where other
wise they would be excluded. Here
for instance is a district entitled to
eight representative in the House.
The district casts $4,000 votes, divided
between the candidates of four par
ties. The result of the vote shows
10000 Catholics, 5000 Liberals, 4.5OO
Socialists, $500 Catholic Democrats.
The eight. seats of the district under
this distribution, would co. four to the
Catholics, two to the Liberals, one to
the Socialists, one to the Catholic
Democrats.
Agriculture.
What intensive agriculture can do
is shown by the wheat yield of Bel
glum. In 1918 the wheat crop COW
cred approximately 100000 acres.
yielded over 100000 bushels, or up
ward of 81 bushels to the acre ON,
own average yield is only Is bushels
to the acre. Again. Belgium grew 80
bushels of barley to the acre where
we grow "a; it grew 312 bushels of
potatoes to the acre where we grow
80; and other crops arc in proportion.
The government has always felt a
keen interest in the welfare of the
wage Garner. and the man of small
affairs, and has made it possible for
them to buy homes on easy terms.
The national savings bank is cnlpow-
cred to make loans to householders
for buyiEss or building homes, and to
insure their lives, so that. in taa cvcnt