Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1922-08-15
BELGIUM and HOLLAND
DR.. Mcconnell Tells Of the Sights by
the Way.
GREAT COUNTRY FOR BICYCLE RIDERS
Wonderful People are the Dutch
People are Prosperous-lesson in
Forestry Waterloo Battlefield -
The City of Metz That Was Taken


by the Americans.
Correspondence Of The Yorkville Enquirer.
Metz, Lorraine, July "a, 1922.
We are now in Metz, the stronghold
of the German army, captured from
the French in 1870; retaken by the
French and Americans in 1918 and
now again n part of France.
Since my last letter we have been
in Holland to a market day in Middle
burg the quaint city on the Walcheren
island. "That beats the Dutch" is our
way Of expressing a superlative, for
they are hard to beat at farming and
building dikes. And don't think they
are poor. / had difficulty in getting a
$4,000 American gold piece changed
and Belgium they would have been
eager to do it. The French and Bel
gians have only paper money now,
except in rare cases, the Dutch and
Swiss have gold and silver in plenty,
for the countries got very rich during
the war. Holland formerly owned
Belgium and the latter still think the
Dutch favored the Germans through
out the war. Don't worry over the
poverty Of the Europeans except right
In the devastated district, for while
there it is pitiable, the others have
more to eat and to wear and drink
than most people at home.
The People of Holland.
Speaking of the Dutch, they are the
greatest people to scrub ever saw.
thought all the baskets and bicycles
were new until saw how they cleaned
them. The women who come to
market with their flowers, fruit, ETC.,
to sell, look just like "old Dutch
cleanser" pictures. Each community
has different style lace headdress
and gold ornaments which are stuck
in the hair or bound around the fore
head. Necklaces OF gold coins are
popular. They wear about a dozen
petticoats which stand out like hoop
skirt. can remember the days of
the hustle, but my boys were con-
vulsed with the appearance Of the
Dutch women, and wondered why they
had such small waists. 1t is great
bicycle country, and it is q sight to
see woman with these dozen petit
coats believing out, peddling along, a
big market basket strapped to the
handle bars, one or two children in a
seat behind the saddle. The men are
tall strapping fellows, wear ear rings
big silver plated belts, smoke their
pipes upside down and look like Long
John Silver of Treasure Island.
Business is Dull.
Business men and manufacturers
with whom I've talked all say that
business is very dull with an occasion
al short squirt for the better. An
English drummer who sells electrical
supplies, told me that there was a lot
Of idle labor in England, but the worst
feature was that the output when they
did work was below standard. The
shorter hours with increased pay had
only made matters worse. He travels
in Belgium and Germany and says
the Belgians have made the best pro-
gress Of any. Since they are to share
first in any money Germany pays, they
obtained credit, mostly in England, by
the way, and went right to work,
repairing the damaged ones and have
good output and can undersell any
body in the world. I'm inclined to be-
lieve him SO far as my observations
go, and l go in stores, ask prices and
bargain n little almost every day.
Take Care of the Forests.
Brussels is little Paris, about a
million people, beautiful boulevards
and public buildings, at present cheap
to live in for you get ~ francs for n
dollar, and is par. We drove out to
Waterloo, through the finest beech
forest | ever saw, some 600 acres cov-
cred with big beech trees, no other
tree in it, until we came to another
section which was hemlock. 1t is q
public forest, they cut the trees care
fully for frewood and lumber and il
is an example Of what intelligent
forestry will do. Any ordinary tim
berland in the Piedmont will grow 4
per cent. of timber on it's value If
handled right and be better forest SO
to 100 years later than now. Our
people clear too much land. The
Belgians some times clear land, es-
pecially n spruce forest which grows
all trees to the same size They cut
as clean as if it were moved gather
every brush, then set it all out again
Visit to Waterloo.
1t pays to take the auto ride out to
Waterloo. 1t is about II miles each
way, costs $500 and you visit Yelling
toms headquarters, the furniture is
still in the room, with many Other
relics. Hougomont from where SONS
of the hardest fighting was, is jus.
about as it was on the day of the
battle in 1915, the farm house was
burned then but the barns and orchard
are the same. Victor Hugo who wrote
| Slph q wondprfn1 occoupf nf tho bot,1,