The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1922-12-31

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times more than zoo miles in one day.
Some of my travels have been in
Benz limosine. left here by the Ger
mans a seven-passenge car of 80
horse power, with a first-ciass Bel
gian chauffeur named Jules. We have
made as a rule about 80 miles an hour.
and all the way have found good
roads of macadam or we'll paved with
stone blocks.
Belgium has enough public roads to
reach twice as far as from Philadel-
phia to San Francisco, notwithstand-
ing re country all told is not much
longer one way than from Baltimore
to New York, and not much wider
than the distnce between Philadelphia
and Baltimore. 1t covers an area
about one-fourth that of Pennsyl-
vania. 1t is less than one-third the
size of Indiana and only little
larger than Massachusetts with Della
ware added thereto. The land for the
most part is flat. although the Ar
denne mountains at the southeast rise
in places to the height of the Blue
Ridge of Virginia. Belgium, like Hol-
land, is made up largely of the rich
earth washings brought down by
rivers and streams from the high
lands, and it is cut up by canals. We
crossed a canal every few miles, and
this necessitates bridges which in
most cases are of stone or concrete.
There are more than loco miles of
canals. and five rivers that are used
as commercial waterways. The
Scheldt, which would not be consid-
cred a large stream in the United
States, has on it's banks three cities,
Antwerp, Client and Journal. 1t has
been a water highway for centuries,
and boats Were paying toll upon it as
far back as A. d. 1000. The freight
now carried by water runs annually
into the hundreds of millions of tons.
and in some years to more than one
billion. There are five ship canals
having a length, all told. 6 miles
greater than our big ditch at Panama.
In addition, there is a network Of rail-
ways little less than 5000 miles
long. which it is now proposed to
electrify.
From this you will see that your
mortgage on Belgium covers a live,
going concern, and that the property,
although small, is one of the richest
and safest of the 90 international
loans we have made.
As Rich as Rockefeller
But we can see all this better from
our Benz limousine. The car weighs
two tons and its sushions are soft, for
they were made for a high German
general and well cared for during the
war. We ask Jules to throw back the
top and speed UP the motor. We go
like the wind, and feel richer than
Rockefeller as we fly along over
roadway of square stone blocks.
Rockefeller can not buy a more COM
Portable car, brighter sky, nor
lungs that can breathe better the
champagne of this air. According to
current reports, he has no easy stom-
ach, and ! am sure he has never seen
more beautiful views than those we
are now passing through.
A Vast Truck Garden
The country is one vast truck gar
den cut into small fields, now COW
cred with the richest of crops. There
are no fences, and the grass. grain
and vegetables extend on and on. with
green trees lining the roads as far as
our eyes can reach. The crops are
even heavier than those we saw in
France. The shccks in the wheat
fields are so thick they stand out like
soldiers dressed in the yellow uniform
of Belgium. In places they have been
carried to the sides of the fields, so
as not to interfere with the blowing
which often results here in two crops
year.
See how well kept everything is!
There are nc weeds anywhere. There
are no tools lying about, and the
grain is protected in shock and in
stack. Those oats shocked on our
light are each made up of eight
sheaves with cap sheaves on top. The
wheat shocks on cur left are capped
In the same way. The sheaves are
small and the straw is long Each