Evening star., 1923-09-25

purchase fve French francs; now it
will purchase twenty-one.~--Al this
spells only one thing--huge expenses.
n n ##
Even before the war she had diff
Guilty in raising enough taxes to pay
her expenses. In 1913 she had a
deficit OF $4,000, 900. which she raised
by selling her bonds. Since the close
of the war her receipts from taxes
have been less than one-third of her
expenditures. The balance is made
up by government borrowings. AL
ready "a per cent of all the assets
lof the state bank are government
obligations Her interest charges
are piling up at an alarming rate. In
1922 they were over 66 per cent of
her ordinary receipts from taxes and
her foreign debt charges are not in
Truly this pyramiding of liabili-
! ties cannot continue very much
longer. But, you say, what about
German reparations? Already we
have seen that the amount of Ger
man reparation will be determined
| by the excess of German exports over
! imports (Which today is below zero)
and by the willingness of the world
to receive German goods. So it's
not so much case of what Germany
can pay as how much the allies want
Of German goods. That's the real
reparation problem
y
Our next question is, then: Can Bel
gium cut her expenses? She can't cut
the big items of interest, pensions
| and reconstruction. Those amount tc
| so per cent of her expenditures. She
can cut military expenditures, and she
should. But even IL she cut her mill
| tary expenses to one-third, this would
only take 5 per cent off her total ex-
penses. Her big items she cannot re.
dice. In 1912 she paid in taxes 4;
Belgian francs per inhabitant, while
in 1922 she paid 26S francs for every
inhabitant
| No, the solution does not lie in dig
ging more into the meager income o.
the people of Belgium. 1t must come
from an increase in national income
by her increasing her excess of ex.
ports over her imports. That's the
only way any nation can grow
J wealthy. Can she do this? The rec.
In 1922 Belgium purchased $675,000.-
900 worth of goods from the citizenI
of other countries and sold 1925, ,000
\ 600 worth of goods outside Belgium
| The deficit which she must pay /!
| $3.50, ,000, 900. What do these figures
mean? The value of her imports in
| 1922 Is only 12 per cent of the i'm
ports of 1913 and the corresponding
! figure for exports is only 5S per cent
The deficit is 20 per cent higher thar
+, in 1913. Now, this is an alarming
| state OF affairs for a country so de
pendent on foreign trade as Belgium
Still it's their best record since thu
close of the war. What conclusion
must we come to-
| The real story of Belgium in Sep
| tember, 1929. is that of a densely
populated industrial country, bravel!
attempting TO pay her way, in spit
| of 200 per cent increase in nationa
overhead expenses and a SO per cen
decrease In national income. She car
last until her surplus savings ar
gone-no longer. Her bank accoun
Is going fast. Belgium today is sink
| ing financially. She cannot help her
| self. She is caught in a death jam
i She, too. must take her stand besid
those other nations of Europe-Eng
| land, Italy, Germany-who must hav,
| international trade to live. Belgium
| again proves that modern industrialisn
| and modern welfare cannot live in tn
| same civilization. One or the othei
! must 60.
| Next: Can Austria Live?
F; Copyright, 1923. in United States and Grea
4 Britain by North American Newspaper
Alliance All rights reserved.l