Evening star., 1934-02-18

our nOnOT. ne mas ACCaCkeQ US. Gee
/ ing Its independence threatened, tbs
/! nation trembled. its children sprane
| to the frontier, valiant soldiers In a
sacred cause I have confidence In
your tenacious courage. I greet you
in the name of Belgium, as fellow
citizen who is proud Of you."
The gallant defense by the Belgian
Army of Liege, Namour and Antwerp
served to disillusion the Germans OF
the Kaiser's belief of non-resistance
Born at Brussels April 8, 1875. King
Albert was the younger son of Prince
Philippe Of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha
the Count of Flanders) and the
Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sig-
maringen. His father was a brother
of King Leopold II. Two deaths in
tervened to make Albert next in line
of succession to the Belgian throne
those Of Prince Leopold, only son Of
King Leopold. on June %, 1869, and of
Prince Baldwin, brother of Albert, on
June %, 1891. Albert assembled the
throne December /, 1900.
Two months before that, October 2,
1900, he married Princess Elizabeth,
second daughter Of Duke Charles
Theodore of Bavaria. They had three
children. Crown Prince Leopold Duke
of Brabant), born November 8, 1901;
Prince Charles Count of Flanders)
born October 10, 1908, and Princess
Marie Jose, born August 4, 1906.
Faced Danger With Soldiers.
During the World War King Albert
many times endured the hardShips of
the soldiers in the field and In sew
eral battles faced the same dangers to
which they were exposed. On three
occasions he narrowly escaped death
by shellfire when flying over the
enemy trenches. At another time a
German shell tore of one of the
wheels Of the automobile In which he
WAS riding. Early in 1915, a chauffeur
attempted to drive the king into the
German lines and was shot dead for
his treachery. The chauffeur was said
to have been offered a bribe Of
100000.
After the armistice, King Albert
devoted all his energies toward resu-
scitating his war-torn land and to
the work that had always been his
chief concern, the betterment of the
conditions of his people. He imme-
diately set up a new government to
begin the period of reconstruction and
included in it representatives of the
three principal political parties of the
country. He appealed to all parties
to cooperate for the general benefit
of the country, emphasizing his in
terest in all the people as he did in
his first speech from the throne, when
he said Our prosperity depends upon
the prosperity of the Masses
The King frequently visited the
devastated areas and made contri-
buttons of considerable sums to the
King Albert fund, which was devoted
to the temporary shelter of sufferers
of the war. With the reconstruction
work under way at home, the King,
with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Leo
pold, undertook Journeys to the
United States, England, France. Spain,
Brazil and other countries with the
object of studying trade conditions
and finding new outlets for Belgian
commerce. They were received with
cordlaIlty everywhere.
Once Worked in Mines.
King Albert conceived the idea of
working for more general prosperity
for his people while he was Crown
Prince. That he might know their
wants and needs from q first hand
study of their problems, he worked in
the mines, drove railway engines and
performed other manual labor that
brought him in contact with the work.
ing classes. Later, as a member of
the Belgian Senate, the burden of
his speeches generally was the better
ment of the common; people. a., 4
When he became their ruler he
promised a. reign of progress. One of
his first steps was to blot out human
slavery in the Belgian Congo, which
for years had shamed Belgium in the
eyes of the civilized world. He knew
how to correct the evils. having visit
ed the dependency to make personal
investigation shortly before he as
cended the throne
Early IN his reign he was respon-
sible for several social, economic and
legal reforms. BY his liberal acts,
King Albert attracted the Socialists
who, during the latter years of the
reign of Leopold II, had been grow
ing stronger. During the war among
the men he summoned for consulta-
tion was Vandervelde, the Socialist
leader. Another was Verhaeren, the
poet, whom the King asked to go on
the firing line and preach patriotism
to the soldiers.
Pomp and circumstance were toler-
ated by King Albert only so far as
events made them necessary. He
made the procedure and expression in
his court as simple as possible. Among
his people he was friendly and mod
est almost to the point of baShfulneSs.
When he and the Queen visited Eng
land, which they did frequently, they
stopped at hotel and mingled freely
with shoppers and theater-goers.
First King to Ride in Plane.
Known as a beloved ruler, a brave
soldier, a keen diplomat and prince of
King Albert was as proud
of the last title as he was of the
first. During his student days he
showed marked taste for engineering
and mechanics. Naval and aerial
construction especially attracted him
and even after ascending the throne
he went to England to make a spe-
cial study of naval construction.
He gained the distinction during
his war service of being the first
crowned head to risk riding in an air
plane. After the war he became so
interested in aviation that he did
80 11l1 k,.o H., L1.1.41