Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1939-11-12
Holland and Belgian Defenses
Can Make Invader Pay Heavily
Fine Netherlands Army Protected by Flooded
Lowlands; Belgium Enforces Military
Secrets With Stern Laws
By Thomas r. Henry.

n. Henry.
leaves cities where the wealth Of the
Dutch Empire is Observation-Disclosures.
dam, Rotterdam, Utrecht, Dortrecht, The
Hague, HARLEM, Leyden-in the west,
safe for a considerable time from attack
except by air. How long the flooding Of
the central area would delay a German
offensive is problematical, but at least
1t would hold back any motorized equip
ment for several weeks, during which the
invaders would be exposed In an open
| country.
Watch Sky Fearfully.
The Dutch people naturally are afraid
OF air attacks. Towns and cities are
| holding tag days" to raise funds for
equipping their populations with gas
masks-very man-from-Ma gas
masks. There are afraid shelters every-
where, built with characteristic Dutch
thoroughness. Besides, citizens are put
ting up their own shelters in their back
yards. Holland has almost no cellars to
serve this purpose.
Many Of these private shelters are very
elaborate. They have afforded plenty
OF opportunity for private inventiveness.
One Hague resident, at cost of about
S5OO, has equipped himself with perhaps
the most elaborate shelter In Europe
with a superabundance of electrical
gadgets to render his family comfortable
for long stay underground.
In Belgium the picture is quite differ
ent. The horrors of Is years ago still are
fresh in the minds OF the Belgian peo-
pie. Half the population has actually
experienced the ravages of war, in con-
trast to the neighboring Dutch.
Here also the army of approximately
100000 is fully modified. 1t is a pic
turesque army but presents far from the
spic-and-span appearance one encoun-
tiers In Holland. There are soldiers
everywhere. Every railroad station has
It's Red Cross canteen with pretty girls
handing out doughnuts and coffee to
boys with black, red, yellow, blue, gold,
green or purple tassles on their military
caps. designating their regiments. The
Belgians are confident that it will take
long time for the Germans to break
through their extension of the Maginot
Line. All railroad bridges are mined.
The little Belgian Army could probably
hold back the whole might of Hitler for
weeks without any very great sacrifice.
Guard Military Secrets.
But there is extreme secrecy about all
military preparations. No other country
in Europe is quite so chary of informa-
ton and publication of any military in
formation whatsoever is punishable by
long imprisonment.
"As interpret the law" one military
officer explained. Il could be sentenced
to five years Imprisonment for admit
ting that Belgium has an army. I sup
pose that anybody passing through the
country might deduce something Of the
sort. but it would not be wise to say so
while you are still in the country"
This is reflected in the Belgium news
papers. They print the sporting and
financial news. There are accounts of
local deaths and marriages. The largest
paper in Brussels is now running
Christmas toy campaign for the poor
children and devotes great deal of space
to it. 1t also prints, almost without
comment. the official communicates of
the British, French and German Armies.
But one would never suspect from read
ing 1t that single man was in uniform
In Belgium itself, although probably hail
of its own printers have been modified.
1t is by no means easy to get into Bel
GUM today. 1t has practically closed
frontiers with the nations at war, all
though it is fairly liberal with visas from
Holland. providing the individual is we'll
vouched for. In this way it has largely
eliminated from its population all aliens
to whom any suspicion can be attached
This is quite different from the situa-
ton in Holland. The long, open Dutch
frontier with Germany has literally
flooded the Netherlands with aliens, with
and without proper credentials, and it
now is very hard to check on them.
Challenge Many on Streets.
Foreign Office officials are kept on the
streets of Amsterdam and Rotterdam,
demanding the passports Of all who
appear to be foreigners. They estimate
that there are at least 10000 Jewish
German refugees in the country, many
Of them without any passport at all.
They are by no means assured that all
these actually are Jews. Many a good
Nazi, with quite Interior motives indeed,
assumes that role. This is one reason
why it is so difficult to get from Holland
| to any other country in Europe. The
French are loath to admit anybody with
out investigation in his country of origin.
The Belgian press, insofar as it
dares to comment, is quite pro-ally.
Memories Of 1914 still burn in the hearts
of the people. The Dutch press is much
more neutral. The Dutch print, by the
way, some of the largest, best and most
impartial papers to be found across the
Atlantic. But on the whole, and in the
face Of many annoyances such as that
Of having their ships interned for weeks
at time outside Dover, the sentiment in
Holland is quite anti-German. Every
body seems to realize that the real
danger lies beyond the Meuse and pro-
tests over allied airplanes flying over
Dutch territory or the internment of
| ships can be considered as little more
than empty gestures. The same, of
course, is true for Belgium.
For both countries this war which is