THE NEW BELGIUM

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXVI, Issue 18073, 11 January 1921, Page 5

THE NEW BELGIUM

HER RAPID RECOVERY. RESTORATION ALMOST COMPLETE. The surprisingly quick restoration of Belgium is the subject of two articles in recent Englisn magazines; The first of these, entitled “The Recovery of Belgium,” is written by M. Emile Cammaerts and appears in the “Contemporary.” During the first weeks after the armistice there was a disposition among Belgians not to worry themselves unduly about the future; they still regarded themselves as the all-deserving heroes of 1914, to whom immense credits would be opened, and unlimited supplies sent, by a grateful Britain and America. Necessarily there followed a period of disillusion. Her allies were over-occupied with their internal difficulties; scarcely any raw material arrived at Antwerp or Ghent; and the cost of living rose substantially. To make matters worse, Belgium’s belief in a glorious political future received a rude shock by the substitution of Geneva lor Brussels as the seat of the League of Nations, and by the treatment of her affairs by the Paris Conference.

Then, however, her war debts were remitted by her Allies, a first instalment of £100,000,00u on the war indemnities was promised her, and hope accompanied by a practical determination to set to work, revived.

RAILWAYS RESTORED. M. Cammaerts writes. “The firct task to be undertaken was the restoration of the means of communication. The success achieved in this direction by the Ministry of Railways, under the strong control of M. Renkin, is by far the most striking feature of Belgian revival. In 1913, 3500 trains ran every day on the Belgian railway system, carrying an average of 250,000 tons. At the time of the armistice all Bridges and double-tracked lines west of Brussels were completely or partially destroyed over a distance of 1000 miles, the signalling system was out of order all over the country, most of the roiling stock had been taken away, and there were only 500 engines left in the country. “In December, 1919, 90 per cent, -of the goods traffic was restored, and an average of 171,000 tons per day was being carried. Within 12 months, in spue of the difficulty of getting back from Germany either the Belgian rolling stock or German waggons, in spite of many obstacles arising from labour difficulties and lack of building material, the whole Belgian railway system, with the exception of a few- secondary lines, whose total length does not exceed 30 miles, was again in full activity, the only noticeable change being the reduced speed of the trains owing to signalling difficulties.

“Wilthin a few months the canals had been cleared, and the road system, which had been damaged or destroyed over a length of 1000 miles, practically restored, so that Belgium found herself in possession of all her means of communication long before her trade and industry were ready to make full use of them. But the passenger services were at once taken advantage of by crowds of Belgians to travel freely after having been so long hampered in their movements.’’

LETHARGY IN REBUILDING. This moves the London Review of Reviews to remark that the contrast between the Belgian and the British handling of the transport problem is not flattering to Britain’s national pride. It states:— “The worst handicap in Belgium has been the deliberate destruction by the Germans of industrial plants. The removal of machinery was not so serious, since the Germans left card indexes behind them and it was possible to locate arid retrieve the stolen articles within a few months. But the total ruin of- such iron and coal works as those of John Cockerill, near Liege, and those in Hainault and Charleroi, was a different matter. Nevertheless, taking all industries together, 76 per cent, of the pre-war personnel are at present employed. Among the food industries it may bs noticed that the sugar factories have already exceeded the pre-war production and are able to export. “Only in housing has Belgium failed as yet to make much headway: this matter, according to M. Cammaerts, was deliberately postponed until the question of transport had been dealt with.”

Meanwhile, as Mr Julius Price, writing on “The Reconstruction of Belgium,” in the Fortnightly Revew (March) points out, the question of temporarily sheltering the houseless population of the devastated areas has been partly solved by the erection of wooden barracks; “but the accommodation so far is totally inadequate th meet the demands.” Mr Price does not take so cheerful a view of the progress made as does M. Cammaerts. He remarks authorities and a varying degree of energy in different districts, and states:—

"Whilst in some places rehabilitation has been undertaken with remarkable energy, the only traces of devastation being the numbers of new buildings one sees on all sides —-in others the magnittiHe of the task facing them appears to have cuite sapped the activity of the people, with the result that grass is rapidly obliterating the ruin left by the Germans.” SPECULATION ACTIVE. As regards capital, he says: “A somewhat curious state of affairs exists; there is a wave of speculation about, and everyone who can scrape together a few francs seems to be taking a hand in the game. Industrial shares, the Exchange—in fact, all that presents a sporting chance of ’making a bit.’ One is constantly hearing Stock Exchange talk in

railway carriages and other places. “Never has there been such prosperity among the working classes as at present. There are no unemployed in Charleroi—unless a man does not want to work, you are told — pauperism is unknown, and charity organisations no longer exist. The money that is being earned by every class of worker here would have appeared fabulous in pre-war days; 17 to 20 francs per day tor miners: labourers in the metal works, 13 francs; in the glass factories, £6O to £BO. per month, with an eight-hour day, and double pay when working on Sundays.” Mr Price does not display the same optimism as M. Cammaerts. but his facts point to the same conclusion—that Belgium is at least on the high road to a wonderful recovery. It may fairly be said that she hasdone more towards her complete rehabilitation than any one of hier allies, although her initial disadvantages were at least as great as those of any of the Entente countries.