BELGIUM: Again, Flemings

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One Yens, pistol in pocket, took a seat in the gallery of the Belgian Chamber of Deputies last week, presently blazed away at the Socialist benches. Socialist Deputy Uytroever clutched his side. Bounding upstairs the Sergeant-at-Arms seized Citizen Yens who made no effort to escape, calmly explained:

"When the War began I was a lamplighter. Being also a Fleming I naturally took part in the Flemish independence movement. For this I was persecuted by the Government. I lost my job as lamplighter. ' Now I am only a common workman and work is scarce. My motive for firing among the Deputies was personal revenge. I hoped to wound but I did not want to kill." (Deputy Uytroever was expected to recover.)

Thus once again flared up the everlasting issue provided by Belgians who dwell near the Dutch frontier, speak Flemish and support secessionist movements. During the War, Allied censorship and propaganda concealed from U. S. citizens the existence in Belgium of a Flemish public opinion which disapproved completely of fighting Germany. Today in their great city of Antwerp, fourth largest port in Europe, portly Flemish merchants often shock U. S. exporters by talking like this:

"King Albert did everything except his duty to Belgium during the War. What madness to resist the Germans! To think that Belgium might have profited—as Holland did, as America did! If only our King Leopold [died 1909] had been alive in 1914 everything would have been different. "Leopold would have claimed our rights as a neutral just as loudly as Albert claimed them. Then when the Germans still came on Leopold would have let them pass without the folly of spilling our young men's blood. Our factories would have been busier than ever. Our honor would have been kept above reproach by King Leopold's protests to the Great Powers against what the German Army was doing."

King Albert, beloved by his French-speaking subjects, is accustomed to ignore many a Flemish jeer.