VOL. IV, No. 9 MARCH 4, 1944 NEWS FROM BELGIUM AND THE BELGIAN CONGO
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One Man Dies
Roughly speaking, the official, supposed to be the nine provinces which com• moderator of the provincial pose present-day Belgium counsel, the maintainer of correspond to the duchies, the legal traditions and laws. counties and ecclesiastical His powers are relatively principalities which small; his moral position is through the ages evolved comparatively high. Being from a group of aristocratic appointed for life, as a rule possessions to a democratic, he becomes an element of united country. The only conciliation and of peace. souvenir of these feudal There are no definite origins is the custom of giv• rules which determine the ing medieval titles to the choice of the governors members of the royal fam• whose appointments have to ily. For the rest, the former be presented by the Minister county of Flanders, the mar- of the Interior to the King quisate of Antwerp, the for approval. Although in principality of Liege and the Frangois Bovesse most cases a governorship is county of Namur are just far from being a sinecure, administrative units of the Belgian State. only sedate people tvere generally selected They each have a governor, who is not a for these nine posts. Traditionally they had delegate of the people nor an elected officer, been given to the representatives of the local but who is a representative of the King in nobility, but that tradition was scrapped af• his province. He is not a politician, he is an ter the last war. Instead of looking for the NEWS FROM BBLOIUM UAHCH 4, 1944 social prestige to be derived from the pres• But every function is what the man who ence of cm elderly nobleman a$ governor, exercises it makes of it. There were in Bel• the government preferred to entrust the gium insignificant governors and bnlliant public affairs of the provinces to younger ones: some were solemn and boring like rmn men who had been trained in different serv• on Sunday; others were scholarly men and ices or who had taken part in politics. A great administrators; still others were liter• craving for efficiency took the place of rev• ary minded. Those belonging to the last cat• erence for archaeology. egory not only took good care of the inter• But still something solemn, a little out• ests of their domain, but they became its moded, remained the attribute of this office. bards, its singers. So enthusiastic cotdd they The governors were housed in venerated old become abotu their small territory that they buildings, most of the time in premises were ready to dng its praises with a love so which had been built by bishops in the sev• exclusive as to push the rest of the world enteenth and eighteenth century. Recep• into the badtg^ound. tion rooms were enormous, beautiful white Such was Francois Bovesse, Governor of and black checkered floors were to be seen Namur Province. His domain is one of the all over the place, Eltdforate chandeliers most /uctttresque parts of Waltonia: a threw just enou^ li^ in the age-tarnished dozen Uwdy rivers rush tkroitgh it, itdnding mirrors of the salons not to show too dearly throttffi narrow green valleys; there is Di- the gold stucco crumbling from the ceilings nant, on which WUhelm H wept two beauti• tchere cupids and nymphs had circled for ful erocodUe tears. Ids army having destroy• centuries around a benetaolent Neptune or ed it and murdered its inhabiiants; and a not OMierthaste Venus. there are also the grottoes of Han, **big§er h teas fitting that in such surrounding and better" than the Kentucky eaves; there the host should be pmpaiy decoradxe. A ere scores of old castles and eitad^is on kemy gold bnmded uniform was the gain- strtteffc heif^tts, reeatUng fierce fi^its in mmr's dress on aaleum aecusians. Thusfeudal at- times; and Acre is Nmuur, the ettfi- tirei he greeted Ae KiMig and JistingrddiedtmL, where people assert their dsseness U* tistUirs; Ams, foBomimg the Holy Smam- LaAuty by euUatg oue «^ Adr mnetutes mtemt,, he murdhed throm^ the '^Bouletmdcrooked ad mfumuT L^»snd» figmriJt in Oreetxrnnumd. the aU athedrmU whatAu am eoumtry, ffwe^utty md abimdasitfy, Imi^feeMdk^mrdi^iomspneesmmwommiGomermm- Btmesm mm borm there. In the Arm^ Ae Umm. His ffumedams wereImt mum- wmr he wm ht Ae frmt tases amd su^' iifiM, Ins «briKs mmned amd deSmle. His tmmed. m setoere wssmd rnUdk resulted fm m^Sinranee WHS a{^m clidDIl^^ ffimAd iaumbdimm. He etttered pstiiies md kamei ky A^ nomgm- uf one (or (oasAar «^ beemme MtsmHer of EdmesAm^ He mK$ am tilm Mig «Alaies im Ms diemmnL. Them rsp-mdemt delemder «ijf Ae emhmnd pormumy vwmM&tiem «^ Amffmngillm parmmmsd imlts'«gff fflle WaBBmm ggsaaOry.. BUuamg aSmedsmed mA^ n^mttimms Ms mOmfmrmKis Sna ernnanm-Ms esady mm&ataem m hegmme f vwsdy ttiAL/, ^nmimtmtt ta> pimMoRffm- piAWe: otiiBtlam,(and mmi mlbeai wmag, As ^ema&jvd
tn IMl the ttdK^ of their gied*, they sw^^fe^dterf in h)svin^ h\m wfcslcrf m^d s^n* vmu t® t«ife@ vm^^emnee m thme who me ^mmi t® «^ m^mths in prkm, whi^ mler«/lfyr^pm^efer•itseemin^^ Theykitt mtv^inSnm^ mmtmly\ mnv^ys In the mn^ 4 Im weefes ««H!y in dte mi»win%s mmt ^hm Frm^ei» Bm^mie died, « mmtyr frkmd/s h^th vn* ^
m NEWS FROM BELGIUM JifARCii 4, 1944
heavy machinery removed from Belgium to the 1. Belgium Reich or art treasures taken by the Germans from Belgian territory, according to the 'Times. A. The War Germans Speedily Produce "War Loco• "Monty" Has a Date With the Belgians motive" With No Endurance — It is report• —When General ^Montgomery, Commander-in- ed from occupied Belgium that German railway Chief of the British invasion army, lands with works have produced a "war locomotive" which his troops in Belgium, he will be keeping a is simple in construction and can be turned out promise that he made in ilay, 1940. quickly. This war-time product is painted grey, and is described as follows: In 1939-1940, General ^Montgomery com• manded a division in France. The greater part Many of the parts are made of crude metal. of his forces were in the Lille and Comines To get over the difficulty arising from the lack areas. On May 10, 1940, when the Germans at• of oils that will resist high temperatures, super• tacked Belgium, General Montgomery's division heating has been abandoned, and the thermic was one of the first to go to the help of the Bel• yield is thereby reduced to G%. The feed pumps gian army, and he was deeply impressed by the are also discontinued, and there are two ejectors enthusiastic welcome given to the British sol• instead. The plates of the fireboxes are often so diers by the Belgian population. bad in quality that cracks appear and extensive repairs are necessary. General Montgomery's division took up a po• sition in the neighborhood of Louvain. He did It is considered that the German "war loco• all in his power to assist the withdrawal of the motive" is inferior to the engines of 30 years civilian population, and issued strict orders that ago. The Germans, however, are very proiid of all monuments and places of historical and ar• their new effort. They brought a specimen en• tistic interest were to be preserved from damage. gine to Belgium and kept it standing for several When the armies were forced to retreat, the days in the principal railway stations where the General was at Winxele, on a height overlooking Belgian staff were invited to examine it. the city of Louvain. Before leaving he declared : "We shall come back again." Exchange Prisoners See V-for-Victory in During the retreat. General JiEontgomery re• Belgium — In the New York World-Telegram peatedly expressed his indignation at the sight of February 18 appeared an account of four of the German attacks from the air against the British exchange prisoners of war who recently column of refugees fleeing along the roads. arrived in New York after spending three years While watching the embarkation of some Brit• in a camp in Germany. Having been out of touch ish troops in destroyers at La Panne, the Gen• with the world so long, they did not at first un• eral turned to his staff and said, "Gentlemen, I derstand the significance of the V-for-Victory think that British soldiers will land here one sign, but as their train traveled through the oc• day." cupied countries, they could not mistake it. The story goes on: "There was the engine Belgian Government's Views on Peace driver who furtively beckoned to them—made a Terms — By a cable of February 20 to The V sign on his engine, then hurriedly rubbed it New Yorh Times we learn that the European out. There was the old bent Belgian who, in• Advisory Commission will establish contact with stead of joining the crowd in an air raid shelter the representatives of the occupied countries of during a raid on Brussels, stood in the street Europe through an Inter-Allied Committee on and watched the sky. Asked by one of the seamen Foreign Affairs. This committee has already why he stayed outside, the old man said, 'The completed a detailed plan for the economic dis• English don't bomb Belgians; they only bomb armament of Germany. The Belgian Govern• factories to beat the Germans.' With that, he ment wishes to have the surrender terms include lifted his worn coat, hid his hand and made the a clause to guarantee the safe return of the V sign."
[72] Dr. Leo Hendrik Baekeland, inv.i.tor of l)akclite, the material which gave the great impetus to the modern plastKs iml.istry. Born in Glunt, Belgium, November 14, 1863, Dr. Baekeland died in Beacon, New York, Febru• ary 23, 1944. (See story on last page of this issue). Photo by Francis G. IVlayer Brussels Church of St. Jacques sur Coudenberg. At the left is the Department of Colonies; in the center of the square stands the Statue of Godefroy of Bouillon, a native of Belgium and the first King of Jeru• salem, after the First Crusade. Photo by Francis G. IVlayer Ghent — A Corner of One of the Old Fish and Vegetable Markets. In the left haikgroiind rises the spire of the Cathedral of St. Havo where on March 6, 1132, was placed with jircat ceremony Van Eyck's painting Adoration of the Lamb to remain there until the second invasion of Belgium hy the (Germans five centuries later. It was then sent to I'au, Prance, from where Herr Goering carried it off in 1941. The next tower is the Belfry. The lower portion was constructed in 1338. The third tower is that of the Church of St. Nicholas, the oldest church in Ghent (12th-15th centuries). leperen A View of the Market Stalls on Friday. Many British soldiers knew this t«wn in the first World \r under its French name Ypres, which they pronounced "\" The story goes that Queen Mary, visiting a hospital for convalescent soldiers, in(|uir<'d of one of tlicrn where he had heen wounded. He replied, "At Wipers." "EeprV' gently corrected the Queen, in good French. The man further described his experiences, referring always to "Vi ipers" and being each time corrected by "EeprV \n the Queen left, the wounded man remarked, "'Er Majesty 'ad a bad case of 'iccups, didn't she?" NEWS FROM BELGIUM MARCH 4, 1944
The Bells of Belgium — Mr. Daniel Mau• duodenal ulcers and anemia. Great difficulties rice liobins of Saginaw, Michigan, lecturer, are experienced in the convalescent period after poet, and novelist, was inspired by a recent edi• infectious illness. torial in News From Belgium to write the fol• Underfeeding, the lack of medicines and soap, lowing poem, which we reprint here with his and the impossibility for patients to follow a kind permission: prescribed diet are the root causes of this state of affairs. THE BELLS OF BELGIUM Among the children, the number of abnormal cases, and especially of mental defectives, deaf The Belgian Bells are silent now. and dumb persons, epileptics, and the like, has In Antwerp, Brussels and Louvain, increased considerably, having risen from one And altars where civilians bow per cent before the war to between 5% and 7% No longer ease a nation's pain — today. Gastric and intestinal disorders among The bells of Tournai and Namur children are caused by the scarcity of milk, Are melted into brutal lust. which is, in any case, often of poor quality. In• But Belgian courage shall endure fectious diseases are claiming twice as many vic• In patient homeland love and trust. tims as before the war among children and young people. Those stolen bells in alien hands, Once voiced the anthems of the free; After two years of German occupation the But now their bronze seals firey bands number of children of school age who have to About the tomb of tyranny — be sent to antitubercular clinics was already five O'er fields of Flanders soon shall set. times as great as before the war. Now the situa• The sun of the Invader's might. tion has become much worse. It will still be a source of great anxiety after the war, since tu• And carillons of Bruges yet berculosis is an insidious malady which is not Shall greet a holy peace-day light. easy to prevent from gaining ground, and there When Bells of Belgium once more ring are certain to be many cases for a long time to The psalms of men redeemed and free; come among a population enfeebled by years of A nation long enslaved shall sing suffering and misery. New odes of love and liberty — Those muted tongues of iron and bronze Many People Desperately Glean Remains Shall speak again when freedom swells of Potato Harvest — It is a common custom in About those vacant towers of Ghent, Belgium for farmers to allow poor persons to col• For Belgium's soul lives in those bells. lect any potatoes that remain in the ground after Copyright, 1944, TUHNERCREST STUDIO. a crop has been harvested. In the first two years of tlie German occupation of the country, how• B. The Occupation ever, there were rarely more than a dozen people to be seen in a field "gleaning" potatoes. Today Economic and Social Life the situation is very different. During the latest Further Confirmation of Critical Health potato harvest there were often over 100 glean• Situation — The reports of a doctor who left ers scrambling together in a single field for occupied Belgium recently and has arrived in hours, to secure what could not have amounted free territory confirm previous accounts of the to more than two or three potatoes a bead. deterioration in public health in consequence of underfeeding. German Banks Extend Transactions in This doctor states that the mildest ailments Belgium - The Germans in occupied Belgium often have a fatal outcome in Belgium today, are extending their hold over the country's eco• and that epidemics of croup and diphtheria are nomic affairs. In consequence, the branches of becoming frequent. the leading German banks established in Brus• Influenza has claimed many victims; skin sels have extended their transactions, and the complaints are very common, and fractured West Bank, a subsidiary of the Bank der Dents- bones take a long time to knit together again. chen Arbeit, has increased its capital. The Con-' There are many cases of diabetes, gastric and tinental Bank, which was founded by the Dresd-
[73] MABQH 4, 1044
him t© iatervene te pwYeat the enrrying out of \m §3 ffiiUioft Selgiafl tmrn-. iMieas^ this aeasure. ate SfiRBrae^d ifl tfie 6«f itel ©f the Sassa "In the aaeantime ,united wholt>heartedly with t our dear pepulatioa of Verviers, awd partiovtlar- with the werkiiig faiaiUes egpeeially meaaeed by this deeree, we beg you, dear brethrea, to ia- teasif^, with us, your mtereessioas. Let us tura —Sepw^ m%mi f^m mmM Mmm state with uniiffiited eoaftdenee to Our Lady of the Bosarv, aad be more faithful than eTer, ia this month of Oetober, in the use of the rosary pri• isftt fisi fettt t© i'yaRw-. vately and in our family life. (siipaed) LOQIS^OSSPR^ #m €#Hi Pwto fettle «ft ^mumx-^
Resistiiict to Nan Occupatioii \wm ift %M«fti«§ witi\ Street CoJ^eetton /or the ^'^Indepmdmm Wi^ ^ Bffl^ «fte e<^t5-i^ feeate?- Fr©iit**=4 reeent edition ©f F©ife em SkmK ill %Y'%feW'e i^miM tfe saeft^s twa ifaai--e©nt¥olM paper published in Antwerp, H ffim^. ^ tft eat writ«*t 'The ptriots must be pretty peo- pi©. Th^ still refuse ©bstinately t© regard the *©-^lM members ©f the 'White Brifade* aad th© wearers ©f the ©reis de Lerraine as pur« bandits* and ©MUinue t«» lend tltem their sxxp- 4% iAW t%feft * tiiirtte f^ttiJffl- §!(i3tlth mi mmv^ '^'YQ •Awm-S^d Mm # B§>etof*to (Si M^md §^km»^ mmhm mm hm^.- Aftor m/'m ^€m^ (S4- toft^- •M ^Uidm Mmmd i»M\v^f &e to (Qte iWtoil » ($» # it3ri»^(^lj«^ Sm^gmmS. mmmieM.to ^ W»^pm %im§^' ^ Ksffi31fS. It «(esjlilidtoat^Wii^ ®^^ft» m^m- NEWS FROM BELGIUM llARcn 4, 1944 and produced tlio Velox paper, wliicli could bo Jfedal from Columbia University, the William handled in the light and on which negatives Perkin Medal from the Society of Chemical In• could be printed in ordinary gaslight. In 1893 dustry, the John Scott Medal of tlie Franklin he founded the Nepcra Chemical Company, Institute, and the Pioneer Trophy of the Chem• which manufactured Vclox for several years un• ical Foundation. til its rising popularity caused the Eastman "Since his retirement he had been living in Kodak Company to buy Velox from Dr. Baeke• Coconut Grove, Fla., in the former home of Wil• land for a large sum, which the inventor used liam J. Bryan, which he purchased in 1927. Dr. to build a laboi'atory in Yonkcrs. Baekeland leaves a widow, Celine Swarts Baeke• land ; a son, George Washington Baekeland of "There he worked on various problems, among Fairfield, Conn., and a daughter, Mrs. Phillips others that of producing an artificial varnish, Wyman of Scarborough, N. Y." something that would free us from dependence on gums brought from India. Earlier chemists had learned that from the mixing of phenols and Col. McCormick on Atlantic City — aldehydes a resinous substance results. Dr. Bae• Passing through New Orleans and living keland tried to make use of this fact. lie was on his customary diet of grasshoppers and using carbolic acid, which is a phenol, and for• wild honey, after the example of St. John maldehyde, as constituents. Their synthesis is a in the desert. Col. Bobert J{. ilcCormick, hard, transparent, insoluble, unmcltable resin, publisher of the Chicago Tribune, made which he could not turn to accoinit in making the following remark at the luncheon of varnish. At length it occurred to him that if he the Young Men's Business Club: "Lincoln produced this transparent insoluble resin in the said this country belongs to the people who shape of a useful article he—in the vernacular inhabit it. I maintain that it does not be• —'would have something,' something of use as long to the mendicant group of nations a new raw material. whose representatives lately have been liv• "lie began with bottles and pipe stems, forms ing lavishly in Atlantic City at our ex• that he caused the resin to assume while in the pense." process of precipitation. In 190G he announced The Colonel has got it all wrong. We his discovery at the Chemists Club in New York don't know about the kind of fare the del• and since then the uses of bakolite have increas• egates of the governments-in-exile received ed almost daily. We see it in fountain pens, me• in these enchanting surroundings, but this chanical pencils, ash trays, electric insulators, much we do know—that the governments- airplane propellers, engine parts; the list is end• in-exile footed their own bills. The custom less. The formal scientific name of the new sub• in this country has it so, while in Europe stance is oxybcnzylmcthyleneglycolanhydrid — generally the country Avhich organized an but it is bakclitc to appreciative men and women international conference paid the expenses. all over the world. Of course Lincoln was perfectly right in "From 1910 until his retirement in 1939, Dr. the statement reproduced by Col. McCor• Baekeland was president of the Bakclitc Corpo• mick, but what did the Indians say when ration, which manufactures the material and the Colonel's ancestors arrived on these licenses other factories to use its processes. shores ? Of course they hadn't heard about "In the first World War Dr. Baekeland was a Lincoln. Next time, check your facts, Colo• member of the Naval Consulting Board and the nel, or one day somebody may stand up in Nitrate Supply Commission, and in 1917 chair• public and call you a liar, which is always man of the connnittee on patents of the National very unpleasant. You must know that. Research Council. lie was president of the American Chemical Society, 1924, and was also a former president of the American Institute of Hungarian Author Dies — Word has just Chemical Engineers and the American Electro• been received here of the death in December at chemical Society. Budapest of Zsolt de Harsanyi, 57, who wrote "Both the W.E.Nichols and theWillard Gibbs in 1942 Lover of Life, a novelized account of Medals were awarded to him by the American the life of the Flemish painter, Pieter Paul Chemical Society and he received the Chandler Rubens. [76]