Evening Republican, Volume 21, Number 278, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 November 1918 — TO DEMAND ALL OF LUXEMBURG [ARTICLE]

TO DEMAND ALL OF LUXEMBURG

MARTYRED NATION’S BILL TO THE HUN WILL BE $9300,000,000. Brussels, Nov. 26, —“Belgium must have the left bank of the' Scheldt,” and this demand should ibe made at the peace conference it is agreed by all political parties in Belgium. The correspondent has talked with many diplomats, ministers and members of parliament and they all agree on Belgian occupation of the left bank ot the Scheldt, Some extremists say that Belgium’s natural frontier in the east is the left bank of the Rhine, while a mere moderate group would be contented with the cessation of Luxemburg, The Scheldt river flows through Belgium on moqt of its course. North of Antwerp the Scheldt enters Hoilland, This situation is awkward for Belgium in that entrance to its principal port is controlled by another nation. So far as the payment for losses is concerned, Belgium reckons her losses unofficially at about $7,600,000,000. “The amount may seem excessive,” J said an eminent Belgian financier, ‘‘but Belgium’s losses are not all as visible as the ruins which, heaven knows, are plentiful enough. A stranger may enter Bruges, Ghent and Brussels, which are virtually; intact except for the Bruges railway station, and be under the impression that the cities suffered nothing. “It must be realized, however, that every home in these cities has been stripped of everything 'belonging to it, including woolen mattresses and copper. Then the cities were forced to pay war contributions over a period of more than four years. In the first year the Germans exacted $8,000,000 a month, in the second year $10,000,000 and in the third year $12,000,000.