Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 115, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 16 May 1919 — ARE FLEMING AND WALLOON [ARTICLE]

ARE FLEMING AND WALLOON

People of Belgium of Both Races, the Finings Being Slightly lnthe Majority. The kingdom of Belgium dates from 1830, when the . seven Catholic provinces revolted from the distasteful union with the kingdom of The Netherlands, Dr. Edwin A. Grosvenor writes in a communication to the NathmaH Geographical society. A conference of the great powers in 1831 determined the boundaries between the two countries,. Though obliged by circumstances to recognize Belgian independence, the copfeyence did not sympathize with the authors of the revolution. In consequence the boundary line was traced to the disadvantage of the new nation. It Is alleged. The Dutch were assigned peoples tdst of the Meuse, who were strongly pro-Belglan, and were granted both sides of the Scheldt, thus’ cutting off approach to the sea by the great port of Antwerp. , Belgium is made up of Flemings and Walloons, with the former In the majority. In 1910, of the 7,751,000 Belgians, there were 3,221.000 who spoke only Flemish, 2,833.000 who spoke French (spoken by Walloons) and 871,000 who spoke both languages. The Flemish provinces are bilingual. Germany tried to divide the Flemings and the Walloons during the great war, but the descendants of the warriors who fought against Caesar refused to be divided. The ancient Belgae occupied all Gaul north of the Seine and west of the Rhine-, but today it covers only 11,373 square miles.