OCR Text |
Show GERMANS DOMINATE (FLANDERSCQUNGIL' Deputy for Bruges in Belgian Bel-gian Parliament Lays Bare Teuton Scheme. INSIDE FACTS GIVEN Is Merely German Propa-i Propa-i ganda Directed Straight From City of Berlin. i 'By International News Service. LoNL'ON, April 6. Relative- to an an ! nouncr ment in the German pros that tr.e 1 members of the so -call eI Council of Flanders held a meeting in Brussels. . wln-ro a resolution wa s passed In favor i.'f "Klenii.-h independence," fciugeno Stan-dar-ri, depu! y for Bruges in t ho Belgian parliament, writes in the London Chronicle Chron-icle as f ollov. s; It is of wiy tt.tc importance to us v. ho know the people thoroughly, but. It might can op some harm abroad if ! it fTcales Ihe wrong Impression thai, even a certain numi-cr of t heso wish for a. f-e.' i li-menf which should break up Belgian uniiy. Vh;iL happens at ihe present moment mo-ment in Kbtndprs is merely tho de- Heipmf nt of t he policy pursued by the German government on tho east-en) east-en) i ront . The Idea is to create a small body of men without any following fol-lowing anrl induce them, through the distribution of honors and remunerative remunera-tive positions, to adopt and propygato doctrines dicta ted from Berlin. Such declaration will afterward be re pre -.MPrited abroad and in Germany us expressing ex-pressing popular aspirations. Points Made Plain. Concerning tliesp- re ent incidents t here aro two poin ts whih I should like to make plain. First, that the sol-called "Iand -dag van Vlanderen" Is really the "Ra.t von Flandren," that is to say, an obedient tool made in Germany for Herman use. and, uecond, that these "represent a t ives of Flemish opinion" do not represent anybody but themselves, them-selves, and do not inchujo any Fleming Flem-ing of standing or authority. A ny careful reader cf the Gennati press and of ( lerman official declarations decla-rations must be convinced that, if the "council" has not been definitely originated by the German author! t-ties. t-ties. it has been so mip'h favored and encouraged by thein that it has lost eveiy vestige of independence. On .March a delegation of seven memlers of the council were received by the chancellor and presented an humble petition asking for a separate ad ministration for Flanders. On Ma rob, 2 this separation was granted by Von Kissing. On January Janu-ary 1a. according to ihe Frankfurter Zeitung, the secretary of state. Wall-l Wall-l raf. came to Brussels and received a delegation of t he activists, who begged him to declare them free from "French yoke," and to "protect Flemish autonomy." May Ee Repeated. The comedy will, no doubt, bo repeated, re-peated, and we may rest assured that the activists" request will bo granted In due time. A very interesting document has been published Jatey by the Belgian government. It is a series of confidential confi-dential instructions to the German soldiers billeted In Belgium, in which the German authorities declare openly open-ly that the separatist movement is prompted and encouraged by the kaiser, and that it is the duty of every German to support it. After these material and conclusive ! proofs, it seems evident that the ! Council of Flanders is just as anxious to put Flanders under effective German Ger-man protectorate as to withdraw it from an imaginary French voke. ; But what exactly in this Council of Flanders? How is it that when cv- 1 ery political liberty has been taken away from their compatriots they are free to hold meetings, pass resolutions resolu-tions and present petitions? Have they any following? Have thev any right to speak for the Flemings? Many Pure Flemings. Many members of the Belgian parliament par-liament are pure Flemings. Not one of them has consented to join the .Council of Flanders. If I consider the situation In my own, constituency of Bruges, the Germans liave been obliged to accept the help of a general practitioner without standing. While this man has been chosen to represent West Flanders. Count Vi-sart, Vi-sart, a venerable man of SO years of age, for fifty years a deputy of Bruges, for thirty-five burgomaster of that town, has been dismissed, expelled ex-pelled by the soldiery from his town hall, and remains practically a prisoner pris-oner In his own house. This !s how the S50.000 Flemings of West Flanders Flan-ders are represented on the Council of Flfi nders. If I turn toward the neighboring ' province, Fast Flanders, which counts 1.0."0,00O Inhabitants, the situation is exactly the same. Not one true and responsible representative of the Flemish people has Joined this council. |