Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-03-17 | Page 2 | Need of Credits Now Imperative, Belgian Declares

NEED OF CREDITS NOW IMPERATIVE, BELGIAN DECLARES (New York Times Cable, Copyright.) j BRUSSELS, March 16. Speaking of , the reconstruction of Belgium from her economic distress, M. Jaspar, minister of ! economics, said: j "We badly need America, in whom we place great confidence; but we need, j above all, money and raw materials. The i gentlemen with whom I have conferred I m Paris Messrs. Hoover, Davis and Baruch, Colonel House and Secretary ; Lansing have shown the greatest interest inter-est in the reconstruction of Belgium. ! "It is estimated that to re-establish j Belgian industry at present prices more j than 1,000,000,000 francs would be necessary, neces-sary, and in the meantime a large part I of the working class is without work, ; living exclusively on charity. , "There is only one way to save us.' It i is to give us immediate large credits' which will permit us to buy, especially in America, machinery and raw mate- i rials, in order to revive our industry as soon as possible, as well as our agriculture." agri-culture." The ministeraid stress on the need for thousands of breeding horses and cows. At present there is a lack of milk. Woods are cut down, and the former battle bat-tle area is largely flooded, to say nothing cf thousands of houses destroyed and whole towns laid tn ruins.