Show j Ol A L TIDAL WAY WAYe I e i lp l l f I 1 I d Or 1 1 p I t 1 I ty 1 I ID al 51 sun oP h i D i ft ed Fn 1 IS tt l VIOL f c Wk CAUSING TC p s I I 1 A F l 4 iy a r Tilt OF cLO J 4 r N rR A Ji ACROSS r lit TH t s OVA TilE GREAT NATURAls SCIENTISTS TELL US MAY OCCUR AT AL TIME d I I GREAT AND ANDI I STRANGE S E NA NAVAL VAL PROJECT GT e eState State Ships to Dc Sent Around Aroun the World to the th Nation Us Its Flag l lag and Its To lust first Indication that tho nations 1 L ot of the Iho world may decide to rusko malo the last year of at tho rho century II a year oC o t peace comes rom Crom Belgium one of at tho novel noel of oC projects la 10 now under rvay Instead of oC spending vast sums of oC mono money In reconstructing Its war Meets the nation nallon has hils duter deler ruined mined to use the tiro In constructing con and fitting out OUI a peace navy the tho duty of oC which shall be to Introduce the Belgian nation Its lis flag and its lis in products to eel every port ot at importance In the tho world In other words instead of oC battleships battleshIp gunboats aral and other destructive craft the tho projected cled Belgian fleet filet la is to copyist t of State ships 9 fitted filled with sam am pies picK of oC Belgian products and ond those these yes ws s ela are to he kept plying from Crom part to tob tob i b port In African Asiatic n nn and Australian waters By this means It will be possible for the nation to como come thoroughly thoroughly In touch with the world 1 j New methods will bo be sue Bated new markets till be opened and It le Is quite possible n a new ern ra of oC oft oCt t prosperity rosy may dawn for Cor the nation For some time past the naval ques question question tion has hul been an Important one In Del Bel glum According to the authorities a 11 0 very ery large lugo sum of oC moony must bo be spent t I It If the tho fleet was to bo be put upon a 11 par 18 6 with those ot of other nations To ro do this Ihl 1 meant an IncreaSe In taxation that would Provo a 11 great hardship to 10 the Iha v I people of DC the countr country many of oC whom o 0 felt Celt the tho pangs pana of oC the tho lightening times time I The matte when brought before beCore the g Ministry was discussed at length and was finally settled b by the adoption of oC the scheme proposed by b the tho I erg In InC Ino o C stead of oC vessels of DC war they would o o build vessels ot of peace Instead of oC vie via ports porta for Cor purposes of oC Intimidation r It if not for Cor actual they would e a i Inaugurate an industrial Industria navy a fleet I that would be nothing more or less than a floating cu museum un I der patronage of oC the tho Government c A CT The novelty ot of such uch a scheme im 1 a appealed to the people and the effect ct has been C far r I better than even the King himself could have as sinned aumea that It would woul t b The feeling of that has hn the I put past two years car ot of his reign has boon been al almost a most entirely and every enry one Is III working with ovary one else elle to make a the tho new project a Already two tWi ships are practically ready read to he put In and others are to be constructed at once so plat by the Iho time ot of the big Belgian Dellan t f at LII Liege e In 1902 1901 the nation and Us its products product I will have become becom I thoroughly Introduced to 10 the world All As Asa a the result those tholo who have 0 ben been lament lamentIng t Ing the tho fact that the Iho country had no naval force Coree to the tho Oar flag OarIn r In distant ports are ale satisfied that the best beet thing has been done dOlle and It II Is 15 un unlikely likely that anything more Inore will be said about aboul the creation or of an fleet nul According to the present Intentions t the new Industrial navy IY will consist of about aboul seven or eight ships that shall be stale property The They w 11 he be manned by sailors wearing the Belgian marines uniform and will cart carry some lome The ships will be protected by a few Cow Cown n 1 guns but they will be so constructed that In case caBO ot of actual war they could bo be used 0 oa nn an armed fleet fleetIn In this way there will wail be no fleet to 10 keep In idleness during the tho periods of oC pence peace and nothing will have been n done dono that cnn can possibly be regarded ns as Incon inconsistent with the Ira tra traditions There Bro are Co few countries of oC Europe of oC which lees Is known than of Belgium the name or of the JIng J or orsome some lome slight reference to the tho country appears appear In the news reports of oC the day but bUI there are aro comparatively few CelY per lIOns eons who know much more about the except In IL a general way The Th realize this thill and they regret that such have existed so long IonS LAND The They are determined however that this shall bo be changed In the Iho future and they believe that the next two years ears they will be able to make their land the tho beet known country In I Europe is II a big bli one but they are Bre setting out to 1111 It The first step that was 1 taken was the establishment of oC a line or of between Antwerp and the Congo Free Slate and the formation of oC several to develop the tho commerce and Industries or of several of Africa Then came the proposed cOm cOmmercial mercial ml lon to China Chinn and the an In of oC a great international ex to bo be held at al Lie Liege According to ovary euy Indication there Is 14 no reason why Belgium should not profit greatly by such lIuch a scheme To Toda Today da day she Is practically unknown corn com except In certain ports and cities of oC Europe Dy By the UnIt time her shIps have voyaged once onoe or twice around the globe Ier fer name namo will be a familiar one OM OMIn In commercial for tor she has many things to that will make mako her ships interesting and attractive One of oC the sources of wealth In Belgium Is the mineral products of oC which there are aro so 10 many In the king dom dOln Coal CollI Iron zinc manganese and marble are found in III abundance and there are runny quarries or of granite elate and sandstone There are In the kingdom no less than coal coalmines mines mine producing more than twenty million tons tone annually which gives em employment to more than Ihan a hundred thou thousand sand workmen The richest or of these there mines art are lOCAted at while Iron abounds chiefly In the province of oC Namur It is III not to 10 life Ihl products of oC the that Belgium looks locks for Cor her however Already she has 1 a market mArkt for all the Iron coal load and similar material that she can supply but what she hopes to be able to do Is Isto Isto to find new markets markels fur Cor the goods that she manufactures so fO extensively These articles coni consist let chiefly of oC cat catton ton linen cutlery culler carpets machine machinery paper woolen n cloth etc elc The On fine linens of Flanders as well RB as the laces Inces of oC have n a worldwIde reputation There are few faw countries In Europe that are more favorably situated for Cor commerce than Ihan Belgium Antwerp which has hall n a most excellent harbor was ono one or of the tho gre greatest commer clad cities of Euro Europe e and the trade ot of the country has never Ufer ceased to 10 bo be I and It l Is promoted by b nu canals canns and railroads Today the chief articles of oC export art are the coal and Iron the linen goods woolen cloth cotton staffs Jinx lace paper sla glaas firearms hIdes raw sugar zinc and grain In amount however the tho exports and In Imports are nearly neally equal each averaging about a J U In times RB an many manyas manya a as seven thousand vessels with a ton tom tonnage nage or of enter and leave 1000 the ports p arts during g the year and there Is al always air ways an extensive trade to and from Crom Germany and the other countries of oC Europe The articles that hat are Imported consist chiefly of at wool woof cotton cereals reals iliac hides coffee cotTee timber copper sugar silk Bille good and nOlI petroleum Such Buch is IB the country thAt Is attempting to lead the way to the ot of universal based upon the highest form of oC commercial Interests The scheme la Is a novel nove one OM IiO o unique In its lis conception that the nations of oC the tho world MO are doubtful as to Its effect But Dut there Is no doubt that Its progress wilt will be watched with Interest and Its success will in the establishment of oC such peaceful naval fleets b by other nations that are arc oro anxious to extend their trade than they are to go to war |