Show PICTURE PARADE Belgium Straddles ray es tIle the Fence Hoping to Maint Maintain lin Neutrality r lr NETHERLANDS f 7 E r n r B E L G I U M OF GERMAN legs t GrE 1 INVASION IN 1914 a ih s T FRANCE Jit i k LUXEM- LUXEM ft v A J I 9 q I O Oj Of f all the little nations in Europe Belgium has tried the hardest to preserve her neutrality yet her job is also the hard hardest st st. Hemmed I in between warring Germany and France on iivo two sides her soil easily violated the land which suffered so severely in 1914 has shunned overtures from both the allies and Germany under the well-considered well foreign policy of youthful King Leopold outlined just two years ears ago t when token hen war clouds first began appearing over Europe C Any sided one-sided policy would only weal weaken en our position Even Evenin in case of treaty we would have to parry the first attack It is true that once we were overrun the intervening powers would assure the final victory but the fight would devastator devastate the country f far ar beyond the destruction o of f 1914 la For this reason we must follow a purely and entirely Belgian policy This policy must aim to prevent the quarrels of our neighbors T- T Tf f t i Sy r y y r s r t Q t rf yI sr ti o r U King Leopold above broke his treaty with France because history told him his country lead had often been the battlefield for wars ivars between France and her enemies Moreover he vividly remembered the horrors of the last tear ivar when his father the great King Albert below found himself helpless against German invasion In 1914 and 1915 it was ivas bleeding Belgium whose cause was so loudly shouted by the allies in seeking support from neutral nations No doubt the Belgian atrocities were highly magnified by pro propaganda pa ganda but the invasion invasion inva inva- sion was ivas nevertheless unhappy I PY f for ii a 4 um The rile photo below o shows German soldiers sole sol diers making them them- themselves S a selves comfortable in inan inan an estate near Liege in in 1914 1911 t typical cal o of the indignities Belgium D 4 i G p has suffered throughout through through- out t the centuries fl f l ar f. f 4 l' l r k r i f I r r I t tr r t t M fib fibY Y i t I y f To r prevent recurrence recur t 1 rence Belgium stays y neutral yet is is read ready q to o protect neutrality with force All frontiers Iron fron 5 i t tiers have forts patterned pat after the Ma Maginot Mag- Mag 1 inot line Her arms is isZ isone Z V fr one o of Europe's best though small But can Belgium stay neutral under pressure Only time can tell F r 1 a w ry l JG Hv w a. a |