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Show H0N0BJI8EVENT Dutch Celebrate Recall of the House of Orange. Completes First Century of Liberation From Domination by Napoleon Holland Now One of Centers of European Civilization. Paris. Last summer the Dutch completed com-pleted the first century of their liberation libera-tion from the France of Napoleon. After the "Battle of Leipzig, in 1S13, in which Napoleon was defeated, the French were driven out of Holland and the House of Orange once more recalled to power. In November of that year the prince of Orange, son of William V., returned from Kngland and was proclaimed William I. of the Netherlands. It is the centenary oi this historic event that was commemorated commem-orated with manifestations of patriotism patriot-ism in the little country of dikes and dunes, says the American Review of Reviews. Since the beginning of the twentieth twen-tieth century Ffolland has come io be looked upon by the world chiefly as the home of that splendid international internation-al tribunal at The Hague by the agreement of all the civilized powers of the world tor the settlement of disputes dis-putes between, nations. The first world peace conference was held in the Dutch capital in 1899 and the second sec-ond in 1907. When the beloved Queen Wilhelmina, at the age of eighteen, ascended to the throne of her fathers, in 1898, the reform of Dutch franchise laws had begun. Electoral reform has been one of the mooted questions in Dutch parliamentary procedure ever since. One of the most important pieces of legislation passed by the states general during recent years was a law (in 1903) making railroad strikes illegal. Other questions of coast defence, colonies and a new customs cus-toms tariff have engaged public attention at-tention during recent years. One of the most appealing and important im-portant events of Dutch history since Gateway of Historic Harlem. the beginning of the century was the marriage of Wilhelmina to Prince Henry of Mecklenburg-Schwerin. In 1909 the bilth of their first child, the little Princess Juliana, was received with great popular rejoicing. The Dutch feel that there is less to fear In the menace of German absorption always a great bugbear to the Nelh-erlanders Nelh-erlanders now that they have an heir to the throne. Holland is one of the centers of European civilization and progress, and it cannot fail to be of great interest and profit to traveling Americans this year to see this very modern little kingdom as it really is. There is probably no country of Europe Eu-rope in the track of the tourist about which there is so much misapprehension misapprehen-sion as Holland. Thanks to the genial Washington Irving, who, in his Knickerbocker History of New York, was the creator of the stage Dutchman, there has been a general impression abroad of Holland Hol-land as a rather antiquated country, peopled by a lot of stout folk who wear baggy trousers . and wooden shoes. Many of us, however, have to learn and a great many more to be reminded of the fact that so well has the little Dutch nation managed its affairs that in E.ddition to taking care of its home government It holds the reins over a vast empire of 35,000,000 Orientals, and at the same time keeps abreast of the commercial, industrial, educational and artistic w-orld of civilization. civil-ization. I |