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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 1963)
g SUNDAY, APRIL 7, 1963 MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE. MEOFORD. OREGON Belgium Is Often Referred to as the Crossroads of Europe (Edi tor's nett: On a ctnt Mtaviilon quii pro gram. Mm contestants could Dot answor tho question: Who U king of Belgium? Can you? How much do you know of that tiny, historic country? This it another in a itriti of ditpatchtt called "Nation- of tha World." Thty ara up-to-daia sketches of tha countries of our world written by corres pondents who work and liva thara.) By STANLEY KETELE and HERMAN 8AEN United Press Intarnational Brussels - IW- Belgium has often been called "the cross roads of Europe." It eBtraddles the invasion routes of the continent. For 2,000 years armies have tramped across It. It is a bridge between the two major powers of Western Europe - Germany on the cast and France on the south west - and as a result It has been forced to take sides in wars that were not of its mak ing. Its relations with its other neighbors have caused It less national anguish - Holland in the north and the little duchy of Luxembourg in the south east. Tp the northwest, across the North Sea, Is Britain Laroar Than Maryland Belgium Is only slightly larger than the slate of Mary land - 11,500 square miles -but it is crowded with 9,190, 000 people. Only Japan Is more densely populated. To many, Belgium is a sort of Europe in miniature. Not only because it is the head quarters of such international bodies as the Common Map ket but because it presents many features, on a smaller scale, that can be found in other West European coun tries. Sloping down from its high est point of 2,300 feet In the southern Ardennes (where one of the crucial battles of World War It was fought) toward the North Sea, it can be divided Into two main geographical regions. The northern half, with its seaside dunes and beaches, is part of the great plain stretch ing from northern France into Russia. It includes flax fields in the west, rich farmlands and pastures in the northeast as well as abundant coal. Mountain Chain The hilly Ardennes in the south are part ot the ancient mountain chain stretching front France into Germany North and south arc linked by gently undulating belt run ning across the middle of the country. It is the boundary between fertile farmland and orchards on one side and stone quar ries with Important steel and W KK t)TDURMi BELGIUM SP&M', (toC?TT? c CW Mrs. Green Proposes Major Surgery LANGUAGE FHONTIEH This UPI news map. shows how the "language frontier" runs through the middle of Belgium, often called "the crossroads of Europe." To the north of the line live the Dutch-speaking Flemings. To the south are the French speaking Walloons. (UPI) chemical Industries on the other. Less tangible but just as real is the "language frontier that runs through the middle of Belgium. To the north of this lin guistic line live the Dutch speaking Flemings. To the south arc the French-speaking Walloons. Separates Old Cultures The "line" separates two old cultures - the Latin and the Germanic, two anthropo logical types, two ethnical groups, one with Teutonic and the other with Alpine char acteristics. There are slightly more Fleming, just over 5 million, than Wallons. But the French speakers constitute a majority of the population of the coun try s capital and most im portant city, Brussels. There are strongly marked differences between the re gional conditions and habits of these components of the Belgian-population. In the Flemish areas people traditionally have had to work hard Inr a meagre UveUhOOd in amall-farm agriculture or in the depression-prone tcx lile regions. Great Battleground It was mainly front the Flemish districts thai Belgians emigrated to the United States, especially after World War I, in which Flanders, one of the great battlegrounds of history, was devastated. FREE CHICKS! "Chick Day," Wed., April 10th W havt secured, through Triangl Milling Co., itvaral thouiand CtiicK 10 FREE CHICKS will be given to aach adult cuitomar who comai in WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10th. I pi.... Year Owe f Cent.in.r V PUnty of Perking f -(rr I r -.r lAsK Usr x f m 'W TRIANGLE ( f chlck Starter fj for Beit gj Results The Battle of Waterloo also was fought in Belgium. Some people regard Brus sels, with its population of about 1,000,000, as a distinct unit In itself. But the over whelming majority of its peo ple are "immigrants" from cither the Flemish or Walloon sections and there are very few "pure" Bruxcllois left. Generally in Brussels the Walloons are engaged in ad ministration and arc employed in the headquarters of the big enterprise!. The Flemish moved in at first as butchers and bakers, as craftsmen and industrial workers. No Dividing Line There is no firm dividing line, however, and with the passing of the years the types of jobs have tended to merge. Brussels itself is under going great structural changes. Up to World War II, the population lived as dense ly packed around the center of town as possible. Now there is a flight to the sub urbs. Residential areas in the town are being replaced by I glass and concrete office build ings. The Belgian school system offers ample opportunity in both state-run or denomina tional schools. Schooling till the age of 15 is compulsory and there is no illiteracy. Flemish leaders complain, however, that although 60 per cent of the school-youth is Flemish it provides only 40 per cent of the university students. The Belgian government is appointed by King Baudouin. Legislative power rests with the two houses of Parliament - the Chamber of Representa tives and the Senate. Strong Political Parlies The strongest political parties arc the Social Chris tians and the Socialists with a smaller liberal center group. There is a small Flemish party on ihe right wing and a Communist group on the left. Although there Is chronic friction between the two language groups, Belgians are united in their desire for an integrated Western Europe or stale aid for illness and on I job accidents, unemployment benefits and state provision I for family allowances and old J age pensions. Sense of Freedom An industrious people with I a strong sense of freedom, Bel gians are famous for "making the best of any situation. They are wedded to free enterprise and like to credit it with most of their pros perity. Belgian shops display one of the widest ranges of foreign products to be found in Western European coun tries. They have one million tele vision sets and 1,100,000 pri vate automobiles. The Bel gians like to eat well - it is almost a national sport. Their love for good food is sur passed only by their apprecia tion of a good pint of beer. They hold the world record for per capita beer consumn tion with more than 100 liters (176 pints) a year. As there arc more than 80, 000 pubs or cafes in the coun try - five per square mile - the Belgians need not travel far to slake this national thirst. Typical Belgian A typical Belgian is Ed- mond Tielmans, a 38-year-old skilled stucco worker who lives with his wife, Emma, 36, and their three children in a third floor apartment in a Brussels suburb. Mrs. Tielmans works two or three times a week as a seamstress. This brings the total family income, including family allowance to between $210 and $220 a month. Mary, who is 16, helps her mother. Peter, 11, is in pri mary school. Jan, who is three years old, is taken to a kindergarten on the days his mother works. Trie Tielmans apartment, in a 25-year-old building, can not be considered quite mod ern, but Tielmans manages to improve it in his spare time. The biggest of the two bed roonU is partitioned off to make one bedroom for the gui and one for the boys. There is no bath but Tiel mans installed a shower. The By ROBERT BUCKHORN United Press International Washington -OIPli- In Con gress, Caesar's wife is a much discussed lady. The 535 lawmakers in House and Senate are agreed that they, too, should be above suspicion. But they can't agree on what some limes makes a congressman suspect. Should a legislator hire his J brother-in-law to work in his office? Is it ethical to spend I the taxpayers' money in a Paris nightclub? Some legislators would an swer "no" to both questions. Others might say "yes." Still others would answer "yes and no." Hardly a week passes that a member of Congress doesn't make a decision connected in some way with ethics. If the decision is made public, the lawmaker can expect to be praised or damned, depend ing on how a voter gauges ethics. Reaches Plateeu Congress, says Rep. Edith Green (D-Ore), has reached the plateau where it needs a policeman to tell it right from wrong. To back up her opinion, she dropped a legis lative reform package into the hopper, including a pro posal to set up a 15-member commission on congressional ethics. The commission would study conflicts of interest and XT w, W ffc advance notice on contract decisions and then notifying constituents that the award ha been made, leaving the impression ihr congressman sressman boasted tnat n slipped out of a committee hearing as soon as he learned what the government wanted and telephoned his broker to had something to do with the buy a house in the area. decision. The use or misuse of con- Good politics, say the pup gressional influence is one of porters of this policy. U net hi the most complex and contro-cal say the critics, vcrsial phase? of the ethics1 question. No one has come j up with an answer to these questions: how far can a con- j gressman go in obtaining a I government contract for his i 1 rtate? Or what type of out-1 j side pmolovment la comnati- ! ble with a committee assign ment? And when docs a speaker's fee reach thc point where it could be considered an unreported campaign con tribution? Liliie Can Be Done Lawmakers say there is very little a congressman can do to influence a contract de cision by the Defense depart ment. But critics point out that some go a long way to create the impression they can do something. One case in point, critics say, is the practice of getting The birds Mi is coming! 4 M proposal to prohibit use of federal funds to pay any member of a congressman's staff who doesn't work in outside income of House and Washington, or in the repre- MRS. EDITH GREEN Proposes Commission mittee recently approved a! retainer" while the bank was 5352? AT OUR NEW LOCATION: 4th & Fir close political and economic I apartment itself is simple but unity - The Common Market. I well-furnished. There is no Tho Belgian worker has a ! central heating - heat comes higher standard of living than j from stoves In t lie living room his colleagues in muny other European countries although prices are comparatively high. A skilled worker earns an average of 70 cents (Ameri can) an hour. The maximum working week is 45 hours. There is and in tho kitchen. They have television. Recently Tielmans acquired a second-hand car and this is often used on Sundays for family outings. He thinks Bel gium is a fine country to live Senate members Mrs. Green said bluntly that "major surgery" is need ed to keep Congress honest. A focal point for much of the recent uproar over con gressional honesty is Rep Adam Clayton Powell (D N.Y.). The Negro legislator triggered a barrage of criti cism when he left in the midst of a congressional session for month-long tour of five European nations. Powell is chairman of the important House Education and Labor committee. He said the pur pose of the trip was to gather facts on the European Com mon Market. Mixing His Responsibilities However, while most of his fellow lawmakers were trying to get Congress adjourned, Powell was reported mixing h i s information - gathering with night club visits and sun bathing. Along the way he spent $1,543. Two female aides who accompanied him spent $2,428. Neither figure included transportation costs, according to congressional rec ords. Answering his critics, Pow ell said they were using a pot calling - kettle - black type of logic. "I will always do what every other congressman has done, is doing, and will do," he said. And as far as junket ing goes. Powell had a Lot of congressional bedfellows. In 1962, 101 law-makers and nearly as many aides toured the world. They re ported lo the House Adminis tration committee that they spent a total of 5257,514. Nepotism Controversial If junketing is controversi al, nepotism is none the less so. In the current 88th Con gress, payroll records show wives, daughters, sons, broth ers, and in-laws all working for congressmen. There is no secret about the practice. The House pay roll records are open to pub lic View. Some congressmen even go out of their way to tell their constituents they have a relative on the pay roll. But not all them think the practice is ethical and have moved to curtail it. As part of this drive, the House Administrative com- sentative's home state. If the proposal becomes law, it would affect congress men like Powell, whose wife earns $13,308 a year as his aide, but" lives in Puerto Rico. Rep. George Mcader (R-Mich.), would have to stop paying his daughter $167.54 a month to mail out letters while she attends college in Florida. Not a New Problem Ethics is not a new prob lem for Congress. The law makers have been wrestling with it almost since the gavel sounded to bring the first ses sion to order in 1780. Thomas Jefferson laid down one of the first codes for lawmakers. Said Jefferson: "Where the private interests of a member are concerned in a bill or question, he is to withdraw.'' But a genera tion later no less a historical personage than Daniel "Web ster felt free to ask a bank In Philadelphia for his "usual involved in a controversy in the Senate over the renewal of its charter. In recent years, a few con gressmen have ended up in j jail when they twisted the code of ethics too far. In 1947. Rep. Andrew J. May (D-Ky.), wag indicted on bribery charges and later sentenced to prison. In 1949, Rep. Par nell Thomas (R-N.J.), was con victed of payroll padding. Last year, lamcduck Rep. , Frank Boykin (D-Ala.), was j indicted on charges of trying j to influence the Justice dc- j partment to drop prosecution of a central figure in a sav- ings and loan scandal. Boykiiv has denied the charge and went on trial in late March along with former Rep. Thorn as J. Johnson (D-Md.), who faced tho same accusation. Last month, in a copyright ed article published by Pa rade magazine, an "anony mous congressman" accused one of his colleagues of turn ing a $4,000 profit on the sale j of land for the new House office building. The author said the con-i YOU DON'T BUY BUY A MAN . . . One you can trust to look after all the details . . . We Believe that SERVICE BEYOND the CONTRACT Is More Important Than Pricel However if you check with us, you will find our rates are HIGHLY COMPETITIVE! INSURANCE T Vgengy Grace and Cole Holmes 54 Years in Madford Medical Center Bldg. 772- If You Wish We Will Call On You Large or small savings accounts are always welcome at . . . l'C1 Jackson County Federal tyjL Savings and Loan Assn. Home Office-2 E. Main, Mcdford Ashland Branch-337 E. 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