“The real purpose, of course,” said my informant, “is so that American sympathy, now so potent, will cease for both refugees and interned Belgians.  If the factories start, and there is work for them, and the refugees still refuse to return, you can see what it means.”

He may be right; I do not think so.  I believe that at this moment Germany regards Belgium as a new but integral part of the German Empire, and that she wishes to see this new waste land of hers productive.  Assuredly Germany has made a serious effort to reorganise and open again some of the great Belgian factories that are now idle.

In one instance that I know of a manufacturer was offered a large guarantee to come back and put his factory into operation again.  He refused, although he knew that it spelled ruin.  The Germans, unable themselves at this time to put skilled labour in his mill, sent its great machines by railroad back into Germany.  I have been told that this has happened in a number of instances.  Certainly it sounds entirely probable.

The factory owner in question is in America at the time I am writing this, obtaining credit and new machines against the time of the retirement of the German Army.

From the tax the conversation went on to the finances of Belgium.  I learned that the British Government, through the Bank of England, is guaranteeing the payment of the Belgian war indemnity to Germany!  The war indemnity is over nineteen million pounds, or approximately ninety-six millions of dollars.  Of this the Belgian authorities are instructed to pay over nine million dollars each month.

The Societe Generale de Belgique has been obliged by the German Government to accept the power of issuing notes, on a strict understanding that it must guarantee the note issue on the gold reserve and foreign bill book, which is at present deposited in the Bank of England at London.  If the Societe Generale de Belgique had not done so, all notes of the Bank of Belgium would have been declared valueless by Germany.

A very prominent Englishman, married to a Belgian lady, told me a story about this gold reserve which is amusing enough to repeat, and which has a certain appearance of truth.

When the Germans took possession of Brussels, he said, their first move was to send certain officers to the great Brussels Bank, in whose vaults the gold reserve was kept.  The word had been sent ahead that they were coming, and demanding that certain high officials of the bank were to be present.

The officials went to the bank, and the German officers presented themselves promptly.

The conversation was brief.

“Take us to the vaults,” said one of the German officers.

“To the vaults?” said the principal official of the bank.

“To the vaults,” was the curt reply.

“I am not the vault keeper.  We shall have to send for him.”

The bank official was most courteous, quite bland, indeed.  The officer scowled, but there was nothing to do but wait.