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UNITED STATES BATTLESHIP OKLAHOMA On Trial Trip. Speed 21.47 Knots. Built by New York Shipbuilding Co., Camden, N. J

year were likely to have much money spent on their construction by the Teutonic allies, as all the funds they had at disposal could be better devoted to army equipment and the completion of vessels nearly ready. This does not apply to destroyers or submarines, but neither of these could have a very great effect upon the outcome of the war.

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BATTLE CRUISERS were under construction for England, Russia, Germany, and Japan, and there was reason to believe that the naval appropriation bill for 1916 would contain a provision for several for the United States navy. If built, these vessels were likely to be superior to any so far planned. The tonnage would be well over 30,000-possibly nearer 40,000-and the maximum sea speed about 35 knots. Apart from the line-of-battle, such vessels would have an tended use in warfare. They could sweep aside the cruisers, scouts, and destroyers of the enemy. Their speed makes submarine attack impossible except under most favorable circumstances. And they should be able to bring any fleeing enemy to terms by heading him off or driving in his flank. The amount of armor proposed was not stated. No battle cruisers are heavily armored; but it must not be forgotten that in every decisive battle of recent times the ships of the winning side have received few injuries; nor must we overlook Admiral Farragut's maxim that "a ship's best defense is a rapid and well-directed fire from her own guns."

BAUER, FRANCIS S. An Austrian Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church, died Nov. 26, 1915. He was born in 1841; became a priest in 1863; was created Archbishop of Olmutz in 1904; and became a cardinal on Dec. 2, 1912.

BAUXITE. See ALUMINUM AND BAUXITE. BEAUX-ARTS ARCHITECTS, SOCIETY OF. An association formed in New York for the education of students in architecture. The system includes the establishment in different cities of the United States of schools in which instruction in architecture may be obtained. This instruction is based upon the courses given in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The programme of the society is used in many universities and colleges throughout the country. The schools are formed by groups of students who wish to carry on the study of architecture, and instruction is given by a master or patron, whose work is given free. The school is supported by contributions of the students. The committee on education issues each year a certain number of programmes which include problems to be worked out by the different schools. These constitute competitions designated as Class A and Class B. During the season 1914-15 there were 978 registered students from 110 different ateliers, located in over 80 different cities in the United States and Canada. During the year 88 medals were awarded, of which 6 were first medals, 41 second medals, and 41 third medals. The society awards regular prizes the Warren Prize for general excellence in planning a group of buildings; the Pupin Prize for decorative treatment; the Goelet Prize for excellence in planning a city block; the Bacon Prize for the greatest number of honors obtained in Class A; the Municipal Arts Society Prize for the best solution of a city-planning problem; and the Diplome Prize for added honors in Class A work. BEEHLER, WILLIAM HENRY. American naval officer and scientist, died June 23, 1915. He was

born in Baltimore in 1848; served in the Union League Company for three weeks in defense of the city of Baltimore in 1863; graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1868; joined the navy as an ensign in 1869, and was subsequently promoted through various ranks until he became commodore in 1907. He served with the Atlantic and Pacific fleets on various tours until 1879 when he was at the Torpedo Station. From 1885-89 he was at the office of Naval Intelligence; was appointed Chief of Ocean Meteorology of the Navy Department in 1892, serving until 1895; from 1899 to 1902 was naval attaché successively at Berlin, Rome, and Vienna; commandant of the Naval Station at Key West from 1905-10; chairman of the World's Congress of Meteorology at the Chicago Exposition in 1893; and took part in the Spanish-American War, winning two medals for service. The year 1910 saw his retirement. He invented many scientific appliances, including the solarometer (1892), an instrument for determining position and compass error at sea; and he was the author of The Cruise of the Brooklyn (1884), and of The History of the Italian-Turkish War (1912). He also contributed to magazines, chiefly on naval subjects. BEER. See LIQUORS. BEET SUGAR. BELASCO, DAVID. See DRAMA, AMERICAN AND ENGLISH.

See SUGAR.

BELGIAN CONGO. See CONGO, BELGIAN. BELGIAN RELIEF. See RELIEF FOR WAR VICTIMS.

BELGIUM. A constitutional monarchy of western Europe, lying between France and the Netherlands and bordering on the North Sea. Capital, Brussels. During the German invasion the government was removed first to Ostend, later to Le Havre, France.

AREA AND POPULATION. The area and population by provinces, according to the census taken Dec. 31, 1910, and compared with the figures for 1831, with the number of inhabitants (density) per square kilometer in 1910, are as follows:

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Luxemburg Namur

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43,027 19,596 21,467

8,132 7,591 5,133

122,35783,785 Tobacco

105,206 36,307 130.091- 39.727

78,16111,752

60,537 1.629

346,512 362,846 Belgium .6,693,548 7,423,784 717,56312,673

The population of Antwerp as calculated Dec. 31, 1911, was 308,618 (with suburbs, 407,773); Brussels, 176,947 (737,432); Liége, 167,676 (243,865); Ghent, 166,715 (211,081); Schaerbeek,* 85,399; Ixelles,* 76,405; Molenbeek-St.Jean,* 74,857; St.-Gilles,* 66,592; Anderlecht,* 64,425; Malines, 59,191; Bruges, 53,484; Borgerhout, 50,583; Verviers, 46,485; Ostend, 42, 638; Louvain, 42,307; Seraing, 41,389; Tournai, 37,198; Courtrai, 35,872; Laeken, 35,714; Alost, 35,272; St.-Nicolas, 34,881; Etterbeek, 33,779; Namur, 32,444; St.-Josse-ten-Noode, 32,282; Berchem, 30,996; Charleroi, 28,891; Uccle, 28,127; Jumet, 28,020; Mons, 27,904; Lierre, 25,985; Forest, 25,671; Roulers, 25,488. The asterisks mark faubourgs of Brussels. The four cities of Antwerp, Brussels, Ghent, and Liége, with their environs, contain 21.16 per cent of the population of the kingdom; but the appearance of urbanization induced by these figures is offset by the fact that the dependent communes cover areas with boundaries widely separated from the urban centres; within these confines are areas devoted to agriculture.

Of the total poulation in 1910, 2,833,334 spoke French only, 3,220,662 Flemish only, 31,413 German only, 871,288 French and Flemish, 74,993 French and German, 8652 Flemish and German, and 52,547 all three languages. In addition there were 330,893 inhabitants, including children over two years, speaking no one of the three languages. The number of marriages in 1912 was 61,278; births, 171,187; deaths, 112,378; still births, 7789; immigrants, 42,980; emigrants, 35,775.

EDUCATION. In 1910 there were 7525 public primary schools (21,313 teachers and 929,347 pupils), 54 primary normal schools (4725 students), 4722 schools for adults (240,019 scholars), 3112 infant schools (271,237 children). There were 7590 public primary schools in 1911, with 934,830 pupils; 3186 infant schools with 275,911; 4940 adult primary schools, with 246,292; 57 primary normal schools, with 4967. There are both state and private secondary schools, and special, technical, and fine arts institutions. University population: Ghent, 1178; Liége, 2790; Brussels, 1318; Louvain, 2600 -total, 7880.

AGRICULTURE. Under cultivation in the king dom are 2,607,514 hectares (including 721,938 fallow, under brush, and otherwise irregularly productive), of which 1,818,156 under sown crops and grasses, and 67,419 under orchards, gardens, vineyards, etc. The following table gives areas planted to main crops in hectares, the production in metric quintals, and the average yield per hectare in 1913-14:

* Sugar beets. † Seed; fibre production, 178,884, quintals.

Estimated number of cattle Dec. 31, 1909, 1,856,833; horses, 255,229; swine, 1,116,500. In 1913 there were 267,160 horses, 1,894,484 cattle, 1,412,293 swine.

MINING AND METALS, ETC. Number of quarries in operation in 1910, 1522, with 35,711 employees; value of products, 66,418,720 francs. In 1912, 1550, with 35,532 employees; value of products, 69,758,300 francs. Coal mines, 1910, 133 (143,701 employees); 23,916,560 metric tons, valued at 348,877,000 francs (14.59 francs per ton). In 1911, 216 mines, of which 127 in operation; output, 23,053,540 tons, valued at 340,279,000 francs. Value of iron ore 1910, 566,950 francs; blende, 139,600 francs; galena, 26,450 francs. Furnace products, 1,852,090 metric tons, valued at 120,161,000 francs: manufactured iron, 299,500 tons, 39,494,000 francs; cast steel ingots, 1,892,160 tons, 161,606,000 francs; worked steel ingots, blooms, and billets, 1.074,210 tons, 98,634,000 francs; finished steel, 1,534,550 tons, 192,220,000 francs; zinc ingots, 181,745 tons, 103,541,000 francs; pig lead, 40,715 tons, 13,464,000 francs; silver from lead, 264,655 kilos, 27,754,000 francs. Value of iron ore 1911, 766,400 francs; blende, 14,250 francs; pig iron, 1912, 160,000,000 francs; manufactured iron, 40,025,000 francs; steel ingots, 242,377,000 francs; steel rails, etc., 257,819,000 francs.

OTHER INDUSTRIES. Manufacturing industries according to the industrial census of 1896 numbered 337,395 enterprises and branches. Of these, 236,000 were permanent establishments, distributed as follows: 165,000 (70.08 per cent) home industries employing no work people; 54,500 (24.09) small enterprises employing one to four workers; 14,800 (5.12) establishments employing 5 to 49 workers; 1500 (0.63) establishments employing 50 to 449 workers; 200 (0.08) great industries employing 500 or more workers. The census returned 169,778 persons engaged in the textile industry, 137,966 in clothing factories, 134,333 in metal works, 128,313 in mines, 93,577 in construction work, 90,443 in factories for the manufacture of foodstuffs, 88,457 in timber and allied industries, and 57,702 in leather factories. There were in operation in 1911, 89 sugar works, output 234,764 tons of raw sugar; 21 sugar refineries, output 121,226 tons; 125 distilleries, output 73,864 kilolitres of alcohol at 50° G.L.; output of the breweries was 1,703,159 kilolitres; of the tobacco manufactories, 10,141 tons. The fisheries products for 1911 were valued at 6,381,939 francs. The output of the glass factories (1900) was valued at 65,912,000 francs. The number of strikes in 1911 was 156, involving 54,947 strikers; 1906-10, 756, involving 121,416; 1901-05, 474, involving 149,987.

COMMERCE. The table below gives a résumé (in millions of francs) of the trade during the last years of four decades;

1880

Imports, general...2,710.4
Imports, special....1,680.9
Exports, general...2,225.2
Exports, special....1,216.7

1910

1890 1900
3,189.2 3,594.4 6,551.7
1,672.1 2,215.8 4,265.0
2,948.1 3,297.5 5,694.6
1,437.0 1,922.9 3,407.4

Imports for consumption and exports of domestic produce are shown in the table below, together with transit trade, for successive years, in thousands of francs.

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1912

.3,454,000 4,265,000 4,508,500 4,958,000
2,793,800 3,407,400 3,580,300 3,951,500
.2,268,800 2,287,200 2,298,900 2,437,300

Imports and exports in the special trade are given in part in the table below for 1913:

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1913 350,497 132,823

73,126

90,220

Imports

Wool

Wheat

Cotton

Lead

Raw hides

Coal

161,957 Vehicles

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.172.725 Copper

Wood

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Chem. prod..

.141,696 Horses

Petroleum

Dves

Jute

Pig iron
Machinery
Oil cake

Copper

Wine

73,018 Cotton

92,830 Vegetable oil

42,108 Wool yarns
65,289 Chemical products.
40,842 Paper

valued at 669.1 millions; Germany, 5761 and 881.4; Great Britain, 516.8 and 457.6; Russia, 364.1 and 67.0; Netherlands, 293.1 and 327.9; Argentina, 278.1 and 128.6; United States, 231.2 and 117.1.

COMMUNICATIONS. Railway in operation, Dec. 31, 1910, by the state, 4330 kilometers (of which 4072 state owned); by companies, 349-a total length of 4679 kilometers throughout the kingdom. At the end of 1912 there were 4719 kilometers of railway in operation, of which 4369 were operated by the state. Local lines, 3855 kilometers. The Belgian railway lines, as a result of the German invasion, came into the possession of the German authorities and were operated by them regularly after November, 1914.

Soon after the military occupation of Belgium by the Germans the permanent way over a large amount of Belgian railway was removed, and this led to a protest to the neutral states by the Belgian government, which claimed that the 114,402 proceeding would hamper the trade business of 93.499 the kingdom and was a violation of the laws 112,384 and customs of war. Furthermore, as an inci94,884 109.249 dent of the military operations, a comprehensive .251,315 network of light railways was constructed in Belgium, as well as in the occupied district of 84,348 France, so as to relieve the pressure on the high31.206 ways and release cars for service in the Eastern campaigns. A uniform method of construction was employed, involving light rails of high grade steel, laid on steel ties, and built up in sections so they could be laid very rapidly, four railway 34,712 battalions being able to lay 70 miles of track in 40,894 two weeks. Track laying on level ground was 65,092 in some cases carried forward at the rate of 10 93,601 37,288 miles a day, or the equivalent of the daily average advance of an army. These railways were narrow gauge, but the passenger cars seated five people on a side.

32,771
77,112
2,854

68,127
24,380

A few of the important imports, with values in thousands of francs in 1910, follow: cereals, etc. (582,666); wool and woolens (442,139); minerals (197,462); seeds (171,178); timber (150,494); cotton, etc. (148,489); flax, etc. (143,034); raw hides (139,296); coal (107,478); rough diamonds (98,447); resins, etc. (96,301); iron ore, etc. (92,520); machinery (80,458); dyes, etc. (68,213); coffee (63,699); live animals (53,334). Exports: wool, yard, and manufactures (436,450); iron and steel (224,287); machinery, etc. (180,762); cereals (163,170); raw flax (121,136); vegetable fibre, yarn, and manufactures (113,439); seeds (111,509); cut diamonds (99,057); zinc (91,960); raw hides (91,441); coal (88,636); paints, etc. (85,087); glass and glassware (84,496); cotton manufactures (78,478); resins, etc. (53,010); manures (50,277); sugar (45,151); live animals (42,647).

Some of the principal countries of origin and destination are given below, with value of their trade in thousands of francs for two years:

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In the summer the construction of a new rail

way line between Aix-la-Chapelle and Brussels, via Vise, was begun by the Germans and workmen were busy day and night. This involved the building of a new bridge near Lische. The new railway through Belgium was to be an almost straight line, without regard to private property or natural obstacles, as the German authorities considered such a railway of the greatest importance, not only for immediate service but for the future. It was also proposed to double track the line from Selzaete to Moerbeke and probably also the Selzaete-EeclooBruges line.

There were 7975 kilometers of telegraph lines and 43,547 of wires; in addition, there were 520 kilometers of wires installed at the expense of private railway companies. There were 1659 telegraph stations. Urban telephone wires, 233,086 kilometers; interurban wires, 29,434. Post offices, 1708. The merchant marine included at the end of 1912, 97 steamers of 174,021 tons and eight sailing vessels, of 7616 tons. Vessels entered in the 1912 trade, 11,230, of 16,353,933 tons; cleared, 11,214, of 16,319,056 tons.

FINANCE. The franc (worth 19.295 cents) is 594,625 the unit of value. The table of revenue and ex367,599 penditure below is in thousands of francs and includes loans (1912 budget):

Netherlands .298,217 356,573

Germany

British India..267,614

Russia

Rumania

352,346 .602,398 703,120 959,331 249,551 34,967 .318,136 272,327 66,904 .245,239 200,962 24,283

1,007,469
40,389
83,496

17,771

In 1910, France furnished imports to the value of 747.2 millions of francs and received exports

Rev. ordinary

1835 1900 1909 1912 .89,171 494,106 645,107 703,883*

Rev. extraordinary.. 1,904 48,672 150,109

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