"Help!"

Help!"

Premier Henri Jaspar stood up, haggard and grave, before the Chamber last week. "You must help us!" he cried to the 78 Catholics, 78 Socialists and 23 Liberals whose nicely interbalanced votes have so often deadlocked the Chamber against itself.

"We are going to explain the true situation to the country," continued M. Jaspar above an uneasy rustling from his Catholic adherents. "I ask the Chamber at a time which is singularly reminiscent of the tragic days of 1914 to give us power to prevent those of our citizens who are without consciences from continuing their odious and absurd campaign against our national currency. They think they are saving their wealth by bartering Belgian francs for a mess of golden foreign pottage. In reality they are compromising the total assets of our country.

"Help us! Nothing justifies the uneasiness of our population. Never have we had so few unemployed. Antwerp has recovered full activity. Our crops are bountiful. . . . The budget is balanced, thanks to economy, and no new taxes will be needed on this score. In near future security can be restored. . . .

"To permit us to act urgently we ask you to give us greater freedom within the scope of our Constitution. It is only for dealing with the financial problem and food supplies that we ask these powers."

The Chamber, fired by M. Jaspar's eloquence, frightened by the catastrophic fall of the franc,* sunk its party differences and all but unanimously voted dictatorial powers upon a man indisputably above parties, "Le bon Roi Albert, pere des Beiges." The Senate unanimously confirmed the Chamber's action.

The King, a trained engineer, a general of tried experience,/- an all-round sportsman and aviator, ripe with the judgment of two score and ten, began at once to exercise his dictatorial power with vigor, discretion, wisdom.

He consulted the internationally famed Belgian financiers, M. Francqui and onetime Premier Theunis. By their advice decrees were drafted providing: 1) Transfer of the state-owned telegraphs, telephones and railways to a private monopoly, which will issue 3,000,000 preferred shares at 500 francs each, the state to retain possession of the common stock. 2) The sums thus raised, together with those realized from heavier taxes, drastic state economies and national lotteries, to be employed as a vast franc-stabilizing fund. 3) Exchange operations, especially the sale of Belgian francs to be supervised by the state and speculation discouraged. 4) White flour to be baked only with a large proportion of coarser grain products and the sale of nonessential foodstuffs and luxuries to be restricted.

*From 22 to the dollar (TIME, March 29) to 43 to the dollar last week. /-He personally commanded the so-called "northern army group," consisting of both Belgian and French soldiers, which drove the Germans from Thourout, Ostend and Bruges, toward the end of the World War. During the whole War he remained with the Belgian army in the field, was often under fire, flew several times over the German lines.