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The Ultimate Hope. Unless Western Europe does achieve something like that, it is a real question how long Belgium can remain prosperous. One break in Belgium's defenses came last year, when Britain, desperately short of dollars, suspended convertibility of sterling. That meant that Belgium could no longer exchange the pounds she earned all over the world for dollars which she needed to buy goods from the U.S. (Last year, Belgium imported $515 million worth of goods from the U.S., while the U.S. imported only $62 million worth from Belgium.) Last week, the finance ministers of the Benelux nations, Britain and France met in Brussels to discuss the situation. There was nothing Belgium, or any one nation, could do about the chronic dollar shortage. That could be remedied only if all European nations produced more and the U.S. bought more of what they produced.
Another danger sign in Belgium is high prices. So far, mostly luxury goods and the higher-income groups are affected. Along Brussels' aristocratic Avenue Louise, the fanciest shops are almost empty, their price tags flabbergasting. Food and simpler clothing are still within reach of the average worker, since wages have kept close to prices. But there is little left, after taxes, for private savings.
The price situation has even more serious aspects. If Belgium wants to maintain its prosperity, it can not lower wages. But with present high wages, Belgium has to ask high prices for its export goods, which are beginning to be undersold by the competition.
Again the solution lies not with Belgium alone. Only in a stable, coordinated Western European economy can Belgium continue to produce, export and prosper. Belgium has done as much as a small country can do through hard work, courage and common sense. Now it comes down to this: Will other countries do as much?
Belgium has no illusions of grandeur. A typical Belgian last week was Paul Wiart, a cigar-store clerk in Brussels' Boulevard Adolphe-Max. Said he: "We will go forward with the others. We like to live well, but we know we cannot live alone." By & large, Belgians are looking to the future with confidence.
Paul-Henri Spaak might also look with confidence. His admirers like to say that Belgium is too small a country for such a big man. But Western Union might not be. After all, wasn't Western Union a matter of good sense?