Word: belgae
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More than this, the Premier would not say, but it was enough to frighten bear raiders who might have attacked the franc this week, after cleaning up on the belga (TIME, April 8). In Paris rumor had it that Premier Flandin will put gold "Louis" into the public's itching palm only when paying interest on French Government bonds. He might, Paris guessed, make the interest optional, say 3% paid in gold or 4½% in paper, whichever the bondholder elected...
...late King Albert was persuaded by Finance Minister Francqui that Belgium's currency, then sunk to about one-ninth of its pre-War value, should be officially "revalued" (i. e. devalued) and anchored for 25 years on gold. At the same time a new unit of currency, the belga, worth five Belgian francs, was adopted for dealings in foreign exchange, but in Belgium francs are still the currency...
...sacrifice" this step was taken (TIME, Nov. 8, 1926). Last week, up to the very moment of Premier van Zeeland's announcement, the 25-year pledge in which King Albert participated was cited reassuringly as a reason why Belgians need not fear devaluation under King Leopold. When the belga finally slid off gold, Flemish peasants, thriftiest in the world, demonstrated fiercely in their villages against "Our French King...
...parties, the Catholics, the Socialists and the Liberals, all contributed Ministers to the Cabinet of "National Union" formed by Professor van Zeeland at the invitation of His Majesty. The politicians' theory seemed to be that, since all three parties had pledged themselves to the voters to maintain the belga at its 1926 value in relation to gold, they all might as well cooperate in devaluing it further. Never was the clear mandate of an entire electorate more flatly disregarded. Soon the Chamber gave the van Zeeland Cabinet a vote of confidence 107-to-54, although 92% of the Deputies...
...Apparently he had thought Belgian shopkeepers knew as little about international exchange as did the majority of U. S. shopkeepers who disappointed President Roosevelt by not kiting prices as high as he thought they would. Belgian shopkeepers, keen exchange watchers, raised prices this week almost as fast as the belga fell. This made Premier van Zeeland so angry that he lashed out: "The Belgian franc ought to buy just as much merchandise as it did a year ago. Stop thinking of the monetary question, my countrymen! We are here to defend the franc and your savings. Keep calm...