Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-12-19
in November. They carried with them
four dead newborn babies.

IL Was Iut "Sdllc oIOAy "AsS OAS
hears everywhere. The mothers were
so reduced by %privation that they had
no milk of their own. AS for COWS
milk, it was not to be had for any
money.
Add another picture, brought out ny
an American from Belgium. He stood
one morning by the back door or a
German cook camp, watching a group
of Belgian women %grubbing through
the t%rash-heap piled up behind tue
camp. All these women carried babies.
What are they doing" he asked a
German sergeant with whom he had
struck up acquaintance.
,"ScrapingS our condensed MILK cans,
said the sergeant. Its the only way
to get milk for their babies, I've seen
them run their fingers round a can
which looked as bright as a new CON-
and hold them into the babies mouths
to suck. My company he added, mas
beer getting along without milk III us
coffee and giving 1t to these women.
We've received no orders 10 the con-
trary-and we're mostly family men.
But we're an exception; and 1t doesn't
go very far"
Here is another recent picture from
stricken Brussels, that gay, dainty,
| lively city in old times-the city whose
| smiling people called 1t petit Paris.
The scene is the once busy, pleasant
boulevard BischOfsheim. A woman
collapses on a bench set along the
I sidewalk after the fashion of the
Greater Paris. In her arms is a<baby,
A child staggers along, clinging to her
apron. The woman's face is blue and
yellow; she is on the verge of collapse.
The baby, surely not over five months
old, has a pale, lead-colored skin. Its
mouth is open as though set>that way.
Its eyes are closed. s
Two women of Brussels pass this
unhappy group. They hurriedly ex.
change ONE words, turn back to the
woman on the bench. Then one stands
guard while the other hastens for
some milk and bread-such as is to be
found in the Brussels Of today. They
force a little milk between the. teeth
Of the mother. They let the baby drink.
Unweaned though it is, it drinks az
though it had never drunk otherwise. q
To the face OF the mother comes
few patches OF color. She slowly re-
covers until she IS able to eat a bit Of
bread. The baby opens its mouth
drinks more greedily. 1T has not fed
since two days" the mother whispers.
The mother tries TO rise from the
bench but she cannot. The elder chlld
drinks the milk that is left. 1t looks
curiously at the piece OF bread as II II
did not know wfat5tt a The moth
er forces it to- eat. "A crowd has gath
cred. murmuring. This sight. is not
new yet each time. it draws a little
crowd. Every one would like, to give
but no one can. Who is not poor at
this moment? Many OF them have chill
dren at home who today weigh less
than the day they were born.
Let us view the situation IN colo
blood. Belgium is shut on from tne
world-ringed with steel. Her "
food supply vas used up long ago,
either by the people or by their con.
uuerors. The cattle were first OF all
to go; even in August saw the Ger
mans killing mich COWS for rat'ons:
A COW or a small dairy herd Is lefs
here or there; but they are the excep
tons.
Again, the sucking baby must have
mothers milk or a substitute. There
ia. of course, no substitute to he had
IN Belgium and equally there is little
mothers milk.
Every woman knows that a civilized
nursing mother must keep up mel
strength" She must have nour1shins
food-in many cases special W.
ery. woman knows that a certain pro.
norton of civilized mothers canno'
feed their own babies even at that.
No%urishing fo~od-special food The
news which filters out OF that locked,
stricken country to the American Com
mission for Relief in Belgium makes
q sarcasm and a mockery Of those
phrases.
In many, if in not most Belgian
cities, the populace is down to n
large bakers bun a day. ISSUED by the
municipal authorities. In some places.
the authorities have been able to sup
nlement that ration by one bowl OF
cabbage sour a day. One bun and one
howl of cabbage soup a day-for a
nursing mother!
Even allowing for the reduction OF
the birth rate due to the war, there
must have been forty thousand births
in Belgium since the Germans came.
There will be forty thousand more In
this winter Of hardship and privatton.
HOW many Of the newly-arrived forty
Thousand have already died unneces.
sarily-undecorated, unsung victims OF
this war-no one will ever know.
How many of the coming forty thou.
Sand will die this winter depends up.
on us in America-upon how much
food we send to the nursing mothers,
how much milk to the babies.
No Christmas in our time has
brought such a call for the Christmas
spirit as this. Belgium is starving.
America is trying to feed the Belgians.
The best we can do is to give them
quarter rations this winter = just
enough to keep soul and body togeth.
err. We cannot do even that unless ev-
ery American helps. Abarrel of flour
will pull two Belgian adults through
this winter. A case of condensed
milk will save the lives of three Bel
gian children. A few tins of meat will
give a nursing mother the strength
to keep her child alive. Think of that
when you sit down to your Christmas
dinner.
Many organizations are soliciting
food and funds. If there is one in
YOUR community help it. If there is