The Bemidji daily pioneer., 1914-12-19

in November. They carried with them
four dead. newborn babies.

II lic Saint ~u1CA OlS
| 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. $3.50 ...a ,-a~t 5ese. e.s-e. q
Add another picture, brought out by
| an American from Belgium. He stood
One, morning by the back door OF a
German cook camp, watching group
| OF Belgian women grubbing through
the rrash-heap piled up behind the
camp. All these women carried babies.
w hat are they doing?7 he asked a
German sergeant with whom he had
struck up acquaintance. -..-
Scraping our condensed milk cans,
said the sergeant It's the only way
TO get milk Tor their babies. Eve seen
them run their fingers round can
which looked as bright as new COLI,
and hold them into the babies mouths
TO suck. My company" he added, has
been getting along without milk III It's
coffee and giving 1t TO these women
We've received no orders to the con
rrary-and we're mostly family men
But we're an excepti0ni and it 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 it petit Paris,
The scene Is the once busy, pleasant
bouievaru Bischofsheim. A woman
cotlapses on bench set along the
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 d pale, lea ,colored skin. Its
mouth Is open as though set that way.
Irs eyes are closed
TWO women or Brussels pass this
unhappy group. They hurriedly ex-
change some 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 LII the Brussels OF today. They
force Z little milk between the teeth
of the mother They let the baby drink
Unweaned though IT is. it drinks as
though 1t had never drunk otherwise.
To the face OF the mother comes a
few patches OF color She slowly re-
covers until she is able to eat bit OF
bread The baby opens its mouth.
drinks more greedily 1T has not fed
since two DAYS" the mother whispers.
The mother tries 10 rise from the
bench but she cannot. The elder child
drinks the milk that is left. 1t looks
curicusly at the piece OF bread as it II
did not know what 1t was The moth
er forces it TO eat crowd has gath
cred. murmur1ng. 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
dren at home who today weigh less
than the day they were born.
Let us view the situation in cold
blood Belgium is shut of from the
worsd-ringed with steel Her own
food supply was used up long ago,
either by the peoDle or by their con-
Guercrs The cattle were first OF all
to go; even in August ! saw the Ger.
mans killing milch cows for rations
A COW or a small dairy herd is left
horA or there: but they are the excep
tions
Again. the sucking baby must have
mothers milk or a substitute There
IS or course. no substitute TO be had
in releium and equally there is little
mothers milk
Every woman knows that civilized
nursing mother must keen up her
strength" She must have nourishing
food in manv cases special food Ev-
erv woman knows that a certain pro
porticn nf civilized mothers cannot
feed thei- own be bies even at that
Nouriehing food special food The
news which filters out OF that locked
stricken country to the American Com
mission f1r Relief in Belgium makes
. sarcasm and a mockery OF those
phrases.
N manv if in not most Belgian
cities tho nonulace is down to one
large bakers bun day. issued by the
nlunIciUal authorities In some places
tho an+hcrities have been able to sup
nlement that ration hv one bowl Of
cabbage s0un a day. One bun and one
bowl of c"hha~e soup a dav-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 fortv thousand more in
this winter Of hardship and privation
How manv of the new1v-arrived FORTY
| thousand have already died unneces-
sarily-unde ecorated T1surg victims OF
| this war-no one Will ever know q
How nlaRv of the coming forty thou.
sand viii die this winter 6enenGs M.
OF US in Ameriea-nncn how much
| food we send TO tho nursing mothers
/ how much milk to the babies
| No Christmas IN or rime has
| brought such a call fer the Christmas
| spirit as this Belsiur is starving
| America is trying to feed the Relgians
| The hest we can do is to give them
| quarter ratiens this winter - just
| enough to keep soul and BODY togeth
| er We cannot do even that unless ev
| cry American helps ! barrel OF -four
| will pull two Belgian adults through
| this winter A case of cenden sed
milk will save the lives OF three Bel
| gian children. A few tins of meat viii
| give nursing mother the strengtE
to Keep her child alive. Think of that
when you sit down to your Christina
| dinner. .-. ii.