Baxter Springs news. [volume] (Baxter Springs, Kan.) 1882-1919, 1914-12-31
rae BABES of BEIGIUM
By WILL IRWIN.

mony OF such an American as VIII Ir-
win. This great writer describes here
some OF tho narrowing. scenes no Wit
messed In this neutral country upon
which the European war IL imposing such
a terrible burden. Mr.. Twins article
was written, free. for the American Com
mission In London. 70 be distributed IN
the United States. Only part OF the
story IL given here.l
Two hundred refugees from starv'
Ing Belgium arrived one morning In
Holland. They carried four dead,
newborn babies. This happened time
after time. The mothers were 30 re-
duced by prlvation that they had no
milk of their own. As for cows milk,
II was not to be had for any money.
Add another picture. brought out
by an American from Belgium. He
stood one morning by the back door
Of O German cook camp, watching q
group OF Belgian women grubbing
through the trash.heap piled up be-
hind the camp.
what are they doing?" he asked q
German sergeant with whom he had
struck up acquaintance.
"Scraping our condensed milk
cans" said the sergeant. ITS the
only way to get milk for their babies.
rye seen them run their fingers round
o can which looked as bright as new
coin, and hold them into the babies
mouths to suck. My company" he
added, has been getting along with
out milk In its coffee and giving It
to these women.
At the concentration yards they sat
In family groups. the children huddled
about their mothers and grandmoth-
ers like chickens around hens. No
child among them laughed or played;
they were too weary for that; but no
child cried. was trying to have
speech with these refugees, and find'
ing them too nerveless to give any
account OF their adventures when an
ambulance arrived.
A nurse and a physician descended.
A woman rose from a distant group
and Joined them. She carried In her
arms q bundle wrapped In rags. Tn
slant Of her back showed that the
bundle contained child.
The women In the nearest group fol-
lowed the pantomime with their tear
less. hopeless eyes.
what is it," I askd.
For a time none OF the women an
swered. Then one spoke In dead
tone.
Her baby is dead" she said. "She
had no milk in her"
In Brussels, one day, q woman col
lapses on q bench. In her arms Is
baby. A child staggers along, cling
Ing to her apron. The woman's face
Is blue and yellow; she Is on the verge
Of starvation. The baby, surely not
over FIVE months old, has a pale, lead
colored skin. It's mouth Is open as
though set that way.
Two women pass the unhappy group.
They hurriedly exchange some words,
turn back to the woman on the bench.
Then one stands guard while the 9TH
er hastens for some milk and bread
such as Is to be found in the Brussels
Of today. They force little milk be-
tween the teeth OF the mother. They
let the baby drink. Unweaned though
Il is, It drinks as though It had never
drunk otherwise.
To the face OF the mother comes o
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. II has not fed
since two days" the mother whispers.
The mother tries to rise from the
bench but she can not. The older
child drinks the milk that is left. It
looks curiously at the piece Of bread
as II It did not know what It was. The
mother forces 1t to eat. A crowd has
gathered, murmuring. This sight Is
not new. yet each time It draws a lit
tie crowd. Every one would like to
giye-but no one can. Who Is not
poor at this moment? Many OF them
have children at home who today
weigh less than the day they were
born.
Every woman knows that civilized
nursing mother must keep up her
strength" She must have a nourish-
ing food-in many cases special food.
Every woman knows that certain
proportion OF civilized mothers can
not feed their own babies even at that.
Nourishing food-special food! The
news which filters out Of that locked,
stricken country to the American
commission for relief In Belgium
makes a sarcasm and mockery OF
those phrases.
In many, II in not most Belgian
cities, the populace is down to one
large bakers bun a day, issued by
the municipal authorities. In some
places, the authorities have been able
to supplement that ration by one bowl
Of cabbage soup day. One bun and
one bowl Of cabbage soup a day-for
q nursing mother!
Yet that is all they have and all
they will have this winter at the best
America can do. The American COM
mission hopes at best to transmit ten
ounces OF food a day to each tnhabi'
tant Of Belgium-and to do that the
people OF the United States must
strain every resource Of charity. How
little that is for a civilized human be-
ing, and especially for nursing
mother, becomes plain when one
learns that the average inhabitant or
Greater New York consumes forty
two ounces OF food a day. The best
the mothers Of Belgium can hope Tor
Il a quarter ration this winter. -.
Let us view the situation In cold
blood. Belgium is shut on from the