The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1914-12-20
THE BABES OF BELGIUM
BY WILL INWIN

their mothers and grandmothers 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 ref
ugees, and finding them too nerveless to
give any account of their adventures
when an ambulance arrived.
A nurse and physician descended. A
woman rose from distant group and
Joined them. She carried in her arms
a bundle wrapped in rags. The slant of
her back showed that the bundle con-
tanned a chid-there is an attitude OF
motherhood which none can mistake.
The women in the nearest group fol-
lowed the pantomime with their fearless.
hopeless eyes.
What is it?'' l asked.
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."
All that happened on the fringe of BEL
GUM, to the refugees who had made their
way out and were nearing safety, and
enough comfort to keep soul and body to-
gether.
l could multiply instances from the OBJ
servation of others. There was, for ex-
ample, the group of 200 refugees who ar
rived in Holland early in November. They
carried with them four dead. newborn
babies.
1t was the same story which one hears
everywhere. The mothers were so reduced
by privation that they had no milk of
their own. As for cows milk, 1t 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 a German
cook camp, watching group of Belgian
women grubbing through the trash heap
piled UP behind the camp. All these
women carried babies.
What are they doing?' he asked
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 for their babies. I've seen
them run their fingers round a can which
looked as bright as a new coin, and hold
them into the babies mouths to suck.
My company he added, has been get
ting along without milk in its coffee and
giving it to these women. We've received
no orders to the contrary, and we're most
ly family men. But were an exception;
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 boulevard Bis
@h..fc A pnll or. h.a,,p 4.
set along the sidewalk after the fashion
or the greater Paris. In her arms is
a baby. "A child staggers along. clinging
to her apron. The womans face is blue
and yellow; she is the verge of COL
lapse. The baby, surely not over 6
monhs old, has a pale, lead-colored skin.
Its mouth is open as though set that
way. It's eyes arc closed
Two women OF Brussels pass this
happy group. They hurriedly exchange
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 In the Brussels
OF To-Day. They force little milk be-
tween the teeth of the mother They let
the baby drink. Unweaned though it is.
1t drinks as though it had never drunk
otherwise.
To the face of the mother comes a few
patches of color She slowly RECEIVERS
until she is able to eat a bit of bread
The baby opens its mouth, drinks more
greedily. VT has not fed since two days.p
the mother whispers.
The. mother tries to rise from the
bench but she cannot. The elder child
drinks the milk that is left 1t 4ooks
cur.ousiy at the piece of bread as il it did
not know what ii was. The mother forces
1t to eat. A crowd has gathered. muir
muIing This sight is not new, yet each
time it dravs little crowd. Every one
would like 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 Gay they were born.