The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, 1914-12-25


Cor a time none of the women an
swered. Then one spoke in dead
tone
Her baby is dead" she said. Sac
lad no milk in her.
All that happened on the fringe Oh
Belgium, to the refugees who haa
made their way out and were nearing
safety, and enough comfort to keep
soul and body together
l could multiply instances from the
observation of others. There was, for
example, tae group of two hundred
refugees who arrived in Holland early
in November. They carried with them
our 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, it was not to be had for any
money
Add another picture, brought out by
an Amer can from Belgium. He stood
one morning by the back door OF
German cook camp, watching group
of Belgian women gru5bing through
the trasn-heap piled up behind the
camp. All these women carried ba-
bies.
What are they doing?' ne 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 t2elr babies.
I've seen them run their fingers round
can which looked as bright as
new coin, and hold them into the ba-
bies mouths to suck. NJ company,
he added, "has been getting along
without milk in its coffee and giving
it to these women. We've received no
orders to tie contrary-and were
mostly family men But we're an eX-
cept;on; end it doesn't go very far"
Here is another recent picture from
stricken Brussels, that gay, dainty,
lively city in old t;mes-t:e city whose
smiling people called it petit Paris.
The scene is the once busy, pleasant
boulevard Bischofsheim. A woman
collapses on a bench set along the
sidewalk after the ashton of the
Greater Paris. In Ger arms is
taby. A c.lild staggers along, cling
ing to her apron The woman's face
is blue and yellow; sic is on the Ferge
of collapse. The baby, surely not over
five months cd, has a pale, lead
colored skin. Its mouth is open as
though set that way. Its eyes are
closed.
Two women of Brussels pass this
unhappy group. They hurrledly e1-
change some words, turn back to the
woman On tt bench. Then one stands
guard While the other hastens for
scme milk and bread-such as IS TO b.
found in the Brussels of today. They
force little milk between the teeba
of the mother They let the baby
drink. 1t drinks as ,ough 1t had nev-
er drunk otherwise
To the face of the mother comes a
few patches o color Sic slowly re-
covers until she is able to eat a bit
O: bread. The baby opens its mouth,
drinks more greedily. at has not
fed since two days" the mother whis
pers.
ITi,e mother tries to rise from the
bench but she cannot Tie elder child
drinks the milk that is let. 1t looks
curiously at the piece of bread as If
it did not know what it was. The
mother forces it to eat A crowd has
gathered, 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
poo. at this moment? Many of them
have children at home who today
weigh less than the day they were
born.
France and England and Germany
and Austria are issuing their lists OF
the dead, WHICH are mounting up day
by day to ghastly million. But these
take account only of the strong young
men who nave died in the fighting.
They do not take account OF mere non
combatants. They do not list the wo-
men, who ;oolisI1ly or ignorantly stick
ing to their homes, have died under
the shell-fire OF enemies or friends.
They do not list the weak and helpless
who have dropped out from the pa