The Brookings register. [volume] (Brookings, Brookings County, S.D.) 1903-1971, 1915-01-14
They carried with them
By WILL IRWIN

hears everywhere. The mothers we're
so reduced by p~rivation 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
n morning by the back door Of a
German cook camp, watching a group
OF Belgian women %grubbing through
the trash.heap piled up behind the
camp. All these m carried babies.
What are they doing?" he asked a
German sergeant with whom he had
struck up acquaintance.
"Scraping u 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 lookeu' as bright as a new coin,
and hold them into the babies mouths
TO suck, My company" he added, has
been getting along without milk In its
coffee and giving 1t to these women
We've received no orders to the con.
trary-and we're mostly family men
But we're an exception; and it doesn't
so 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
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, le~ad-coiored skin. It's
mouth is open as though set that way,
It's eyes are closed
Two women OF Brussels pass this
unhappy group. They ~hurriedly ex.
change some words, urn 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 1t is, it drinks as
though It had never drunk otherwise.
To the face of the mother comes a
lC" pdtIICb Vi COIOl- olc Slo"Ig it"
covers until she is able 70 eat a bit Of
bread The baby opens it's mouth
drinks more greedily. ut has not fed
since two days" the mother whispers
The mother tries TO rise from the
bench but she cannot. The elder child
drinks the milk that is left. Ii looks
curiously at the piece OF bread as If II
did not know what 1t was. The moth
er forces it to eat A crowd has gath.
cred. murmuring. This sight is not
new, yet each time 1t draws d 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 al 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
world-ringed with steel. Her own
food supply was used up long ago,
either by the people or by their O IN
querors. The cattle were first OF all
to go; even in August | saw the Ger
mans killing mich cows for rations
A COW or a small dairy herd Is left
here or there; but they are the excep-
tons.
Again, the sucking baby must have
mothers milk or a substitute. There
is, OF course, no substitute to be had
In Belgium and equally there is little
mothers milk.
Every woman knows that a civilized
nursing mother must keep up her
strength" She must have nourishing
food-in many cases special food. Ev-
cry woman knows that a certain pro
portion Of civilized mothers cannot
feed their own babies eve at that.
Nourishing food-special food! The
news which filters out OF that locked,
stricken country to the American Com
mission for Relief in Belgium makes
a sarcasm and a 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 sup
plement that ration by one bowl OF
cabbage soup a day. One bun and one
bowl 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 privation.
How many of the newly-arrived forty
thousand have already died
sarily-undecorated, unsung victims Of
this war-no one VIII 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 B~elgians.
The best we can do Is to give them
quarter rations this winter - Just
enough to keep soul and body togeth-
er. We cannot do even that unless ev
cry American helps. A barrel of -four
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
t., keep her child alive. Think of that
when you sit down to your Christmas
dinner.
Many organizations are soliciting
food and funds. II there is one in
your community help Il. II there IL