The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 18??-19??, 1915-01-05
BY MAY SINCLAIR

After the siege the Stl6dI ftt4fkt-i-
ed and flowed from another U~irccUUn; /
that was all. All the streams seemed
to flow into Client. Even befb"a The
siege of Antwerp l saw six Thousand
refugees sleeping on straw IN the Ia
lais des Fetes. packed SO tight on the
floor Of the immense hail that therA
was 40 standing room between any
two of them. I can only say OF thai
sight that it is worse to remember
than 1t was to see. G0l could not
believe what you saw; Tou were STUN
ned as If you yourself had been crush
ed and numhed in the same c3tasrro-
phe. Only now and then \ face up
turned, surging out Of that i~ucredible
weller Of faces and forTnS, snlote YOU
with pity, and you felt as II YOU had
received a decorating ould N sleep.
The Feeding of the Multitudcs.
From six till nine in the morning
this population streanled into the
great inner hall to be fed. They We're
marshalled first into the seats of he
vast orchestra and AUDITORIUM. where
they sat like the spectators Of some
mOnstrous festival and waited for
their turn at the tables.
helped to serve these meals for
two nights, until, in fact, Nc were
forbidden to go into the Pa!ais DIES
Fetes lest we should bring back fever
into the military hospital where our
ambulance was quartered. The first
night we fed 10, 200. The ration was
two slices of white bread and a bowl
Of black coffee. Meat for soup had
been given for the midday meal at
first, but by this time the army had
Communicated all the meat.
This was the state Of things in
Client before the German occupation.
Heaven knows what it is now. And
the state Of Client must be nothing
to the state Of Brussels, of Louvain,
of Malines, of the small towns aud
villages all over Belgium.
The figures as revealed by the Con-
mission for Relief are appalling. IT
takes over 1888 tons OF foodstuflS,
at q cost Of $50, 600, TO feed cor one
day the 100000 Of people who are
straving in Belgium. This allowing
only 10 ounces Of FOOD a day per head
Thirty-One thousand of this multitude
are babies in Brussels alone. who
must have milk. The supply Of ce-
reals alone for a month is estimated
at $4,000 tons, and q cost Of from
four to five million dollars.
In the beginning Of November 100,
900 heals d day we're distributed in
Brussels alone. BY the end of in:
month they increased to 100000. Mr.
Hoover, the Chairman of the Commits
sion, on his return from Brussels il
the first week of December, stated
that there were only $1,000 sacks OF
5 flour in the city when he left it. FIT
) teen thousands sounds a very large
l quantity of sacks Of flour, but it i:
/ only provision for five days; and thu
report adds h a Liege, Louvain
Charleroi, Namur, Luxembourg ant
other cities are only ~proyisoned 70
two or three days.
t And these are the larger towns
. where the relief work is necessaril,
: concentrated and organized at it
very best. From the ountry districts
from the villages and small towns tn
appeals for help are he~artrending. !
e is famine there, with the frightfu
S menace of all thai follows from fam
inc in a land held by the enemy.
T 1t is impossible to exagSerate tn
e Importance OF what America has don
q and is doing. The provinces of Linn
y burg and Luxembourg made appeal
TO the German authorities for food
g Antwerp, Malines, Lierre. Saint Mich
n olas and six other towns made aI
q peals and were refused. But Whe
America stepped in the German az
q thorities unbent SO far as to give sat
l. conducts and every facility for tn
d transport and distribution Of supple
{ And, so far, these supplies nave bee
IT held sacred to the starving enemy.
America Needs No Appeal.
h And now, in the middle Of Decen
Der, there are thirty-eight good shil
lie sailing or about to sail with a hui
dred and tWenty-eight thousand tor
,e of food for Belgium. The cost of TT
food is over eight million dollars, tt
, cost of collection and transport Ov.
ten million.
+ Five million dollars a month is ii
., sum appealed for to ave Belgiu.
~ from famine. Engl.-n people ha,
70 given what they could. America h;
20 given far more. Out of her gre
80 heart she is paying England's debt
Belgium.
70 1t is not for an Englishwoman
ar make an appeal to the American pc
III pie. America needs no appeal. tt
f. task that America has chosen is
~ task after her own heart. She nee
only facts and figures. Their imme
- sity is the challenge to her and Il
-. lire