The daily worker. [volume] (Chicago, Ill.) 1924-1958, 1933-05-31
Bad Food Cause of
Epidemic in Long
IslandLab0r Camp
Must Stand Seven Hours Naked in Cold to Go
Through Military Routine, Writes Youth

was fine-to paste things together
the fried eggs were rotten, and the
coffee was without flavor or sugar.
Exhausting hours of waiting on. the
mess line in wind and rain gave zest
to the tasty meal. Anyone attempt
ing to buck the line a second time
was forced to abdicate quickly and
quietly or woe to mis- prestige as a
member in good standing Of the CCC.
Epidemic of Dysentary
Then one morning the inevitable
occurred. A thousand men aWoke to
misery and pain, rayaged by dysen-
tary and diarrhea. All day long, they
writhed and groaned in the throes Of
hellish horrors and burning bowels.
Both Iatrines were crowded and oc-
cupied by the pain Wracked bodies Of
miserable boys cmsing bitterly the
supper Of the night before.
The medical officers asserted the
cause as unWashed beans, but I have
serious doubts on the matter The
spasms I experienced for the first
time in my life were such disrupt
ing, painful and continual sensations.
that I am sure they could only have
been caused by the introduction Of a
powerful foreign agent or drug into
the stomach.
My own interrogations put to the
kitchen police brought TO light that
the I've which is used to wash the
pots had not been entirely rinsed from
those recepta~S2s. This is entirely
plausible since food distribution was
not sanitary and not under medical
supervision.
Absolutely No Milk.
We've never received a drop of milk
since we've been here Instead, they
feed us coffee Breakfast, dinner
and supper, day after day, week after
week, until now at the expiration OF
a month, we can boast of our prowess
coffee tasters; notwithstanding the
in the field Of beverages as chronic
fact that milk is of prime importance
in the daily diet, especially between
the ages of Is and %. Can't the au-
thorities realize the harm they're do
ing to the bodies of these young
sters? Don't they realize that
caffeine is an active diaretic? That
when taken freely it causes general
nervousness, insomnia, irritability,
functional irregularity Of the heart,
and arrangement of all the digestive
functions2 Can they be made to
explain why other C.C.C. camps have
pint bottle of milk on the daily
menu, besides other delicacies in the
form Of cake, pie, chicken. ice cream,
! ETC., when every C.C.C. man is sup
posed to receive a like amount Of
money for rations per day? Can Cap
tain Post explain what he meant
when he chased the milkman out OF
camp for selling the boys milk ex-
claiming, I'VE could give them mih
if we wanted to?
Repressed Murmurings
There are repressed murmurings
in the air Silent. stern and taci.
turn, the boys do their work. Yet
every now and then, one hears
curse flung at the rotten food, the
green, sinking storage eggs, the
loathsome pumpkin pie, and rubber
lied, rancid meat that we get three
time day.
We've given the other newspapers
a chance. We've pleaded with them
TO help us, yet they've turned a deaf
ear to our pleas. We turn to the
Daily Worker for support If we do
not get better meals here. how can
we be optimistic regarding the Bill
Of Fare in the forests? Help us, to
help ourselves is.
EDITORS NOTE: These workers
will find program Of activity in
and around the forced labor camps
in our editorial on page /.