i shall never think of belgium without seeing endless processions of silent men and black-shawled women, pitchers in hand, waiting, waiting for the day’s pint of soup. one and one-quarter million make a long procession. if you have imagined it in the sunshine, think of it in the rain!
one may shut himself up in his house and forget the war for a few hours, but he dare not venture outside. if he does he will quickly stumble against a part of this line, or on hundreds of little children guarding their precious cards as they wait to be passed in to one of the “enfants débiles” dining-rooms, or on a very long line of women in front of a [12]communal store where “identity cards” permit the purchase every week of limited rations of american bacon or rice and a few other foods at fixt prices (prices set by american efficiency below those of america itself); or on a group of black-shawled mothers waiting for the dinner that enables them to nurse the babies in their arms.
the destitute must have a “supplement” to their daily ration of carbohydrates and fat which will give them protein—says the c. r. b., and thus we have “soupes”;—but these dry statements of engineers now become dieticians convey to no one the human story of these dumb, waiting lines.
we can have little conception of what it means for just one city, the agglomeration of brussels, for instance, to keep 200,000 out of its 1,000,000 people on the “soupes,” not for a month or two, but for over two years! nor does this [13]include the soup made by the “little bees,” an organization which cares especially for children, for the thousands in their cantines; or the soup served to the 8,500 children in sixty communal schools of central brussels at four o’clock each afternoon, which is prepared in a special kitchen. these quantities are all over and above the regular soup served to 200,000—and do not think of soup as an american knows it, think more of a kind of stew; for it is thick, and, in the words of the c. r. b., “full of calories.”
to make it for central brussels the slaughter-house has been converted into a mighty kitchen, in charge of a famous pre-war ma?tre d’h?tel. ninety-five cooks and assistants from the best restaurants of the capital have been transferred from the making of patés and soufflés to the daily preparation of 25,000 quarts of soup! and they use the ingenuity born of long experience, to secure an appetiz[14]ing variety while strictly following the orders of directing physicians. they had been doing this over 700 days when i visited the kitchen, but there was still a fresh eagerness to produce something savory and different. and one must remember that the changes can come only from shifting the emphasis from our dried american peas to beans, from carrots to cabbages, from macaroni to rice. the quantity of meat remains about the same, 1,200 pounds a day, which, tho the committee kills its own cattle, costs almost fifty cents a pound. there must be, too, 10,000 pounds of potatoes. the great fear has been that this quantity might be cut, and unfortunately, in november, 1916, that fear was realized to the extent of a 2,000 pound drop—and then remedied by the c. r. b. with more beans, more rice, more peas!
personal inspection of this marvelous kitchen is the only thing that could give [15]an idea of its extraordinary cleanliness. the building offers great space, plenty of air and light and unlimited supply of water. the potato rooms, where each potato is put through two peeling processes, are in one quarter. near them are the green vegetable rooms with their stone troughs, where everything is washed four or five times. the problem of purchasing the vegetables is so great that a special committee has been formed at malines to buy for brussels on the spot. one of the saving things for belgium has been that she produces quantities of these delicious greens. in the smaller towns a committeeman usually goes each morning to market the day’s supply. for instance, the lawyer who occupies himself with the vegetables for the charleroi soup, makes his own selection at four o’clock each morning, and is extravagantly proud of the quality of his carrots and lettuces! the most important section, naturally, [16]is that which cares for the meat and unsmoked bacon or “lard” the c. r. b. brings in. the more fat in the soup, the happier the recipient! with the little meat that can still be had in the butcher shop, selling at over one dollar a pound, one can imagine what it means to find a few pieces in the pint of soup! then there is the great kitchen proper, with the one hundred and forty gas-heated caldrons, and the dozens of cooks hurrying from one to another. there seem to be running rivers of water everywhere, a perpetual washing of food and receptacles and premises.
the first shift of cooks arrives at two-thirty in the morning to start the gas under the one hundred and forty great kettles, for an early truck-load of cans must be off at 8 o’clock. that shift leaves at noon; the second works from 8 till 5, on an average wage of four francs a day and soupe!
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there are ten of the large trucks and 500 of the fifty-quart cans in constant use. as soon as the 8 o’clock lot come back, they are quickly cleaned, refilled, and hurried off on their second journey. mostly they are hurried off through rain, for there are many more rainy than sunny days in belgium.
one passes a long line of patient, wet, miserable-looking men and women with their empty pitchers, then meets with a thrill the red truck bringing the steaming cans. the bakers have probably already delivered the 25,000 loaves of bread, for a half loaf goes with each pint of soup.
by following one of these steaming trucks i discovered “soupe 18,” with its line of silent hundreds stretching along the wet street.
i was half an hour early, so there was time to talk with the local committee managers who were preparing the big hall for [18]the women who would arrive in a few minutes to fill the pitchers with soup, and the string bags with bread. these communal soupes are generally directed by men, tho women do the actual serving. the enthusiastic secretary, who had been a tailor before the war, said regretfully that he had been obliged to be absent three days in the two years.
at the left, near the entrance, i was shown the office with all the records, and with the shelves of precious pots of jam and tiny packages of coffee and rice which are given out two or three times a month—in an attempt to make a little break in the monotony of the continual soup. no one can picture the heartbreaking eagerness in the faces of these thousands as they line up for this special distribution—these meager spoonfuls of jam, or handfuls of chopped meat.
we reviewed the army of cans stationed toward the rear, and the great [19]bread-racks of either side. the committee of women arrived; we tasted the soup and found it good. i was asked to sit at the table with two men directors, where i might watch them stamp and approve the ration-cards as the hungry passed in.
one may hate war, but never as it should be hated until he has visited the communal soupes and the homes represented by the lines. the work must be so carefully systematized that there is only time for a word or two as they pass the table. but that word is enough to reveal the tragedy! there are sometimes the undeserving, but it is not often that any of the thousands who file by are not in pitiful straits. that morning the saddest were the very old—for them the men had always a kindly “how is it, mother? how goes it, father?”
the “merci, monsieur, merci beaucoup,” of one sweet-faced old woman was so evidently the expression of genuine [20]feeling, that i asked about her. she had three sons, who had supported her well—all three were in the trenches. another still older, said, “thank you very much,” in familiar english. she, too, had been caught in the net, and there was no work. a little spanish woman had lost her husband soon after the war began, and the director who investigated the case was convinced that he had died of hunger. an old french soldier on a crutch, but not too feeble to bow low as he said “merci,” was an unforgettable figure.
some of the very old and very weak are given supplementary tickets which entitle them to small portions of white bread, more adapted to their needs than the stern war bread of the c. r. b.; and every two days mothers are allowed additional bread for their children. one curly-haired little girl was following her mother and grandmother, and slipt out of the line to offer a tiny hand. then [21]came a tall, distinguished-looking man, about whom the directors knew little—except that he was absolutely without funds. they put kindly questions to the poor hunchback, who had just returned to the line from the hospital, and congratulated the pretty girl of fifteen, who had won all the term’s prizes in the communal school. there were those who had never succeeded; then there were those who two years before had been comfortable—railway employees, artists, men and women, young and old, in endless procession, a large proportion in carpet slippers, or other substitutes for leather shoes. many were weak and ill-looking; all wore the stamp of war. every day they must come for the pint of soup and the bread that meant life—200,000 in brussels alone; in belgium one and a half million! these are the lowest in the scale of misery—those who “must have a supplement of protein,” for [22]meat never passes their lips but in soup.
the questions were always swift, admitting no delay in the reply, and knowing the hearts of the questioners, i wondered a little at this. till in a flash i saw: if the directors wished to know more they would go to the homes represented—but the line must not be held back! every ten minutes’ halt means that those outside in the rain must stand ten minutes longer. on this particular day the committee put through a line representing 2,500 pints of soup and portions of bread in fifty minutes, an almost incredible efficiency, especially when you remember that every card is examined and stamped as well as every pitiful pitcher and string bag filled.
that day a woman who had not before served on the soupes offered her services to the seasoned workers. they were grateful, but smilingly advised her to go home, fill her bath tub with water, [23]and ladle it out—to repeat this the following day and the following, until finally she might return, ready to endure the work, and above all, not to retard the “line” five unnecessary minutes! two and a half years have not dulled the tenderness of these women toward the wretched ones they serve.
at home
belgium is small. until now i had been able to go and return in the same day. but on this particular evening i found myself too far south to get back. i was in a thickly forested, sparsely settled district, but i knew that farther on there was a great chateau belonging to the family of a., with numerous spare rooms.
tho i had been in belgium only a short time i had already learned how unmeasured is the friendship offered us, but i also knew that belgian etiquette and [24]convention were extremely rigorous, and i hesitated.
it was thoroughly dark, when, after crossing a final stretch of beechwood, i rang the bell and sent in my card, with a brief line.
after what seemed an endless time i saw the servant coming back through the great hall, followed by three women, who, i felt instinctively, had not come in welcome.
but there was no turning about possible now—some one was already speaking to me. her very first words showed she could not in the least have understood. and i swiftly realized this was not surprizing since i had been there so short a time, and there had not before been a woman delegate. i explained that my sole excuse for sending in my stranger’s card at that time of night was my membership in the c. r. b.—and i uncovered my pin.
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it was as if i had revealed a magic symbol—the door swung wide! they took my hands and drew me inside, overwhelming me with apologies, with entreaties to stop with them, to stay for a week, or longer. they would send for my husband—as director he must be sorely in need of a few days’ rest—we should both rest. their district in the forest had many relief centers, they would see that i got to them all. a room was all ready for me on the floor above—if i did not like it i should have another. i must have some hot tilleul at once!
in the drawing-room i was presented to the other thirteen or fourteen members of the family, and in pages i could not recount their beautiful efforts, individually and together, to make me forget i had had to wait for one moment on their threshold.
still later, two american men arrived. they were known, and expected at any [26]hour of the day or night their duties might bring them that way. one of them was ill, and not his own mother and sister could have been more solicitous in their care of him than were these kind women.
do americans wonder that it hurts us, when we return, to have people praise us for what we have given belgium? in our hearts we are remembering what belgium has given us.
