the second time, i visited madame’s cantine with the wife of the american minister, and i found what it meant to be the wife of the united states minister in belgium! from the corner above to the entrance of the court the street was lined with people. at the gateway we were met by a committee headed by the wife of the bourgmestre of brussels. within the court were the hundreds of children—with many more mothers this time—all waiting expectantly, all specially scrubbed, tho no amount of scrubbing could conceal their sad lack of shoes. there were smiles [50]and greetings and little hands stretched out all along the line as we passed.
inside there was no more than the usual cleanliness—for the cantines are scrupulously kept. madame and her assistants had tiny american flags pinned to their white uniforms. in the corridors the american and belgian flags hung together. a special permission had been obtained to take a photograph of their guest at the window.
the tables were laid, the lines began moving. as the little girls filed in, one of them came forward, and with a pretty courtesy offered mrs. whitlock a large bouquet of red roses. the boys followed, and their representative, struggling with shyness, recited a poem as he gave his flowers. all the children were very much imprest with this simple ceremony, and under the two flags, as the quavering little voice gave thanks to “those who were bringing them their daily bread,” [51]there were no grown-ups without tears in their eyes.
american flags of one kind or another hang in all the cantines, along with pictures of president wilson, mottos expressing thanks to america, c. r. b. flour-sacks elaborately embroidered—on all sides are attempts to express gratitude and affection.
that morning, as the legation car turned a corner, a little old flemish lady in a white frilled cap stept forward and clapped her hands as the american flag floated by. men lift their hats to it, children salute it. in the shop windows one often sees it draping the pictures of the king and queen!
this is not a tribute to the american flag alone, but also to the personality of the man who has so splendidly represented this flag and to the men who carried the american soul and its works into belgium through the c. r. b. belgium will [52]never forget its immediate debt to brand whitlock and to these hundreds of americans whose personal service to this country in its darkest hour is already a matter of history. just as mrs. whitlock was leaving, madame fortunately discovered a shabby little girl who still squeezed a bedraggled bunch of white roses—and made her happy by bringing her forward to present it.
these children, as i have said, are all in need of special nourishment, they are those who have fallen by the wayside in the march, brought down by the stern repression of the food supply. one of the most striking effects of the war has been the rapid increase in tuberculosis. many of the thousands in the cantines are the victims of “glands” or some other dread form of this disease.
however, in some respects the children of the very poor are better off than they have ever been. for the first time they [53]are receiving nourishing food at regular hours. and this ration, along with the training in hygiene and medical attention, is having its good effect.
one hundred and twenty-five physicians are contributing their services to the “little bees” in brussels alone, where, during the first six months of 1916, infant mortality had decreased 19 per cent. it would be difficult to estimate the time given by physicians throughout the whole country, but probably half of the 4,700 are contributing practically all their time, and almost all are doing something. it is a common sight in the late afternoon to see a physician who has had a full, hard day, rushing to a cantine to examine hundreds of children. outside the zone of military preparation, 200,000 sub-normal children of from three to seventeen years, and over 53,000 babies under three months, are on their “relief” lists, besides a large number of adults.
[54]
outside brussels, the cantines are conducted in much the same way as those of the “little bees.” committees of women everywhere are devoting themselves to the children.
