_An American Woman in Germany_
_Told by Madeline Zabriskie Doty_
Miss Doty made two trips of exploration to Europe during the War.
She is one of the few "foreigners" who were permitted to visit
prison camps and industrial factories in Germany. It has remained
for this American woman to bring out of Germany some of the most
interesting sidelights. It is a graphic account of the tragedy
which reveals the conditions within the German Empire. Miss Doty
talked with the German women in the factories, the mothers with
their babies, finding everywhere the tragedy of suffering almost
beyond human endurance. The following reminiscences are from
her book: "Short Rations," published by the _Century Company_:
Copyright 1917.
[15] I--STORY OF WOMAN WHO WANTED TO SELL HER CHILD
I awoke to find myself in Germany.... Hamburg is a city of sleepers.
Its big hotels, its many stores, its impressive buildings stretch
out endlessly, but within all is still. All that modern industry
and the ingenuity of man can achieve has here been flung upon the
land, and then the force that created it has vanished, leaving these
great monuments to rot, to rust, and to crumble. The tragedy of
unused treasures is as horrible as rows of dead. A city seems visibly
dying....
A crowd of children is gathering just below. School is out, and they
are surrounding an object of interest. One or two women join them.
There is no passing populace to swell the throng. We approach and see
in the centre of the crowd of children a woman crouched upon a bench.
She is dirty, ragged, and dark in colouring.... On the ground at her
feet is a baby just big enough to walk. It also is dirty, and possesses
only one ragged garment. The mother sits listless, gazing at her
child. It is evident she is soon to be a mother again. There is great
chattering among the children. I turn to my companion for explanation.
"The woman wants to sell her child. She says she hasn't anything to
eat. She isn't a German mother. Of course, no German mother would do
such a thing. You can see she isn't good. She is going to have another
baby."
A school-child gives the toddling baby some cherries. She eats them
greedily. My hand goes to my pocketbook, but my companion pulls me
away. If I bought the baby, what could I do with her on a trip through
Germany?...