Summary of the Position of the Commission in July 1915---Definition of Administrative Relations for C.R.B. Mobilization of public opinion in support of C.R.B.'s proposal --- Talks in Berlin with Zimmermann and Helfferich --- German refusal to break off.
HARVESTS
The attitude of the Paris Cabinet respecting the production of the French regions --- The Allies demand the reservation of all the products of the earth --- Negotiations in Berlin --- The Von Kessler-Kellogg agreement regarding the 1916 harvest daily ration of 200 grams of native flour --- Allied acceptance of the commission's agreement with the General Staff. Participation---Objections to alternative plans---Proposed German guarantees---Statutes and statutes of the Comité Industriel---Hostility of the French General Staff to the whole idea of Belgian industrial revival---German approval withheld.
POLAND
Conditions --- Eastern Poland, Serbia, Albania and Montenegro --- German Counterproposal and UK Rejection --- The United States' appeal to the. Poverty and Distress in Poland --- Funds from Polish and Jewish Relief Societies --- Effect of the Allied Blockade on the Transfer of Funds --- Plans to Transfer Funds Through the Commission --- British and German Opposition to the plan and its abandonment.
AMERICA IN THE WAR
Hoover's discussions with the German General Staff---petitions from Polish associations of Warsaw and the United States---Hoover calls for Allied sanctions and support of Polish relief. The Declaration of War and the Withdrawal of American Delegates --- Position of British and French Governments --- Negotiations with Spanish, Dutch and Swiss --- Appointment of the Comité Hispano-Néerlandais --- Relations with C.R.B.---.
LIQUIDATION OF THE C.R.B
Washington --- The Grain Corporation and the C.R.B. --- The defeat of proposals to limit the relief program --- Utilization of Swedish shipping --- Relief purchases in America by the Food Administration Grain Corporation.
INTERGOVERNMENTAL SETTLEMENT OF RELIEF SUBSIDIES
Committee for Relief in Belgium (English)---Establishment of Committees in Italy and Argentina and Elsewhere---Compendium of National Collections. Total Donations---Origin by Country---Contributions through the London Office of the C.R.B. --- Contributions through the National Committee for Aid to.
Chronological List of Documents
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 1 LETTER, 25 FEBRUARY 1916, AMBASSADOR
THE COMMISSION
Preliminaries of Organization. September 1914
Emile Francqui, was a preliminary step in the organization of the Comité Central under the presidency of M. Solvay and under the patronage of the ministers of the United States and Spain, Mr.
The Diplomatic Background. September-October 1914
The German military authorities have given written assurances that any food supplies purchased by the committee will not be required for the troops, but will be reserved for the food of the civilian population. 759, the Foreign Office has the honor to inform you that the furnishing of food for the poor of Belgium has the approval of the German Government.
Progress in Relief Organization. October-November 1914
The President was requested to draft a letter to the American Ambassador regarding the organization of the Commission. HOOVER TO THE AMERICAN PRESS, describing the organization of the C.R.B., its co-operation with the Belgian Committee, and the immediate need for relief.
THE ORGANIZATION OF RELIEF ADMINISTRATION
First Measures. November 1914
These gentlemen initiated the Commission's work and collaborated with the directors of the Belgian organization. Despite the fact that the Comité Provinciale is carrying out the work, the delegate of the C.R.B.
The German Authorities and Relief Control. June-July 1915
The monthly statements of revenue and expenditure forecasts established by the provincial committees must be communicated to the heads of the German Civil Administration. Any tendency on the part of the Committee to monopolize the distribution of aid in Belgium must be stopped. The Governor-General in the ensemble of regulations established by agreements entered into between the Governor-General and the Ministers of Defence.
On the above grounds, it is decided that the care and maintenance of the needy in Belgium will continue as a joint enterprise of the Comité National and the Commission for Relief. The relationship of the delegates with the local German authorities will be purely one of a friendly intermediary.
The Vermittlungsstelle. November-December 1915
Hoover immediately declared to the military authorities that expansion of the Commission's activities was out of the question since the civilian officials. I said that the conditions under which the Belgians were fed had been getting worse for several months, that the members of the. However, Baron von der Lancken's remarks were apparently only a mild outburst of anger and he tried to soften his remarks by saying very pleasant things about the Commission's work.
I intimated that it would be a very good thing if someone with real authority could be delegated to handle the work of the Commission. He said that the heads of the company have the right to know what the charges are.
Inspection and Control. January-February 1916
A report has reached us that the Germans are taking half the food imported by the Commission to the district of Ghent. Any change to these regulations must be accepted by the common consent of the heads of C.N. The goods are sent in accordance with the instructions of the Comité National to the provincial committees, which distribute them to the district committees.
Similarly, in each province, the representative or representatives of the Commission for Aid in Belgium will cooperate with the Provincial Superintendence. The cooperation of the National Committee and the Commission for Relief in Belgium is indispensable, especially since the essential mission of the.
Responsibilities and Duties Of the Commission Redefined
Commission for Enlightenment in Belgium, although His Majesty's Government have no doubts about the loyal co-operation of the Comité National in matters of detailed distribution. His Majesty's Government should request that any opposition arising in relation to the performance of the functions of these two Bureaus be reported forthwith by the Commission for Relief in Belgium. The action of the Belgian committees to replace the name of the Commission for Relief in Belgium by that of the.
The reports on abuses in these cases will be handed over to the chief executives of the Comité National for action. The discussion culminating in the exact statement given above ultimately determined the position of the Commission.
PROGRAM OF IMPORTATIONS
The First Year. November 1914-October 1915
The National Committee will take as much as you can send until the beginning of the next harvest, say the end of July. It is noted that of the purchases that have already been made, a significant portion are fat backs, but no more of these should be purchased. As it is absolutely essential that the stock of imported food in Belgium does not exceed a 30 day supply, it is essential that there should be a competent stock taking of all the warehouses at the end of each month, and that these results should be against be in the hands of the Brussels office on the fifth day of the following month.
The profits earned from the sales to the well-to-do constitute a tax for the benefit of the poor, and should, if possible, be. As expected, the monthly in-kind donations decreased significantly by the end of the first year.
The Second Year. November 1915-October 1916
Wheat.---The available domestic stock of wheat under our control enables us to produce about 13,500 tons of wheat per month. Soap.---Owing to the depletion of petroleum resources in Belgium, the local production of soap is inadequate, and the Belgians wish to import at least 1,000 tons of soap per month at their own expense. Butter.---The Belgians want us to import butter, in what quantity we cannot estimate, probably not more than 500 tons per month.
Preserved fish.---The Belgians want us to make arrangements to import dried herring, canned salmon and other types of fish. Sugar waste.---The Belgians also want to use this as feed and we had an almost unlimited right to import this from Holland.
NORTHERN FRANCE
Linseed cake.---The Belgians wish to import linseed cake for feed purposes and we had a formal permit for 10,000 tons. Last year we got a permit from the government to import potatoes into Belgium under similar conditions, and by introducing 17,000 tons of potatoes we broke down the market from 35 centimes a kilo to 12 centimes and kept it there. There is an abundance of potatoes in Ireland that will go to waste today, and I have no expectation that we should have to import constantly for the north of France if we could once demonstrate to the Belgian public that potatoes can flow into the country.
Carbide.---In the country outside the larger towns, which are lighted by electricity, there is absolutely no lighting, and people go to bed at five in the afternoon. We have managed to buy some carbide of Norwegian origin locally, but the supply is too low.
TOTALS
Reports that some of the Belgians were selling cattle and pigs to Germans led to a Foreign Office order on 13 December 1915 suspending the Commission's imports of bacon and lard. GRAY TO PAGE, describing German violations of agreements and indicating the intention of the British Government to cease relief unless certain terms were accepted by the German authorities. None of the above mentioned articles will in any case be used by the German Army of occupation in Belgium.
The Commission is permitted to exercise all controls over the stocks referred to in the preceding paragraphs as necessary to maintain them for the future or to make them available for the current needs of the population. If there is sufficient pasture in Belgium to support eighty thousand German cattle, any lack of meat in Belgium must be clearly due to the action of the German Government and, in the face of this fact, His Majesty's Government must detain the German Government responsible for the supply of meat to the population of Belgium.
BELGIUM 1. For the whole population
NORTHERN FRANCE 16,000 tons of flour
His Majesty's Government demanded that "none of the above articles shall in any case be used by the German army of occupation in Belgium." Consent on the part of the German authorities is a condition qua non of the continuation of the work. HOOVER TO MINISTER HYMANS, describing the effect on the Belgian ration of the new British restrictions.
The restriction of all other commodities imported to the exclusive consumption of the 3,250,000 wholly or partially destitute people. If the entire importation of bacon and lard is suppressed tomorrow very little.
