OCR Text |
Show AMERICAN RELIEF FOR THEBELGIANS London. Dec. 18. 4:10 p. m The members of the American commission tor relief in Belgium were entertained today by American business men at the Luncheon club In introducing Herbert C Hoover, the chairman. Ambassador Am-bassador I'nge gave high praise to the Tork of the commission He sahl It was (he only existing link between tho great bolligeront nations and the farmer of the Mississippi valley. Mr. Hooer spoke of the organiza tion and nrk of the commission and the plight of the Belcian people which railed it into being He said that close harmonv existed between the commission and the national committee commit-tee in Belgium In describing, the work of the latter body, Mr Hoover "!t8 patron, protector and most ardent spirit is the American min,s fer. Brand Whit lock, for whom the Belgium people cherish a justifiable and undying affection Mr Hoover described the financial plan mapped out by the commission under v.hlch every cent collected In America is expended for the actual purchase of food without anv deductions deduc-tions for the cost of delivery and distribution dis-tribution The result is that there has already been provided food of an aggregate value of between , 000.000 ad 510.000.0iMi Tho responses of the American peo-pie peo-pie to the appeal in belialf of the BH- glans was oven greater than their contributions for the sufferers from tho San Francisco earthquake Mr Hoover conilnued. The commission now has on the way or under charter thirty-two ships which will provide an adequate supply of food uniil February Feb-ruary ll'. The appeal to governor 'of various states and such institutions institu-tions as the Rockefeller foundation had met with a most generous response re-sponse "The merican people's ideals of humanity never have shone as origin I ly as at present "I have an observation to make with regard to tho arguments 1 outlined, out-lined, not by way of refutation, but with reference to the American point Of flew. H is that before the question ques-tion is settled as to who is morally responsible for the feeding of the Bel gians these people will have been starved and violence will have broken bro-ken out in that eountr Thorp has been a large loss of life among Innocent Inno-cent people already in rcnam districts dis-tricts which we have not been ablo to penetrate Attempts have been made b the starving populations to seize German military stores and the resultant loss of life has been serious. seri-ous. Avoids Discussion. ' Another observation which I wish to make is that in this time of in tense national hatreds discussion of the right or wrong of a problem of this kind become, as times goes by, only the more acute Each side nhgns Itsolf with greater obstinacy, In the meantime, the Belgians starve It Is enough for America that seven millions of humanity are in the hoppers, hop-pers, passing between two gigantic millstones. "The Belgians aro not a people who dragged tho world into war by the ambition of their soldiers or their sailors They, like our own peopie, have sought to conquer only by the wavs of peace. Industrv and intellect. Th have fought a hard fight. 1 have not yet met a man in Belgium who regrets in tho least having made the smigpio At this moment sur rounded by a r.ng of steel. 1.500.000 persons are in the breadline, and no household in Belgium has bread to eat except it comes through us. The natural philanthropy of our American people, our wealth and our abun-I abun-I dance these are the arguments 'which we put forward" Workers Are Needed Mr. Hoover pointed out the absolute abso-lute necessity of having active ork-rs ork-rs on the committee, stating that even the diplomatic members were not mereh ornamental. He said that the commission was perhaps the only philanthropic organization in the world which issues weekly balance sheets, and that there was none whose sminlitratiOO cost less In proportion to Its turn-over. In regard to the relations which thp commission has p.stabllshed with the various belligerents. belliger-ents. Mr. Hoover said 1 ish to say a few words upon iho diplomatic situation in connection .' ith this work. I make this statement state-ment in view of the discussion which is raging around these points. The first thing I wish to make clear, with emphasis, is that the Germans ore not interfering with the distribution distribu-tion of foodstuffs. Not a mouthful l as gone down a German throat yet. nor do I believe it evpr will We had nothing but help from the Germans Ger-mans W hen we were asked to undertake bis work the first question which arose in our minds was why don't the Germans provision the people of Bplgium'' We were told that under international law it was the duly of en occupying army to feed thp civil population. We were told further by certain independent elements In Eng land that in importing foodstuffs into in-to Belgium we were relieving tho Germans Ger-mans of tholr moral and legal duties i bat we were performing unnecessary lobor. and that above all. we were in effect supplying P3ngland B nuny .with foodstuffs, by thus relaxing the demands which otherwise would have f 2 i len upon the stores of the Germans furthormore. wo w n told that it would be necessary for tho occupying army to Increase its force in order to put down violence on the part of a starving population, and that therefore there-fore Germany's forces would be occupied occu-pied otherwise than on the firing line. Belgium Has Chance. "These are largely the views of tho English soldier The German soldier, on the other hand, states that the Belgians hitherto have Imported two-I two-I thirds of tholr food supplies, that the Idyl population still posseses resources re-sources in credit which would be ' available upon the return of indus-tiial indus-tiial activity, and that in taking the harbor of Antwerp the gateway was opened to tho m-utral world through which the Belgians could provision themsolvrs It is also said that nothing noth-ing pro ents the normal flow of trade and the revival of Industry in Belgium Bel-gium except thp British nay, and ihprrfore the moral responsibility for the starvation of this population rosts with the allies. It i stated, furthermore, further-more, that the peoplo of Bplgium, by their hostility seriously hampered thf Gorman plans; that their continued contin-ued hostility requires considerable forces of occupation, and that the Belgians refuse to operate the public services of their country, therefore compelling the Germn6 to carry on those servicps with soldiprs For this reason, it is srgued the civil population is s'lll assisting the allies, and since the allies have these benefits they are morally obligated to support tho population Further I more. It is said that, while the Ger-I Ger-I man food supply Is adiKjuate to carry I on the war to its end. if that country coun-try had to take upon Its back the additional ad-ditional load of feeding 7 000,000 per-I per-I sons thoir stores might be depleted seriously, and as their national in tegrlty Is at stake, they do not propose pro-pose to do it I am not offering pithpr of those views as bein ray own 1 could suggest sug-gest dialetlc roplles to both of those series of arguments I am merely placing before Jon the argument v hi h Is in progross among those contending forces. cin |