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Show BELGIAN RELIEF GOES TO GERMANS London, Feb. 20, 11 51 a m. The proposed plan of aiding Belgium to feed herself by rehabilitating the In dustries of tho country under control of the American Commission for Relief Re-lief in Belgium has failed, according to a letter written by Sir Edward Grey, the British foreign secretary, to M. Hymans, the Belgian minister here, because the Germans thus far have failed to reply to the request for guarantees that raw materials and manufactured goods will not be seized seiz-ed by the occupying armies Sir Edward Grey's letter to tho Belgian Bel-gian minister follows: Dear Minister: During the last months you have represented to me frequently the condition con-dition of industries in that part of Belgium occupied by the enemy and the need for the importation of raw material If those Industries were to be saved from ruin and universal unemployment un-employment and distress prevented. States the Case. T Tinw innlosQ a memorandum -a'hloh shows the true state of the case. 1 should add that the question here dealt with is entirely distinct from the importation of foodstuffs into Bel glum by the relief commission, as to which the attitude of his majesty's government remains that recently stated to parliament that the government govern-ment will facilitate the work of the commission as long and in so far as the work is carried on under adequate neutral supervision, completely Independent Inde-pendent of German control and In compliance with conditions laid down rrom time to time by his majesty's government. (Signed) E. GREY. Feeling of Belgians. The memorandum referred to by Sir Edward Grey is In part as follows: fol-lows: "It Is understood there Is a strong feeling among the Belgians that the industrial distress of Belgium is to be attributed solely to tho action of the allied governments in preventing prevent-ing imports, and It is often contended that this action does not appreciably harm Germany, while it involves a most painful loss to the people of our ally," The memorandum then explains that the British government cannot agree that Belgian industry can be maintained in the present circumstances, circumstan-ces, without a very considerable beno-flt beno-flt to Great Britain's enemies, and without involving a postponement ot Belgian independence. But the government, it says, is fully ful-ly impressed with the necessity of supporting the Belgian population For this reason it has supported the commission for relief in Belgium and permitted export trade from Belgium under certain conditions. Also for this reason, the memorandum adds, the government some months ago asserted as-serted its willingness to consider proposals pro-posals tor the importation of raw materials into Belgium through the agency and under the guarantees of the relief commission. "Tho undertakings demanded from the Germans In connection with this scheme." the memorandum continues, "were simple. They were to permit the free importation of raw materials and the exportation of manufactured goods made from such materials through the relief commission. They were to respect and make free from all embargo or requisition any stocks of similar raw materials or manufactured manufac-tured goods still remaining in the country. They were, in general, to treat any factory thus supplied by the commission as enjoying the same privileges and Immunities as one of the commission's warehouses." No Reply Received. The memorandum, after explaining that It had been hoped the plan would (have reduced unemployment and relieved the population of much of the distress which is inseparable from Belgium's unfortunate position, sayr it was submitted to the German authorities at Brussels by the relief commission four months ago, but, although al-though Inquiries were made, no reply re-ply of any kind was received from the Germans. The memorandum then accuses the Germans of a plan not to enter into any agreement of the proposed kind until they had taken "the last ounce of native stocks of raw materials and manufactured goods which can be of any use to them and until they have been ablo to create such widespread destitution as to force a requisite amount of Belgian labor to emigrate to Germany or take employment In Belgian works controlled by them for their own purposes." The memorandum concludes: "The German authorities must be presumed from their silence to have refused to consent to the scheme put forward by the relief commission. Their fixed policy of impoverishing tho country and driving the workmen Into their employment now stands re- I nfifif dVi- T,n1 mnJ,est"s government vnr m ,SCia m. a11 responsibility to-il-MM, VL BeIS,an Iople for the evils f M ch the enemy both has causod and refused to remove" : |