elivered will be turned over
to the German authorities first, and hope they will govern themselves
accordingly.

The British Government has stipulated that the feeding of the civil
population shall be carried on by a neutral organisation, under the
patronage of the American and Spanish Ambassadors in London and Berlin,
and the American and Spanish Ministers in Brussels. The food is to be
consigned to the American Minister in Brussels for distribution by the
organisation which is to be known as the American Relief Committee, with
Hoover as chairman and motive power. The various local Belgian
committees are to be grouped together in a national organisation, to
assist in the distribution of the foodstuffs once they are delivered
inside the Belgian frontier. The members of the Belgian organisation
are, of course, prisoners of the Germans and unable to give any
effective guarantees as to the disposal of the supplies. The British
Government has, therefore, stipulated that all authority and
responsibility are to be vested in the American Committee, and that the
Belgians are to be regarded simply as a distributing agency. This is, of
course, in no sense a reflection of the Belgians engaged on the work,
but merely a recognition of the difficulties of their position.

The neutral composition of the Committee assures it a freedom of travel
and action, and an independence of political and personal pressure, and
a consequent freedom of administration which the Belgians could not hope
to enjoy. It is only by the assumption of complete authority and
responsibility by the Committee that the patrons will be able to give
the various Governments concerned the necessary assurances as to the
disposition of foodstuffs and the fulfillment of guarantees.

There is something splendid about the way Hoover and his associates have
abandoned their own affairs and all thought of themselves in order to
turn their entire attention to feeding the Belgians. They have
absolutely cut loose from their business, and are to give their whole
time to the work of the Committee. This is done without heroics. I
should hardly have known it was done, but for the fact that Hoover
remarked in a matter of fact way:

"Of course everybody will have to be prepared to let business go and
give their whole time."

And it was so completely taken for granted that there is nothing but a
murmur of assent.

Another strenuous day on the food question and other things.

M