Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1916, Supplement, The World War

[Enclosure 1]

The Ambassador in Great Britain (Page) to the Minister in Belgium (Whitlock)

London, January 11, 1916 .

My Dear Colleague: I enclose a copy of a letter addressed to me as one of the honorary unofficial patrons of the Commission for the Relief of Belgium by Sir Edward Grey. You will see that in this letter he threatens the discontinuance of the British consent for food ships to pass the British Navy unless the Germans comply completely with the conditions which he lays down. These conditions, you will observe, cover not merely the letter but the spirit of the existing arrangement.

I have had a conversation with Sir Edward Grey about this letter, and from the tone as well as from the matter of his talk I draw the conclusion that this is the British Government’s last word on this subject. Not only is the pressure from the Navy, and its especial partisans, on the Government quite severe, but the pressure of public opinion in England also strongly supports the naval contention. This contention is, in effect, that the food which this Government permits to go into Belgium to be distributed by the commission really adds that much more food to the German supplies, since Germany continues to export foodstuffs from Belgium and to requisition it for their military forces.

I write you this personal covering letter merely as an explanation of the mood in which I find this Government on the subject.

I heartily hope that you have returned to your post greatly improved in health.

Believe me [etc.]

Walter Hines Page

[Subenclosure]

The British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Grey) to the American Ambassador (Page)

London, December 31, 1915 .

My Dear Ambassador: On various occasions I have felt obliged to address lengthy communications to you as patron, in your unofficial capacity, of the Commission for Relief in Belgium. A very critical situation has now arisen regarding the affairs of that commission, and I must therefore put before you briefly the views of His Majesty’s Government.

On December 31, 1914, the German Government assured the United States Ambassador at Berlin in writing that they would thenceforward prohibit the requisitioning of “food and forage of any kind whatsoever which would require to be replaced by importations by the American Committee for Belgian Relief.”

This undertaking has no doubt in large measure been observed in the letter. It has never been observed in the spirit, and even the letter has frequently been violated. I need give only one instance of direct infringement. Between November 1914 and July 1915, inclusive, the commission distributed in Belgium 6,675 tons, 713 kilos of bacon and lard. Yet the German authorities have requisitioned tallow in Belgium, and between June 1 and July 10, 4,070 tons of fats and oils were shipped from Belgium to Germany.

It is not, however, of such direct infringements that I desire to speak now. The Germans have interpreted their solemn undertaking of December 31 as covering only such articles as were actually specifically named in the commission’s list of imports, and they have drained Belgium of all subsidiary articles which serve to diminish the consumption of staple foods. They have done more. They have made no attempt to conserve native supplies even of those staple foods which appear on the commission’s list of imports and, where they have not requisitioned those native stocks, they have freely purchased them when thrown on the market and have exported them from Belgium, either to Germany or to the Army in Flanders. Owing largely to lack of fodder, the stock of pigs in Belgium appears to have diminished by some 60 per cent, and a large part of this diminution must be attributed to purchases by the German Army. In the same way, cattle are being bought up on a large scale and are being sent south to the Army. The resources of agriculture are diminished by the export of phosphates and guano. Only recently large quantities of Belgian sugar have been exported to Germany.

[Page 873]

I am aware that the German authorities will adduce the comprehensive list of articles the export of which from Belgium is prohibited as evidence that this account is inaccurate. But there is no reasonable doubt that exceptions are freely made to these prohibitions in the case of exports to Germany, and it is also certain that they do not apply at all in practice to exports for the use of the German Army in France and Flanders.

These are merely instances. I will not pause to go over, article by article, the resources of the occupied territory which have been steadily depleted, nor need I refer to the wholesale requisitions of goods of all kinds which took place at Antwerp after the fall of that city. I only desire to make clear the consistent German policy during the last twelve months.

Needless to say, this policy has applied even more to industrial raw materials and manufactured articles than to foodstuffs. The German Government is reported to have recently made itself responsible for the statement that the economic condition of Belgium is nearly normal. I am astounded at this statement in view of facts which have become notorious. The textile trades have either been deprived of all raw materials outright or have seen their finished products requisitioned in detail as they are completed. And what is true of the textile trades is true also of other Belgian industries.

Moreover, Germany has invented a method of facilitating this process. She has exacted, and still exacts, a levy of forty million francs (40,000,000) a month from Belgium in the form of a special note issue. This levy provides abundant cheap currency with which Belgian products may be purchased, and the country is thus drained of its resources in exchange for worthless paper of German Invention.

The result of this process has been clearly seen in the last few months. The commission, which had expected to be able to reduce its activities after the harvest, has increased them. It has made a series of new requests for import permits in respect of various fresh articles of food and it has largely increased Its importations of bacon and lard. It is planning to import large quantities of clothing for the destitute. This gradual expansion cannot continue and, within the last few days, as your excellency is aware, His Majesty’s Government have felt themselves obliged to suspend temporarily the importation of various articles into Belgium by the commission. The time has therefore arrived when the whole work must be placed on a more clearly defined basis.

Your excellency will recollect that His Majesty’s Government undertook to continue to issue permits for the commission’s imports of wheat into Begium on condition that the Germans reserved the native harvest of wheat and rye strictly for the civil population. You will also recollect that His Majesty’s Government expressed their inability to give any similar undertaking in regard to any other articles of import and that the whole arrangement was made subject to one fixed stipulation that “no foodstuffs shall be imported which will, in effect, replace any foodstuffs requisitioned or purchased in Belgium by the German authorities.” I must now inform your excellency that His Majesty’s Government can no longer tolerate the present position.

They are therefore about to lay down a programme of imports for the commission which will be regarded as final. However long the German occupation of Belgium may continue, this programme will in no circumstances be expanded. Further, His Majesty’s Government must make the following stipulations which appear to be the minimum necessary to safeguard the livelihood of the Belgian people:

(1): The export of all foodstuffs and substances fit for use as food, whatsoever, including livestock and fodder of all kinds, and also all fertilizers, seeds, and agricultural stock of every sort, shall be absolutely prohibited from the territory administered by the Governor General of Belgium to any destination whatever, with the one exception that the Commission for Relief in Belgium may be allowed to export to northern France, for distribution there by them, foodstuffs of which there is a clear surplus over and above the present or future needs of Belgium.
(2): The export of all articles of clothing and of all raw material for their manufacture shall be prohibited except to neutral countries, and then only after full provision has been made for the present and future needs of the civil population, including the destitute.
(3): None of the articles above mentioned shall on any account be used by the German army of occupation in Belgium.
(4): These prohibitions shall be rigorously maintained without exception of any kind.
(5): The commission shall be allowed to exercise any control over the stocks mentioned in the preceding paragraphs which may be necessary in order to conserve them for the future, or make them available for the present needs of the population.

If these steps are not taken His Majesty’s Government will hold themselves entitled to reconsider their whole attitude towards the commission since its work will have become, through no fault of its own, a method of replacement instead of one of relief, and an encouragement to the Germans to deplete the resources of the country. In that case, I shall have no choice but to publish the documents showing the conditions which have obliged His Majesty’s Government to change their views.

Yours sincerely,

E. Grey

[Enclosure 2]

The minister in Belgium (Whitlock) to the Ambassador in Great Britain (Page)

Brussels, January 17, 1916 .

My Dear Colleague: Having written you a letter earlier in the day, No. 352,1 I wish to add this:

I have just come this evening from a conference with Baron von der Lancken in which we discussed the points raised in Sir Edward Grey’s communication to you, and I hasten to send you this word to let you know that the matter is en bonne voie and that I feel more than ever confident that we shall be able to reach a satisfactory solution.

Your own intuition will tell you how anxious I am to do this, and I trust that the British Government will take no steps in the meantime that will make it more difficult for us to preserve this great humanitarian work, in which we have all labored so long, and thus far so successfully.

I shall communicate to you the progress that we make and hope very soon to be able to tell you that the entire difficulty has been satisfactorily adjusted.

I suggest also that this be regarded for the present as entirely confidential, although I have of course no objection to Sir Edward knowing of it nor Mr. Hoover.

I am [etc.]

Brand Whitlock

[Enclosure 3—Translation]

The American Minister (Whitlock) to the Chief of the Political Department of the Government General in Belgium (Von der Lancken)2

Brussels, January 23, 1916 .

Excellency: His excellency the Governor General has manifested on numerous occasions the interest which he takes in the question of the provisioning of the Belgian civilian population, as well as in that of the relief to be afforded them, and has paid tribute to the beneficent action of the Comité National.

As testifying to that interest, it is enough to recall the measures taken by the Government General for assuring the exclusive attribution to the provisioning of the civilian population in Belgium, not only of the food imported by the Comité National, but also of certain foodstuffs of native origin.

To this end, the importation of food and clothing has been authorized, the imported products have been guaranteed against requisition, and the latter favor has been extended to foodstuffs of the same kind produced within the country. The transportation and distribution of food and clothing have been facilitated; a broad freedom of action has been granted to the Comité National, both for provisioning and for the distribution of relief to the needy population.

Going still further, the Governor General, by various successive decrees, the provisions of which were coordinated in that of October 13, 1915, has prohibited, [Page 875] except on special authorization, the exportation from Belgium of cattle, sheep, swine, horses, pigeons, foodstuffs of all sorts, sugar, oils, fats, etc. On the other hand, by his decree of June 30, 1915, he reserved the cereal harvest for the feeding of the population, and by that of May 20, 1915, he imposed serious restrictions on the purchase of potatoes by speculators. Finally, various decrees have been passed prohibiting the exportation of money, preventing the cornering of foodstuffs and the inconsiderate raising of prices.

My colleague, his excellency the Marquis de Villalobar, Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary of His Majesty the King of Spain, M. van Vollenhoven, Chargé d’Affaires of the Legation of the Netherlands, and myself take pleasure in recognizing that, except for a few mistakes made by certain over-zealous agents, acting perhaps in ignorance of the rules and of the Governor General’s views, the engagements made have been respected. Nevertheless, it is to be feared that the mistakes thus far made, misinterpreted or exaggerated by persons poorly acquainted with the situation, may produce upon the latter the impression of a contradiction in the views of the Government General and even of a serious violation of the engagements made and the rules proclaimed in behalf of the civilian population.

Furthermore, we have to recognize that, whenever any of these mistakes has been brought to the attention of the Government General, our observations have been received with benevolence, the facts have been carefully investigated, and measures of redress have been promptly taken.

The repetition of these mistakes, however, especially in the possible event that they should affect essential questions, would undoubtedly have the effect of deepening the above-mentioned unfavorable impression and of spreading the opinion that the guarantees which form the basis of the provisioning of Belgium are occasionally disregarded.

We have assumed, in the name of our Governments, the responsibility to the Entente powers of watching over the strict observance of the guarantees given by the German Government General, just as we have assumed toward the latter the obligation of seeing to it that the actions of the Comité National and its subordinate organizations do not conflict in any way with the interests of the German Government. In order to make impossible any unfavorable interpretation of the mistakes which I had the honor of mentioning above to your excellency, and in order to discharge the responsibility of our respective Governments, it seems necessary for us to call the attention of the Government General to the situation we describe. According to the arrangements made through our good offices between the British and German Governments, it was provided that:

The British Government will facilitate, in addition to the importation of grain, the importation likewise of peas, bacon, beans, rice, lard, and maize, so long as the importation of these articles does not represent the replacement of other articles requisitioned by the Governor General.

We take the liberty of pointing out in this connection that the supplies of potatoes, of meat, and consequently of edible fats, have considerably diminished in the country. The slender remaining supplies, being requisitioned in part for the needs of the German troops, must be replaced by imported products, such as bacon, lard, beans, rice, and peas. We ask if this situation is quite in conformity with the principles governing the importation of food by the Comité National.

Consequently we take the liberty of begging your excellency kindly to inquire of his excellency the Governor General whether he does not believe it timely to recall, by a decree or by an order to the troops and to the civil administration under his authority, the formal instructions he has previously given, for the purpose of demonstrating that his intentions have not changed and of at the same time extending the guarantees covering grain, in favor of the provisioning of the civilian population of Belgium, to food products of all kinds harvested or existing in the country and used by the population and by animals, as well as to the raw materials required for the manufacture of clothing.

We do not doubt that, in case the Governor General should display his willingness to extend the guarantees previously given by the indicated measures, the English Government, for its part, would facilitate, until the end of the occupation of Belgium, the provisioning of this country with the foodstuffs required by its inhabitants, as well as with raw materials for the manufacture of clothing.

I take this opportunity [etc.]

Brand Whitlock

[Enclosure 4—Translation]

The Chief of the Political Department of the Government General in Belgium (Von der Lancken) to the American Minister (Whitlock)1

No. V. 1152

Brussels, February 16, 1916 .

Mr. Minister: I have the honor of making known to your excellency that 1 communicated to the Governor General the note which your excellency had the goodness to transmit to me under date of January 23, 1916, concerning the provisioning of Belgium by the Comité National de Secours et d’Alimentation.

The Governor General noted with great satisfaction that your excellency extends recognition to the efforts he has made to assure the welfare of the Belgian population. He has likewise noted with pleasure that your excellency correctly appreciates the measures he has taken to fulfil the engagements assumed by him with the object of assuring the provisioning of Belgium.

Your excellency expresses, in addition, the desire to see avoided in the future certain mistakes said to have been made by over-zealous agents, unacquainted perhaps with the intentions and the orders of the Governor General. His excellency is firmly decided to take energetic measures to put a stop to acts of this kind.

Consequently, with the object of establishing a perfectly clear situation and eliminating all possibility of misunderstandings, the Governor General has announced his willingness to recapitulate and enlarge upon his previous measures to this effect:

that he will prohibit the exportation from the territory of the Government General of foodstuffs (including livestock), provisions, and fodder used as food for man and beast. He will likewise prohibit the exportation from the said territory of seed and fertilizer.

This prohibition, however, must, in the interest of the population itself, be subject to a limitation for certain products of Belgian soil, constituting for the greater part articles of luxury and having in the past been produced in quan3tities greatly exceeding the demands of consumption, such as chicory, fresh vegetables, fruits; the exportation of those quantities of the above-mentioned products shall remain authorized for the future.

Your excellency, being well acquainted with Belgium, will admit the soundness of this limitation, the more so because these articles are found in the country in abundant quantities, in spite of the exportation of them which has taken place, and, on the other hand, because the rural population and the local trade have derived great benefits from this exportation. This favorable situation is due primarily to the wise measures taken by the Governor General in the interest of Belgian agriculture, measures whose success is illustrated, among other things, by the satisfactory results of the livestock census recently taken by the communal administrations of Belgium.

The Governor General must likewise reserve the right deriving from Article 52 of the Hague convention, namely, that the supplies of Belgium may be subjected to a contribution for the provisioning of the army of occupation placed under his orders in the occupied Belgian territory “in proportion to the resources of the country.” The Governor General will content himself regularly with having these provisions bought by free bargains, without constraint and at current prices paid in cash, and he will take into account, naturally, all the concessions previously made by him with respect to the total quantity of native grain serving for bread-baking and of all provisions imported by the Comité National, which shall be devoted exclusively to the provisioning of the Belgian population.

Regarding the desire expressed by your excellency in connection with articles of clothing designed for the needy, the Governor General renews the assurances given to the patrons in his letter of December 12, 1914, namely, that articles of clothing imported by the Comité National, as well as those manufactured and reserved for charitable purposes in the Belgian workshops and storehouses of that committee, are exempt from military requisition. It is understood that the cloth, shoes, and raw materials which the Comité National shall import are covered by the same guarantees.

[Page 877]

The Governor General is, of course, always ready to grant to the patrons any necessary material control. As in the past, his excellency will do all in his power to facilitate the accomplishment of whatever measures the patrons think fit to take for exercising this control, and to that end he will renew to the agencies placed under his orders the instructions he has already given.

The Governor General is convinced that, in giving these fresh assurances, he has done all that the interest of the Belgian civilian population requires. In his excellency’s judgment, the proposed agreement must, in any case, rest upon the necessary condition, foreseen, moreover, in your excellency’s note, that the patrons extend to the Governor General, in the name of the governments they represent, the assurance that England will not interfere with the provisioning of Belgium with foodstuffs alike for human and animal consumption throughout the duration of the German occupation and within limits determined by the Comité National according to the needs of the country. To this end it is necessary especially that England should assume the engagement to requisition no more of the ships chartered by the Commission for Relief in Belgium.

The Governor General insists the more strongly upon this indispensable condition because a crisis in the importation of food would put in serious jeopardy the vital interests of the Belgian population for the safeguarding of which the Governor General has afforded the guarantees set forth above.

The Governor General will experience sincere satisfaction if, thanks to your excellency’s efforts, the above-mentioned proposed agreement can come into force and contribute to lightening for the Belgian population the burden of the sufferings of the war.

Be pleased [etc.]

Lancken

[Enclosure 5—Translation]

The Chief of the Political Department of the Government General in Belgium (Von der Lancken) to the American Minister (Whitlock)1

No. V. 1152

Brussels, February 16, 1916 .

Mr. Minister: In accordance with the orders of the Governor General, I have the honor to transmit herewith to your excellency a note replying to the one which your excellency had the goodness to send me under date of January 23, 1916.

Your excellency will realize that the Governor General wishes to go as far as possible in the way of concessions. He hopes at the same time that your excellency will recognize that the point of view he has taken in this reply is justified, especially as concerns the use of the supplies of the country for provisioning the army of occupation. His excellency might, indeed, invoke in support of this requirement, not only Article 52 of the Hague convention, but also the fact that the monthly war contribution levied in Belgium falls far short of assuring the subsistence of the army of occupation.

With regard to the livestock census recently taken, referred to in the aforementioned note, I have the honor of calling your excellency’s attention to the attached table2 which will correct a number of misstatements concerning the actions of the occupying authorities. The increase of cattle shown by this table is the result of the activity displayed for a year by the German administration, which has succeeded in repairing also, to a considerable degree, the damage caused by the first six months of the war. The data furnished by this census will be presently verified in a certain number of communes, and I shall have the honor of keeping your excellency informed of the results of these operations.

The second list attached to this letter enumerates the livestock, foodstuffs, provisions, and fodder belonging to the Ministry of War at Berlin and at present kept in the depots of the military administration.2 As soon as the proposed agreement comes into force, the Governor General will give orders to remove these stores as quickly as possible, with the object of establishing a clear situation likewise in this respect. According to the assurances given, further purchases will be made only for the needs of the army of occupation.

Be pleased [etc.]

Lancken

[Enclosure 6]

The Ambassador in Great Britain (Page) to the Minister in Belgium (Whitlock)

London, March 3, 1916 .

My Dear Colleague: I enclose a copy of the answer that Sir Edward Grey made in reply to the German memorandum which the Marquis of Villalobar brought to London. Sir Edward Grey’s letter, you will observe, is addressed to the Marquis of Viilalobar. My Spanish colleague here informs me that the Marquis took up the subject immediately, and he has received a telegraphic answer from Brussels, which, I fancy, from all that I know about the case, will still be unsatisfactory to Sir Edward Grey. This will bring the progress of events down to date.

The British Government, in my judgment, has taken its final stand in these last notes of Sir Edward Grey’s.

I am [etc.].

Walter Hines Page

[Subenclosure 1]

The British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Grey) to the Spanish Minister in Belgium (Villalobar)

London, February 28, 1916 .

My Dear Minister: I have the honour to enclose, in the form of a memorandum, my reply to the propositions emanating from the German authorities in Belgium, which you, together with Baron Lambert and Monsieur Francqui, were good enough to present to me on February 24.

I am anxious that you should realise the gratitude and appreciation with which His Majesty’s Government regard the services which you, in concert with your United States and Netherlands colleagues, have rendered to the population in Belgium in protecting and furthering the work of relief. Your action in coming to London at, I fear, great inconvenience to yourself, in order to represent the needs of this work, is in accordance with all I have learnt of your interest and energy in this matter.

I regret, therefore, the more sincerely that I should be obliged to demur absolutely to so many points in the arrangement which you have striven so hard to obtain. These are, however, matters of principle on which it is impossible for His Majesty’s Government to accept any compromise. Compromise would indeed be incompatible with their duty alike to their own and to the Belgian people, and I can only trust that you, representing in your official capacity a great neutral nation, as you represent in your private capacity a work of charity in which the British people feel so keen an interest, will be able to secure action on the part of the German authorities more in accordance with the rights of nations and the duties of humanity than those conditionally promised in Baron von der Lancken’s letter of February 16.

I am transmitting a copy of this letter to the United States and Spanish Ambassadors and the Netherlands Minister at this capital, to whom, with yourself and your colleagues at Brussels, His Majesty’s Government look as intermediaries in this work, as well as to the Belgian Minister, who is so nearly interested, and to Mr. Hoover, with whom I am obliged to deal in close cooperation in all such matters, he being, in his capacity as head of the Commission for Relief in Belgium, the only person directly and personally responsible for the manner in which the whole work, both inside and outside Belgium, is carried on. If I may express one further hope, it is that all parties concerned, in this matter, realising the impossibility of holding personally responsible either the diplomatic representatives of neutral powers or the citizens of a noble and unhappy country under foreign domination, will take into full account the heavy burden of responsibility resting on this great neutral commission and will in every possible way lighten that burden by making its responsibility as easy to discharge as possible.

E. Grey

[Subenclosure 2]

Memorandum

The demands made by His Majesty’s Government in their note of December 31 are here taken seriatim, with comments upon the replies made by the German authorities: [Page 879]

(1): His Majesty’s Government demanded that the export of all foodstuffs and substances fit for use as food whatsoever, including livestock and fodder of all kinds, and also all fertilisers, seeds, and agricultural stock of every sort, shall be absolutely prohibited from the territory administered by the Governor General of Belgium to any destination whatever, with the one exception that the Commission for Relief in Belgium may be allowed to export to northern France, for distribution there by them, foodstuffs of which there is a clear surplus over and above the present or future needs of Belgium.

In reply the German authorities agree, but without any mention of “agricultural stock,” in general and subject to three reservations:

(a): That certain Belgian produce, of which there is a sufficiency in the country, and which Belgium normally exports, such as chicory, shall be exempted.

His Majesty’s Government recognize that there is some ground for this exception, but they do not understand it in present circumstances in view of the German decrees of August 13, September 16, and October 23, ordering the seizure of all chicory roots and placing them under the control of the Zentral-Einkaufsgesellsehaft fur Belgien; and in view of the notorious efforts made by the German authorities to buy up chicory, vegetables, and fruit for German use. The German authorities in fact place an export tax on chicory and only allow its export to Holland “on proof of corresponding imports from Holland provided the condition of the German market allows it.” If Belgium is so rich in such vegetables, it is clearly out of the question that His Majesty’s Government should continue to allow large quantities of beans and peas to be imported into Belgium while native produce is being exported. The utmost concession which His Majesty’s Government can make in this respect is that the export of such produce shall be allowed to neutral countries after the Commission for Relief in Belgium and the Comité National have had full opportunity to purchase all that is needed for the destitute.

(b): That the German authorities shall still be free to take native foodstuffs by purchase for the use of the occupying army.

It appears from this stipulation that the German authorities now openly and avowedly repudiate the guarantees given by the Undersecretary of State for Foreign Affairs at Berlin to the United States Ambassador on December 8 and December 31, 1914, and General von Bissing’s decree of January 21, 1915, against requisitions of foodstuffs and fodder. The promise of purchase in forced paper currency makes not the slightest difference to the fact of requisition. His Majesty’s Government absolutely refuse to accept this proposal or to acquiesce in this attempt to make the Hague conventions a charter of spoliation.

(c): That certain stocks, said to be the property of the German Government, shall be exempted and shall be immediately exported from Belgium.

As the 3,000 head of cattle mentioned in the list of these stores are the only things stated to be of German origin, it is to be presumed that the remaining items are of Belgian origin. They thus furnish further evidence of the violation of the German guarantees against requisitions referred to above. The 27,400 tons of fodder mentioned are doubtless the product of the last Belgian harvest. His Majesty’s Government raise no objection to the export of the 3,000 head of cattle, if these are in fact of German origin, but if any of the other articles are exported, the commission’s imports will immediately be reduced by an equivalent amount.

The use of Belgian pasture for German cattle is absolutely inadmissible. When coupled with the wholesale requisitioning of the Belgian fodder crop, it represents an inhuman policy which, if continued, His Majesty’s Government must publish for the information of the neutral world.

(2): His Majesty’s Government demanded that “the export of all articles of clothing and of all raw material for their manufacture shall be prohibited except to neutral countries, and then only after full provision has been made for the present and future needs of the civil population, including the destitute.”

The German reply is confined to a guarantee of clothing or clothing materials imported by the relief commission. The German authorities can hardly have misunderstood the clear demand of His Majesty’s Government for a guarantee of domestic textiles precisely similar to that demanded in the case of foodstuffs, fodder, etc. His Majesty’s Government insist on that guarantee.

[Page 880]

(3): His Majesty’s Government demanded that “none of the articles above mentioned shall on any account be used by the German army of occupation in Belgium.”

The direct refusal of this demand has already been dealt with above. Consent on the part of the German authorities is a condition sine qua non of the continuance of the work.

(4): His Majesty’s Government demanded that “these prohibitions shall be rigorously maintained without exception of any kind.”

It may perhaps be assumed that consent to this is implicit in the German reply, within the limits of that reply.

(5): His Majesty’s Government demanded that “the commission shall be allowed to exercise any control over the stocks mentioned in the preceding paragraphs which may be necessary in order to conserve them for the future, or make them available for the present needs of the population.”

This is answered by a vague expression of willingness to concede the “control materially necessary.” The object of the control demanded, so far as present necessities are concerned, is to make immediately available to the civil population, and especially to the destitute, such native products as pork and potatoes. His Majesty’s Government attach no Importance to words in this matter, but they cannot allow importations of such articles so long as the Comity National and the Commission for Relief in Belgium are unable; for whatever reason, to obtain existing native supplies.

The German reply contains a list showing the increase of livestock in Belgium. Annexed to the present memorandum is another list showing a strange decrease in the number of animals slaughtered in Belgium, in all cases except cows.1 His “Majesty’s Government do not recognize such figures as signs of prosperity nor can they accept the German figures, but it is clear that, if, as shown on the German list, the pigs in Belgium have increased by 56 per cent, there can be no valid reason for the present high price of pork in Belgium and no need for importations of bacon and lard by the relief commission, since Belgium does not in ordinary times of peace, when her stock of pigs is apparently less than in war time, import any considerable quantity of such articles. His Majesty’s Government therefore propose entirely to stop such importations unless within a fortnight the commission can show reason for their continuance.

Finally, the German reply is made conditional on undertakings from His Majesty’s Government to leave the commission complete freedom of importations and not to requisition ships chartered by them. If this condition were accepted, the German authorities would be free with impunity to turn every American out of Belgium and to impose all sorts of restrictions upon the grant of relief, such as are foreshadowed in one of the letters attached to the German reply. His Majesty’s Government must therefore absolutely refuse to give any undertakings whatever beyond those already given, and they will certainly retain the right to requisition at any time any ship flying the British flag.

It is unnecessary to draw attention to the extremely serious situation created by the German reply, nor to the urgency of securing a frank assent to the reasonable demands of His Majesty’s Government in view of the extent of the infractions of previous undertakings revealed in that reply. It may be well to add that His Majesty’s Government are in no; way impressed by the anxiety displayed by the German authorities to, ensure adequate importations by the Commission for Relief in Belgium in the interests of the Belgian population, nor will they be deterred by such expressions of solicitude from still further reducing the importations of the commission below the new figures they have just been obliged to fix, if the German authorities delay any longer the conclusion of a proper arrangement.

London , February 28, 1916 .

[Enclosure 7]

The British Minister of Blockade (Cecil) to the Spanish Minister in Belgium (Villalobar)

London, March 21, 1916 .

Your Excellency: Sir Ed. Grey has carefully considered your letter of March 18 addressed to Lord E. Percy regarding Belgian relief.1 His Majesty’s [Page 881] Government must adhere to their original demands as stated in Sir E. Grey’s note to the patrons of the commission of December 31 and in the memorandum enclosed in his letter to you of February 28, and must insist on compliance with those demands. But if the German authorities will acquiesce in these demands and will in particular issue immediately the decrees and orders necessary to prevent entirely in future all exports of food, livestock, fodder, fertilisers, seeds, and agricultural stock, and the use of any of these by the occupying army, His Majesty’s Government are prepared to agree that:

(1): The incidental purchase by individual soldiers of Belgian native produce shall not be regarded as a breach of the undertaking, provided that the “quartermaster’s department” is definitely instructed not to, and in fact does not purchase any such native produce, and provided that such individual purchases are not in any way systematic and do not in fact come in any way within the purview or control of the “quartermaster’s department” or other military authority;
(2): The question of the export of Belgian chicory or other vegetables of which there is an admitted surplus may be left for subsequent separate consideration on its merits;
(3): The question of the export of articles of clothing and raw materials for their manufacture may be left for subsequent separate consideration on the understanding that no further importations of clothing or clothing materials by the commission will be permitted by His Majesty’s Government unless the demands of His Majesty’s Government on this point are [met] in the near future, and that His Majesty’s Government must reserve to themselves the right of explaining the reasons for this prohibition to Americans who have subscribed to this subject.

Your understanding of the policy of His Majesty’s Government, as stated in your letter, is correct, but as the drain of foodstuffs and livestock from Belgium is still continuing and constitutes irrevocable damage to the country, His Majesty’s Government regard the immediate issue and publication of the necessary decrees and orders as an essential part of the proposed settlement.

Yours faithfully,

Robert Cecil

[Enclosure 8—Translation]

The Chief of the Political Department of the Government General in Belgium (Von der Lancken) to the American Minister (Whitlock)

No. V. 1432

Brussels, April 14, 1916 .

Mr. Minister: I have the honor of making known to your excellency that I communicated to the Governor General the note which his excellency the Spanish Minister had the goodness to transmit to me under date of April 7, 1916, in your excellency’s name and that of the Netherlands Chargé d’Affaires as well as his own, concerning the provisioning of Belgium by the Comité National de Secours et d’Alimentation.1

The Governor General has authorized me to express to your excellency his feeling of gratitude for the unceasing interest you have displayed during; nearly 20 months in the humanitarian work of which you have so kindly accepted the patronage, together with his excellency the Spanish Minister and the Netherlands Chargé d’Affaires. The Governor General is convinced that the whole Belgian people shares these sentiments.

The Governor General has observed with great pleasure that the steps taken by his excellency the Spanish Minister, in your excellency’s name and that of the Netherlands Chargé d’Affaires as well as his own, have had the effect of inducing the English Government not to stop the provisioning of the civilian population in Belgium. His excellency has shown the greater satisfaction with this result in that the new requirements lately formulated by the British Government, which constituted a serious threat to the continuance of this provisioning, had grown out of erroneous information to the effect that the authorities in the territory administered by the Governor General had not been observing [Page 882] the engagements entered into by his excellency with the neutral powers. Your excellency is in a position to establish without further discussion the incorrectness of that assertion. Indeed, the Governor General recalls with satisfaction the fact that your excellency, as well as your honored colleagues, has recognized frequently, and most recently in your note of January 23, 1916, the correctness of the attitude maintained by the authorities under his orders in carrying out the agreements made by him.

The willingness recently manifested by the Governor General to renounce, to the detriment of certain German interests, the right unquestionably conferred upon him by the Hague convention to provision the army of occupation from Belgian supplies will enable your excellency to appreciate the interest taken by the Governor General in the welfare of the population of the country he administers.

In consequence of the negotiations of last February, and contrary to the information of the English Government, the Governor General had already drawn up, under date of March 1, a prohibition directed against the export of foodstuffs and fodder. In accordance with the general scope of the assurances lately given to the Government which your excellency represents, the Governor General will recapitulate and round out the measures already taken to this effect by new instructions prohibiting the exportation from the territory of the Government General of foodstuffs (including livestock), provisions, and fodder, used as food for man and beast. He will likewise prohibit the exportation from the said territory of seed, fertilizer, and agricultural stock. This prohibition will apply only to products of Belgian origin, it being expressly understood that products of German origin now held in the depots of the military administration may be exported. Beyond the authorizations to be accorded to the Commission for Relief in Belgium to export from the territory of the Government General into northern France foodstuffs, livestock, and fodder, of which there may be an excess over the needs of consumption, no exceptions will be made to the aforesaid prohibition; account being taken, however, of the reservation agreed upon between his excellency the Spanish Minister and the English Government in regard to the quantities of certain products of Belgian soil exceeding the needs of the population of the occupied territory of Belgium.

The Governor General, consequently, will also give orders to the military supply service of the Government General neither to requisition nor to purchase by free contract within the occupied territory of Belgium any of the abovementioned products for the needs of the army of occupation. As has been demonstrated to your excellency in the course of the recent negotiations, the Governor General feels it to be most important that a clear and definite situation should be established. It was with lively satisfaction, therefore, that I inferred from the note which his excellency the Spanish Minister had the goodness to transmit to me that your excellency, in your capacity as representative of your Government, will not consider occasional purchases of such products, made individually by persons belonging to the army, as contrary to the engagements assumed by the Governor General, so long as these purchases are not systematic and are not on behalf of the military service of supplies.

Having thus extended the engagements entered into by him with the neutral powers, the Governor General for his part trusts that the Government which your excellency represents charges itself with guaranteeing to him that henceforward the British Government renounces definitely any interference with the provisioning of the civilian population in Belgium by the requisitioning of ships or any other measures. I beg your excellency to be so good as to obtain your Government’s authorization to confirm the correctness of this assumption.

Your excellency is in a position to ascertain that the stipulations of this agreement and of all those previously concluded with the Government represented by your excellency are conscientiously observed by the authorities and troops under his excellency’s orders. The Governor General is always prepared to aid your excellency in every possible way in that task. He ventures to express the hope that your excellency will have the goodness to acquaint the neutral and belligerent countries with the statements you have already made ami will further be able to make in refutation of the misleading insinuations constantly appearing in those countries and capable only of injuring the work of which you have so kindly become a patron. Taking care to keep this work free of all unjustifiable interference by the powers at war with Germany, and desiring to avoid any contact with the latter, the Governor General will continue to refer to your excellency in all questions relating to it.

The Governor has noted with satisfaction that your excellency will see to it that the work of relief and provisioning placed under your patronage is kept [Page 883] strictly within the limits prescribed for its activity. This will permit the Governor General to extend all his help and protection, as in the past, to the Comit6 National and the Commission for Relief in Belgium of which your excellency serves as patron, in order to allow the members of these two organizations to continue the efforts they have thus far made with such devotion in their humanitarian and beneficent work designed to lighten for the people of Belgium the burden of the sufferings of war.

I take this occasion [etc.]

Lancken

[Enclosure 9—Translation]

The American Minister (Whitlock) to the Chief of the Political Department of the Government General in Belgium (Von der Lancken)

No. 1837

Brussels, April 18, 1916 .

Mr. Minister [sic]: I have received the letter which your excellency addressed to me under date of the 14th instant, communicating the answer of his excellency the Governor General in Belgium to the despatch which my esteemed colleague, his excellency the Spanish Minister, addressed to him under date of the 7th, and I am deeply gratified by the friendly sentiments which the Governor General was so good as to express in regard to my collaboration in the work of provisioning Belgium. It is very pleasant to realize how much his excellency appreciates the deep interest we all take in this splendid work, and I rejoice in the part which his excellency is pleased to take in it by associating his good will with my personal efforts.

I have read with deep attention and interest the letter which your excellency had the goodness to address to me, and I beg you to inform his excellency the Governor General of my complete accord with the terms of that letter.

In accordance with the desire expressed by his excellency the Governor General, I am transmitting all the documents relating to the long negotiations we have been carrying on to the Government which I have the honor to represent, informing it at the same time, according to what you have told me, that the new arrangements come into force from to-day.

I beg your excellency to be so kind as to convey once more to his excellency the Governor General the assurance that I, as well as my colleagues, shall see to it that, as in the past, the Commission for Relief in Belgium and the Comité National de Secours et d’Alimentation carry on their activities in a purely philanthropic and humanitarian spirit and continue to observe the rules which have been and henceforth shall be laid down in concert by the Governor General* your excellency, and ourselves.

While awaiting authority to convey to you officially the appreciation which my Government will assuredly empower me to express to you in consequence of the untiring efforts which your excellency has been good enough to make to reach a favorable solution, I take the liberty, Mr. Minister, of thanking you personally for the assistance which your excellency has so kindly rendered to these lengthy negotiations. I take the liberty, likewise, of asking you to inform all the German authorities who have been good enough to second your efforts that I am profoundly appreciative of the help they have given.

I take this opportunity [etc.]

Brand Whitlock