File No. 855.48/807
The Chargé in Great Britain ( Laughlin) to the Secretary of State
[Received October 26, 5.32 p.m.]
3127. For Hoover [from Relief Commission]:
No. 282. Saturday. There are 6,000 evacuées in Holland. Fourteen thousand more expected shortly. Dutch Government and Commission representatives taking every possible step to care for them in Belgium. Owing to unavoidable conditions evacuees are suffering terribly from diseases, insufficient clothing, and shelter. Everything possible being done by Dutch and Spanish Ministers, C[omité] N[ational], C.R.B., and above all by population of Belgium itself. Germans making strong efforts to provide transportation for evacuees and as far as possible reduce suffering. … All arrangements tentatively made for convoy of Relief ships to Channel ports or Flushing should same be necessary. Only action required on your side will be turning over vessels with information about speed and destination, whereupon they will be convoyed to designated port in Holland or Flanders. Leach is making report on Lille, Roubaix, Tourcoing districts. Unless successful in getting other representatives will send him to Belgium.
Representatives of Lebrun and Vilgrain for French Government have made investigation of ravitaillement organization and find it so complete and in all ways satisfactory that, reversing their first intention to reorganize the whole work themselves, French Government wish the feeding to be continued, as they say: “The French Government will be glad to have the Commission for Relief continue its task in the French liberated territories until such time as normal life may be renewed in those regions.” It is, of course, understood that the French Government will complete the rations imported by the [C.R.B.?]. My judgment is that we should only resume feeding city districts of France, which we estimate will include not over three or four hundred thousand, when possible to do so through Ter-neuzn Canal, or, if this delayed too much, we could divert eight or ten thousand tons per month to Dunkirk whence there is a good canal to Lille, turning over cargo ship’s side to French authorities to be delivered to [relief] committees, our direct responsibility ending ship’s side. What is your position? Have arranged keep separate accountability of supplies for released territories. Your No. 77.1 Suggest you see Davis who arrived in Washington today regarding [Page 494] British Treasury action on relief expenditures account of charters, etc., advising what further action we should take here. Belief Commission.
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