Woodrow Wilson Papers
The Food Administrator (
Hoover
) to President Wilson
Washington
, November 14,
1918.
Dear Mr. President: I enclose herewith copy of the
cablegram which I have dispatched to Mr. Cotton in accordance with your
suggestion.
Faithfully yours,
[Enclosure—Telegram]
The Food Administrator (
Hoover
) to the Representative of the United
States Food Administration (
Cotton
)
With regard to various telegrams yourself and Cravath on relief to areas
lately under German control. On further consultation with President, he
authorized the following further statement to be made to our officials
in Europe for their guidance but not for communication and asks that a
copy should be sent to Colonel House and Cravath.
[Page 632]
Statement begins: We consider ourselves as trustees of our surplus
production of all kinds for the benefit of the most necessitous and
the most deserving. We feel that we must ourselves execute this
trusteeship, that we are not unmindful of the obligation which we
have to the sustenance of those who have fought with us against
Germany and that, together with the necessities of those populations
released from the German yoke, we feel that they may well deserve a
priority in our distribution. On the other hand we cannot undertake
any cooperative arrangements that look to the control of our exports
after peace and, furthermore and equally important, that the
Inter-Allied councils hitherto set up in Europe were entirely for
the purpose of guiding Inter-Allied relations during the period of
the war and that any extension of their functions either by way of
their control of our relations to other nations or the extension of
their present functions beyond peace cannot be entertained by us.
All relationship involving the use of American food or credit for
the people of other nations than the Allies themselves must await
Mr. Hoover’s arrival in Europe so far as any such supplies or
interest of the United States is concerned in which we will
coordinate in every proper way. (End of statement.)
You can inform Sir Worthington Evans5 that the form of organization involving
coordination of the United States Government for distributing its food
commodities arising in the United States through the various parts of
Europe lately under German subjection can only be settled upon my
arrival, that the United States Food Administration is taking steps to
at once largely increase the volume of American food stores at various
points in Europe in order that the material may be available, and that
we have every desire for proper coordination of all efforts.
