Paris Peace Conf. 840.48/1
The British Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs ( Balfour ) to Colonel E. M. House
My Dear Colonel House: I have received your letter of December 16th. I am sorry that the reply to your letter of the 1st instant forwarding the President’s proposal for the creation of a European Relief Administration and the appointment of a Director-General of Relief was unavoidably delayed by the necessity for the discussions to which you refer in your letter of the 16th. The result of these discussions was, as you know, communicated to Mr. Hoover by Lord Reading, and Lord Reading was awaiting a reply to the letter which he sent to Mr. Hoover on the subject on December 13th.
I can assure you that the British Government are in complete accord with the objects of the United States Government as set forth in your letter though further discussion will be required for the purpose of arriving at a detailed plan of action. So far as I can judge from past discussions I do not think that any difference of opinion exists as to the necessity for the appointment of a Council of the four Governments to take charge of and deal with the question of Relief to Europe. I think that the best plan will be to set up this Council at once, without giving any special directions save that it is created for the purpose of dealing with relief, and for each Government to nominate its representatives on the Council and leave them to meet and deal with all questions including the extent of their own powers within the general limits prescribed in the document copy of which was sent by Lord Reading to Mr. Hoover. If this plan is adopted I would suggest that the procedure to be followed would be that Mr. Hoover should at the first meeting of this Council make a full report of any action taken by him, that the same course should be followed by the representatives of the other Governments and that the Council would then get to work.
Perhaps you would kindly let me know whether this arrangement would meet the President’s views. Then, if the French and Italian Governments also assent, His Majesty’s Government would at once nominate their representatives with a view to enabling the Council to get to work at the earliest possible date.
Yours sincerely,