Paris Peace Conf. 103.97/3j: Telegram
The Food Administrator ( Hoover ) to the Chargé in Serbia ( Dodge )
2. Pending completion of permanent Allied Relief for Servia, I have appointed Colonel Atwood Director of Relief for Servia and Jugo-Slavia on behalf of the US Food Administration, and he will arrive shortly in Belgrade. We have US Government vessels loaded with foodstuffs passing Gibraltar for the Adriatic and we are proposing to establish stocks of food at Ragusa, Cattaro, Trieste, possibly Fiume and Salonica, at an early moment. Our proposal is that foodstuffs will be sold by the US Government to the agents of the Servian Government at the above ports, and that the Servian Government will undertake the distribution, subject to the general approval of our representatives. We assume that the Servian Government will undertake to pay for foodstuffs for Jugo-Slavia and Montenegro as well as Servia proper and that in fact it will be advantageous for them to do so. In order for them to finance these operations it is urgently [Page 683] necessary that they instantly apply to the US Government at Washington through their Minister, for a loan of 15 million dollars to the Servian Government, to be advanced by the US to the Servian Minister at Washington and transferred by him to the US Food Administration or such other agency as I may designate. The Food Administration will furnish the foodstuffs at cost and expenses of delivery from storage at seaboard, and the accounts of the Administration in this operation will be debited to the advances received by the Food Administration in Washington from the Servian Minister. This arrangement is entirely for emergency purposes and in order to secure that relief be placed upon a permanent basis and to cover her other necessities the Servian Government should apply at once to England and France for advances equal to the above amounts and for these Governments to furnish to the Servian Government commodities or cash for such value. In effect, our proposal is that we should take one-third of the burden of Servian Relief, but that we will serve the emergency purposes through the above arrangement. As we have only foodstuffs arriving from the US the Servian Government should secure clothing and other material which they desire from England or France, under the above plan. Bohemia has an excess of sugar which Servia should attempt to purchase. Colonel Atwood qualified to look into railway situation. Will wire later the date of his arrival. In the meantime I would be grateful if you would secure that the Servian Government take immediate action in Washington on the above lines as we shall be unable to release any foodstuffs from our seaboard stores until we have the above financial arrangements completed in Washington, and until Servian Minister in Washington has, under complete authority, signed necessary agreements with the American Treasury and with the US Food Administration or such other agency as I may direct.