Paris Peace Conf. 840.48/12a: Telegram
The Commission to Negotiate Peace to the Acting Secretary of State
216. For the Secretary of War from the President. The Food Administration will present to you the situation produced by army reductions in pork purchases and the situation generally arising out of changed currents of trade due to the Armistice and the action of the British authorities.
I have received the following letter from Hoover with its memorandum which latter I propose present to early meeting with Allied premiers. As this latter may not succeed, I would like at once the views of yourself and colleagues as to whether, in the interests of peace, the safety of our army from rising anarchy, and the protection of our producers, the War Department should not make the necessary purchases to protect the American situation and ship the material to Europe for distribution under their direction as a military measure.
“My dear Mr. President: I have cablegrams this morning, copies of which are enclosed, stating that the whole of the customary monthly orders from the British buying organizations on behalf of the Allied Governments have been withdrawn. I am informed by the French and Italian officials that it is untrue so far as they are concerned that they have not withdrawn their share of the orders, and I am endeavoring to restore them through the British organization in New York. The Allied Food necessities have been outlined from time to time by a series of programmes made up by the Inter-Allied Food Council, the latest of these programmes is as recent as the 15th of December and calls for our entire January surplus. Our manufacturers have provided the particular types of manufacture required by each of these Governments and have enormous stocks of these materials in hand ready for delivery in accordance with the indicated programmes above mentioned.
While we can protect our assurances given producers in many commodities, the most acute situation is in pork products which are perishable and must be exported. We have in January a surplus of about 400,000,000 pounds, and the French, Italian and Belgian Belief and other customary orders when restored will cover 60 percent of such. The British orders, at the rate indicated in their official programmes, would have been 140,000,000 pounds and covered our deficiency plus some help I am giving from the Belief. The British position is that they have sufficient supplies to last them for some weeks and that they wish to reduce their stocks.
If there should be no remedy to this situation we shall have a debacle in the American markets, and with the advances of several hundred million dollars now outstanding from the banks to the pork products industry we shall not only be precipitated into a financial crisis but shall betray the American farmer who has engaged himself to these ends. The surplus is so large that there can be no [Page 714] absorption of it in the United States and it, being perishable, will go to waste.
You will recollect that measures are before the Congress providing for appropriations for further economic assistance to the Allied Governments and I am confident that with the disclosure of this situation and the apparent desire of certain parties in England to break the American market a reaction will follow in the United States that will destroy the possibility of this economic support. In the face of this, the demand of liberated, neutral and enemy populations in Europe as to fats is beyond the ability of the United States to supply, and the need from the point of view of preserving order and laying the foundations of peace is absolutely instant in its insistence.
Mr. Davis and I have endeavored for the last 6 weeks to arrive at some co-operative action with the British agencies to forefend this situation and, as indicated above, the final result has been the refusal on their part to co-operate. We have suggested that the British Government should join with ourselves in the purchase of the necessary amounts of fats at our assured price to be resold to the liberated and enemy territories in order to prevent the above debacle, and this they have finally refused. I wish to assure you again that the prices which we are maintaining are the very minimum on which our American producers can come out whole on the effort they have made in the Allied cause, and I cannot impress upon you too strongly the reaction that will arise in the United States if this situation falls to the ground.
With Mr. Davis I have prepared the attached memorandum which I would like to suggest should be presented by you to the Allied Premiers at the earliest possible moment, as I cannot conceive that men with their vision as to the present situation will tolerate for one moment the attitude taken. Herbert C. Hoover.”
“Memorandum for agreement with Allied Premiers to comprise a direction to their various Government Departments. It is impossible to discuss the peace of the world until adequate measures have been taken to alleviate the fear of hunger, its attendant anarchy and its danger of possible further military operations. Therefore, before these peace negotiations can be opened auspiciously, it is essential to have the better feeding of the liberated, neutral and enemy territories of Europe in actual progress as the foundation of stability in government antecedent to the settlement of the great problems that will come before the Conference. It is therefore agreed by the Allied and the United States Governments that each shall, without further delay, furnish every possible assistance and facility required for carrying out the undertakings as to European Relief.
The United States has, in order to support the Allied Governments in war, provided large supplies of foodstuffs, many of them perishable, which would have been required by the Allies had hostilities continued. In order to accumulate these supplies, the American Government has given assurances and guarantees to their producers. The Allied Governments, as a result of the cessation of hostilities and the opening of other markets, no longer require the same amount of supplies from the United States as they have from time to time indicated by their programmes.
[Page 715]This surplus is now required to meet the necessities of Europe and it is most fortunate that the surplus is available for these purposes. It would be a disaster to the objects of the Associated Governments if the congestion in the United States should not be relieved so as to save waste and to meet the assurances given by the United States Government, and the Allied Governments agree to at once direct their departments to co-operate with the United States Food Administration to support these assurances, and the application of these foodstuffs to the needs of liberated, neutral and enemy peoples.
Pending the more mature plans and settlements of the Relief Administration as to food, shipping and finance, it is directed that immediate provision should be made from any available source of food supplies for provisions to points of acute need in the Balkan States, the liberated peoples of Turkey, Austria, to Belgium and Poland, that such provision shall be retroactively the obligation of the four Governments pending more definite arrangements.
It is desirable that the Associated Governments should show their good will towards the neutral countries of Europe by the immediate increase in the permitted importation of the surplus food commodities to these neutrals at once, being such amounts as the United States shall declare to be in surplus.
That it is necessary to at once give evidence of progress in the matter of food supplies to Germany and South Europe, and to this end the British, French and United States Governments will each at once give cabled orders for the shipment during the month of January of 30,000 tons of such fats (in addition to their orders for home consumption) as the United States shall declare available for these relief purposes. These foodstuffs shall be subsequently offered to Germany, subject to payment therefor and on other conditions that the Associated Governments may impose. That the Allied Governments and the United States will co-operate in the securing of such payment in a manner acceptable to each of the Associated Governments, and for providing the transportation of such foodstuffs. Before these supplies can arrive, the Relief Administration is expected to be working and to decide the conditions of distribution of payment and of further supplies and shipping.
These arrangements are declared binding upon all departments of the Allied and the United States Governments and shall be given immediate execution.”