Arizona republican., 1918-11-15
INITIAL STEPS
 TAKEN BY J.. ].
 TO AID FRANCE
Belgium To Be Il "s Hoover-Hurley Program
 Commission Sails To-
 morrow-Release Ships
Republican A. p. Leased Wire1

WASHINGTON, Nov. 14.-Food Ad- ministrator Hoover and Chairman Hurley of the shipping board will sail Saturday on the White Star liner Olympic for Europe to study problems connected with the inter allied pro- gram for feeding the people of northern France, Belgium, central Europe and near east.
 MT Hoover, who at the request of the president will organize and direct Americas part in the work, will leave tomorrow for New York, while MT. Hurley left tonight. During the day they were in conference with Secretary Lansing and it was understood that diplomatic matters connected with the food program and the amount of ton mage available for transporting relief supplies were discussed.
 One of MT. Hoover's first tasks when he reaches Europe will be to ascertain the most urgent need for fod and reconstruction materials in fod and reconstruction materials in man Hurley will devote most of his l time to confering with shipping off cials in Great Britain and France, re- garding the allocation of shipping nee essary for carrying out whatever pro- gram is determined upon.
 Supplies Already Increased
 At the food administration today it was said that ships are now leaving American ports and Argentine with greatly increased supplies of food for northern France and Belgium, and that food for the peoples of central Europe and the near east will go forward as | quickly as shipping tonnage is made available. Dr. Alonzo E. Taylor, repre- | sentative of both the food administra- | ton and the war trade board, is ac- | companNng MT. Hoover, and will go | to the Balkans to direct relief work there.
 In addition to this program the | United States, it was stated today will continue to carry out it's food agree ments with the various neutrals. Hol- land and Switzerland are said to be still badly in need of supplies while the economic agreements with Sweden, | Norway, Spain and Denmark still. are in force.
 Armistice Releases Much Tonnage
 Shipping board officials estimated today that the signing of the armistice with German will result in the release of about 1500,0 GOO tons of additional shipping for carrying supplies to needy countries. Of this amount, 100000 tons is represented by German ships tied up in Germany or neutral ports, i Austria is believed to have 250,000 tons of shipping in it's ports.
 The United States, it was said, soon can furnish 100000 tons of shipping for relief work, while Great Britain and France also are expected to be able to divert some tonnage to this trade. In addition many neutral ships held in port by the submarine menace will again put to sea and Japan may be asked to supply whatever of its ton- mage it can for the relief trade.
 MT. Hurley will be accompanied to Europe by John F. Barber, assistant to the chairman; Winner Boiling, as- sistant treasurer, and William F. Gibbs of the shipping control board. Baron de Cartier, the Belgian minis ter, in statement tonight relative to the action of President Wilson in plac- ing Mir. Hoover in charge of America S contribution toward the feeding of Bel gium. said it would give the Belgian people "a feeling of absolute confi- dence.'
 Belgian Plight Terrible
 This evidence of Americas contin- ued solieitude," said the minister, will be an encouragement and stimulation to my people, second only to their actual liberation from German oppres sion'
 In reviewing the situation in which Belgium finds herself at the end of the war Minister de Cartier said:
 Tt must always be borne in mind that over four million of our seven million people are destitute, and today are subsisting in soup lines; that ex- cept for the garments provided through the relief commission, they have had no textiles for over four years: that the whole clock of industry has beer stopped, and that the Germans have carted away to Germany all the ma chinery which they did not destroy ir Belgium. They destroyed our railways our mines and our canals. Never be fore has a country been reduced tt