New-York tribune., 1919-04-18
Allies Insist HOstilities
Cease, Payment for
Supplies Be Guaranteed
and Transport Assured
Disclai1n Political
Or Military Gain
Accept Nansen Plan ON
Condition Russians Can
Pledge Fair Division

PARIS, April II (By The Asso
ciatel ss).-Correspondence be
tween Fridtjok Nansen, head of the
commission appointed to feed Rus
sia, and President Wilson and Pre-
miers Clemenceau, Lloyd George an(
Orlando on the food situation il
Russia, was made public to-day. DR.
Nansen's letter said:
"The present food situation in
Russia where hundreds of thou
sands of people are dying monthly
from sheer starvation and disease,
is one of the problems now upper
most in all mems minds. AS it APP
pears that no solution of this food
question has so far been reached in
any delegation, | would like to make
suggestion from a neutral point of
view for the benefit of this gigantic
misery, on purely humanitarian
grounds.
Pay for Supplies
ct would appear to me possible to
organize purely humanitarian COM
mittee for the provisioning OF Rus
sa, the foodstuffs and medical sup
plies to be paid for, perhaps to some
considerable extent. by Russia itself
the justice of distribution to be
guaranteed by a committee. The
general makeup of the commission
would be composed Of Norwegian,
Swedish and possibly Dutch, Danish
and Swiss nationalities.
at does not appear that the exist
ing authorities in Russia would re-
fuse the intervention of such com
mittee of wholly 'non-politcal
order, devoted solely to the human
itarian service of saving life. If
thus organized upon the lines of the
Belgian relief committee it would
raise no question of political recOg-
milton or negotiations between the
Allies with the existing authorities
in Russia.
81 recognize keenly the large polit-
ical issues involved, and | would be
glad to know under what conditions
such an enterprise would be approved
and whether such committee could
look for real support in finance and
shipping and food and medical sup
plies from our governments"
Allies Accept Plan
The following reply was sent b.
President Wilson and the Premier
to-day:
"The misery and suffering in Rus
sia described in your letter of April
$ appeal to the sympathies of all
peoples. 1t is shocking to humanity
that millions of men and women and
children lack the food and nourish-
ment which make life endurable.
The governments and peoples
whom we represent would be glad to
cooperate, without thought of polti-
cal, military or financial advantage,
in any PROPOSAL which would relieve
this situation in Russia. 1t seems to
us that such a committee as you pro-
pose would offer practical means
of acquiring the beneficent results
you have in view, and could not,
either in its conception or its opera
tion, be considered as having any
other aim than the humanitarian
purpose of saving life.
"There are great difficulties to be
overcome, political difficulties given
to the existing situation in Russia,
and difficulties of supply and of
transport, but if the existing local
governments Of Russia are as will
ing as the governments and peoples
whom we represent to see succor
and relief given to the stricken
people of Russia, no political OBJ
stacle will remain.
Russia Must Finance 1t
There will remain, however, the
difficulties of supply, finance and
transport which we have mentioned,
and also the problem of distribution
in Russia itself. The problem of
supply we can ourselves hope to
solve IN connection with the advice
and cooperation OF such commit
tee as proposed. The problem of fl
nance would seem TO us to fall upon
the Russian authorities. The prob
lem of transport of supplies to Rus
sia we can hope to meet with the
assistance of your own and neutral
governments, whose interests should
be rs great aG our own and whose
losses have been less.
"Thc problems OF transport in
Russia and Of distribution can be
solved only by the people of Russia
themselves, with the assistance. ad-
vice and supervision of your own
commission. Subject to such pro
vision the problem of distribution
should be solely under the control
Continued on gage three