New Britain herald., 1921-08-20
Brown, European Relief Representative
 Signs Papers AtRiga At ll:30 Today Speeches AreShort and Courteous
London Reports That Fam inc Conditions in Region of Volga River Are Very Grave.

Rnga, Letvit, Aug. 20. (By Asso- ciated ress.)-The agreement be- l. tween the United States and Rus for the famine stricken districts of sia providing for American relief Russia was signed at 11:30 o'clock this morning by Walter Lyman Brown, European representative Of the American relief administration and Maxim Litvinoff, representative of the Russian famine committee Hope that the signing of the agree ment would lead to further relations hxetween Russia and America was expressed in speeches made by M. Litvinoff and M. Meirovitz, the Lett vian premier. Mir. Brown confined his remarks to formal words of thanks and the, expression of the hope that the agreement would re- suit in the saving of lives. Carroll Temporary Head. Phillip Carroll, of Portland, Ore, will, at least temporarily, head the work of feeding the starving people | of Russia, a task the American re- | lief administration considers the l greatest it, has yet faced. Walter L.. l Brown, European director of the ad- l ministration announced today that MT. Carroll would lead the first party
 of relief workers, which probably will leave for Moscow on Thursday next Mr. Carroll who has been
 with the administration only two years made an excellent record by his work in Germany, south Russia and Serbia.
 ! s Other Members.
 The other members of the first
 party will include John P. Gregg of
 Portland, who has had experience
 with the relief administration in iPoland and Lithuania; E. c. Neur- land of California who comes from a post in Austria: Carlton G. Bowen, a Rhodes scholar who was with the
 first American relief workers in Bell
 gium and who latterly has been in
 Hungary, and Will G. Shaffrons of Denver, who has worked for the re- lief administratian in Poland and
 Czecho- -Slovakia.
 MT. Brown will return to London
 with his secretary, leaving to Cap
 tain John Miller, head of the reief
 administra ton in the Baltic states
 the remainder of the task of handling
 the big Riga base.
 Contract Terms. | Russia is by the terms of the con- tr:1ct made the beneficiary of a far-.
 reaching program which includes not
 only providing food for the people of
 the famine stricken Volga region, but the combating of epidemics in dis
 tricts where the American workers
 gre sent. The task of preventing the r outbreak of conta gious diseases l among the fugitive thousands who , | have fled from their homes and are
 streaming over roads leading out of the starvation area would appear to n De monumental, and one that would VI tex the resources of any organization. p Cholera has made its appearance in s various districts and there is in many - places danger Of epidemics such as " have in the past swept away myriad : victims. and reached distant parts of - t:ee continent.
 e Orders Sent Out. It is understood that when it be- oLme known an agreement was almost
 certain, orders were sent to ~Hamburg,
 Danzig and New York, directing that
 relief ships be loaded with food and
 medicines for use in Russia The per-
 sonnel of the American relief con- , ::ngent is believed to be, for the most part selected and actual work in Rus I sia may possibly commence in a little
 more than a week
 Political Clause. Political and commercial activities , will be outside the realm of the workers duties, and any violating
 this clause of the agreement may be Immediately expelled from Russia
 upon proofs being submitted to the | Directors of the relief work. All , Americans engaged in feeding and r caring for the famine sufferers will t erjoy diplomatic rights.
 America to Select Ports. All relief shipments will be trans ; ported free of charge to points se- lected by the Americans who will have absolute control of the distribu- ) ton of supplies. It is the plan to
 restrict relief measures to those peo-
 pie who arc in actual distress, and 1 to prevent government employees and I men in the service Of the army and navy from coming into possession of l supplies intended for the sick or starv-
 ing.
 Cooperation. II The Russian famine committee will n oo-operate with the American relief administration, in the work contem- f | plated and the Americans will not e oLerate in districts where the Rus g sians are able to provide rations. Race ) creed and political status will be for g gotten in the work of mercy.