Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1940-08-12
Feeding War Victims

In proposing that the United
States and other neutral nations
should undertake to feed the victims
of war in Norway, Holland, Belgium,
Poland and possibly in France, Her.
bert Hoover has laid down three
conditions precedent which may
prove very difficult of fulfillment.
This question of sending food to
the civilian populations of the in
offensive countries that have been
overrun by Hitler's armies is going
to r~Jve veXing in the extreme be-
fore many months have passed. On
the one hand, unless help is forth
coming, there is the harsh fact that
millions of these people will have
to endure incredible hardships and
many may die of starvation during
the coming winter. Hitler, if one
may judge from recent comments
of some of his spokesman, is going
to maintain studied Indifference
to their fate. One Nazi commentator
has expressed the German attitude
In this fashion: Nov, who in the
world ever expected victor to pro-
vide his enemies or former enemies
with food? There IS no necessity
There is no ligation-neither legal
nor moral" In other words, the
Germany of Adolf Hitler remains
wholly Indifferent to the fate of
these millions of innocents whose
only offense was that they resisted
unprovoked invasion of their home
lands.
On the other side of the problem
there is the British attitude. This
Is war of blockade, and that is the
one weapon upon which the British
can depend for ultimate victory. In
all probability Britain will not con-
sent to any relaxation of the blockade
if the result is going to be beneficial
to her enemy, and 1t is contended
in London that such a result is a
virtual certainty.
The British position rests on two
main grounds. First, that the Ger
mans already have looted the food
stores of conquered nations and that
they will divert to German uses any
food supplies that may be shipped
to these countries in the future. The
second charge is that the Nazis have
imposed a forced labor system on
the victims of their military ma
chine; that the conquered Belgians,
Dutch, Poles and Norwegians are
being compelled to work for Ger
many, and that to permit food sup
plies to reach these peoples would
merely be to strengthen the fighting
powers of Britains mortal enemy.
Fully cognizant of these claims,
Mr.. Hoover insists that three con-
ditions must be met before any food
can be shipped from America: First,
that Germany agree to take none
of the domestic produce of the four
conquered nations, that she restore
an equivalent of food already taken,
that she permit imports from Russia
and the Balkans, and that she
permit adequate control of diStribu-
ton of incoming food supplies.
Second, that Britain, so long as these
guarantees are fulfilled, allow food
ships to pass the blockade. Third,
that the de facto or fugitive gov
ernmentS of the four countries make
provision to pay for the food and
the organization to distribute it with
resources in this country and else
where.
In view of the positions already
taken by the belligerents it is doubt
full that these conditions would be
satisfied. But, even if they should
be met, it is worthy of note that
Mr.. Hoover's proposal does not take
into account the British claim that
relaxation of the blockade would
have the effect of permitting food to
reach large slave labor force which
the Nazis have harneSSed to their
military machine.