Existing comment:
Commission for Relief in Belgium
The plight of Belgium attracted worldwide sympathy. Successful businessman and future U.S. president Herbert Hoover undertook leadership of the Commission for Relief in Belgium, which sought to feed and clothe the Belgians and avert starvation. This letter summarizes the results of that relief effort through the middle of 1915, which included the collection of 71 million francs worth of food. This page from a trade publication for American wheat manufacturers shows bags of flour at a distribution depot in Brussels. The Commission shipped close to 700 million bags of wheat to towns across Belgium. By mid-1915 the Commission was also assisting the people of German-occupied northern France. |