for prompt and effective action. It became necessary, therefore, that the Technical Missions sent out by the Supreme Economic Council should define their relations with any existing Military Missions under the High Command. These relations were defined as follows: 'When a Military Mission exists under the High Command its relations with the Technical Missions of the Supreme Economic Council will be the same as its relations with the Civil Organization concerned, to assist which is the duty of the proposed Mission.' The Technical Missions of the Communications Section reported to, and received instructions from, the Communications Section through the channel laid down by the Ally responsible in each case for executive action. The general principle followed was for Missions to be sent to every country assisted, but in each case one Ally was charged with the necessary local executive action. The work of reconstruction proceeded throughout the year. In many cases, notably in Serbia and the Baltic Provinces, an almost complete destruction of communications, railway, postal, and telegraphic, had to be overcome. In others, e. g. Poland, Serbia, and Rumania, grants were made from British Relief credits for the purchase of repair material. Armistice locomotives and wagons were furnished to Poland, Lithuania, CzechoSlovakia, Serbia, and Rumania. Different Missions had different difficulties to contend with. The work of the Polish Mission was much hampered by the fact that military operations were proceeding throughout almost the entire period of its labours. The Austrian Mission was chiefly concerned in securing the minimum supply of coal necessary to ensure Austrian railway communications. The Yugo-Slav Mission was chiefly occupied in recreating from the beginning the destroyed railway system of old Serbia. In this latter case reconstruction advanced so far that on the 13th October 1919 through railway communication was restored between Paris and Constantinople by the opening of traffic on the new railway bridge over the river Save at Belgrade.1 The Adriatic Mission was chiefly concerned with the control and expedition of relief supplies through Trieste to the various parts of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. 1 The bridge was closed again towards the end of the year, but is expected to reopen shortly. THE COMMUNICATIONS SECTION 311 The Communications Section further undertook the work of restoring the communications of the Danube. A provisional Danube Commission was formed at the end of April 1919, under the presidency of Admiral Troubridge, R.N., to facilitate the circulation of relief goods and commercial barges, to collaborate with the Communications Missions established in the Riparian States, and to improve, as quickly as possible, the means of communication between the Commands of the three sections into which the Danube was divided for executive working purposes. This Commission accomplished invaluable work in these directions, and paved the way for the Commissions set up under the Peace Treaty for the eventual control of the Danube by including representatives of all the nonenemy Riparian States. Further, the Communications Section, in order to relieve the strain on the transport of relief to CzechoSlovakia, through Trieste, took steps in April 1919 to open the Elbe for relief traffic to Czecho-Slovakia. In all the fields of its activity the Communications Section strove to accomplish work of permanent value. It took the largest share in the repair and reorganization of destroyed railway systems. Without its efforts the food supplies voted for the relief of the distressed countries of Europe would never have reached their recipients. Further, the information which in the course of its labours the officers attached to its various Missions have collected as to conditions in general, quantity and quality of rolling stock, etc., is proving, and will prove, of the utmost value to the various Commissions established under the Peace Treaty for the final regulation of matters of this nature. In mid-February 1920 the Commission for the Repartition of rolling stock in the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, entered upon its work at Vienna under the presidency of Sir Francis Dent. This Commission will work almost entirely upon statistics collected by the Transportation Missions of the Communications Section. The Communications Section has also concerned itself with the question of the resumption of through train services in Europe. 5. Negotiations with Germany on the Economic Clauses of the Armistice. (a) General Arrangements under the Armistice Agreement. It was well known to the Allies that the pressure of the blockade upon the economic life of Germany during the latter part of the war had become extreme. In articles other than food, it was possible to manage after a fashion, by the aid of numerous substitute materials; but in the case of foodstuffs, the nutritive value of the substitute foods which were consumed in large quantities was exceedingly small, and the population suffered intensely from the lack of the most essential articles of normal diet. Owing to the cutting off of the great quantities of fodder which Germany had been accustomed to import before the war, her live stock diminished both in quantity and quality. Meat, milk, and all forms of animal fat grew exceedingly scarce, and no effective substitute for these could be found within the country. The importation of artificial fertilizers had also ceased during the war, with the result that the yield of cereal crops, potatoes, and sugar beet had diminished to a great extent. Germany also suffered from a number of bad harvests during the war. The greatest shortage of all that the German population had to endure was during the winter of 1916-17, when a considerable proportion of the people had to live largely on swede turnips and kohl-rabi; many of the weakest were killed off during this period, and the powers of endurance of the remainder were very much reduced. At the end of the war conditions were no worse than during previous years of the war, and were better than the winter of 1916-17: the effect on the population, however, of lack of protein and animal fat was cumulative, and the working capacity and power of resistance to disease of the people had been greatly reduced by the end of 1918. The Inter-Allied Scientific Food Commission has estimated that the average 'man' doing normal work requires 3,300 calories per day in order to maintain his health and working efficiency. Before the war, the average consumption in Germany amounted to as much as 4,020 calories per man per day, but at the end of the war the food obtainable on the German ration cards yielded only about 1,500-1,600 calories. The actual producers of food were of course much better off, and those who had money to buy additional food through illicit trade could supplement their official rations to a considerable extent; but most of the poor in industrial districts and of the middle classes with small incomes were forced to be content with food far below their normal health requirements. The knowledge that Germany had not got enough food to tide her over until next harvest, and the fear that complete NEGOTIATIONS WITH GERMANY 313 anarchy might break out unless measures were taken by the Allies, led to the insertion in the Armistice Agreement of 11th November 1918 of Article XXVI, which was to the effect that, although the blockade would continue to be maintained in principle, the Allies would permit the provisioning of Germany to the extent that would be considered necessary. A great reduction in the merchant tonnage owing to the submarine campaign necessitated the immediate putting into use all the vessels of the German merchant fleet, and on the second renewal of the Armistice of the 16th January 1919, the German Government agreed to place for the duration of the Armistice the whole merchant fleet under the control and under the flags of the Allies. The details respecting the employment of German tonnage were drawn up in the Agreement of Trier of the 17th January 1919, when the Allies stated that they were prepared to permit the importation in the first instance of 200,000 tons of breadstuffs and cereals and 70,000 tons of pork products and condensed milk provided that the German mercantile fleet was at once handed over. A protracted series of negotiations then took place at Spa and Trier during the next two months to regulate the conditions of supply of food to Germany, the terms on which the ships were to be transferred, and the method of payment for the food. The delay in making actual deliveries of food arose from the refusal at first of the German Government to hand over the ships in accordance with the Armistice Agreement, without first receiving a guarantee from the Allies for the delivery of definite quantities of food before the harvest. A settlement was finally reached by the Brussels Agreement of 13th-14th March 1919. It was under this Agreement that the whole of the subsequent deliveries of food to Germany were made during the Armistice period to the end of August 1919. The Allies undertook: (i) To provide themselves, or to give permits for the import from neighbouring neutrals of such part of the 270,000 tons of the food agreed to at Trier as was not covered by contracts which had been made in the earlier agreement. This was subject to the immediate sailing of the German ships from their harbours. (ii) To give Germany facilities for the purchase and import up to 300,000 tons of breadstuffs or their equivalent in other human foodstuffs and 70,000 tons of fats, including pork products, vegetable oils, and condensed milk. These quantities did not include fish caught in European waters, or vegetables. (iii) Germany was allowed to export all commodities except those to be enumerated subsequently in a prohibited list, to any neutral or other approved destination, but the proceeds from these exports were required to be converted into payment for foodstuffs. (iv) It was agreed that the carriage of German supplies by the 1st September should be a first charge upon the use of the German mercantile marine. (v) All ships over 2,500 tons gross (with a few exceptions) were to be delivered forthwith, while the question of the provisional exemption of ships between 1,600 and 2,500 tons was held over for further consideration. (vi) Germany was permitted to import foodstuffs within the above quantities from neutrals. (vii) Germany undertook to transfer at once sufficient gold to pay for the foodstuffs that were immediately to be sent in. She undertook at the same time also to set in motion arrangements for requisitioning all the securities in Germany which might be used for financing purchases from overseas and to furnish lists of such securities for which the Allies might make such selections as are likely to be most useful for this purpose. It was further decided that an Inter-Allied Food Commission should be established at Rotterdam to negotiate with representatives of the German Government with regard to details of quantity, prices, and other commercial arrangements arising out of the deliveries in the agreement. It was later arranged that a Shipping Commission also should be established there for working out details arising out of the transfer of the German mercantile tonnage. The Food Commission referred all questions of policy to the Food Section of the Supreme Economic Council, whilst the Shipping Commission referred in the same way to the Allied Maritime Transport Executive. (b) Execution of the Programme of Supplies in the Brussels Agreement. The delay which took place in the handing over of the German merchant fleet had serious results. The tonnage situation was still very far from normal and the Allies were committed to a large relief programme in respect of most of the European countries. The shortage of tonnage throughout the world was |