ative. I am
reconciled to this treatment of the subject by the knowledge that the
story will be told comprehensively and well by Dr. Vernon Kellogg, who
will soon publish an authoritative history of the Commission's work. As
former Director of the Commission in Belgium, he has the detailed
knowledge of its workings and the sympathetic understanding of its
purpose, which peculiarly fit him for the task.

The work of the Commission is of a scope and significance that few of us
realise. It is without doubt the greatest humanitarian enterprise in
history, conducted under conditions of almost incredible difficulty. To
those who had an understanding of the work, it had a compelling appeal,
not only as an opportunity for service but also as the greatest
conservation project of all time--the conservation of one of the finest
races of our civilisation.

In its inception and execution, the work of the Commission is
distinctively American. Its inception was in the mind of Herbert Hoover;
in its execution he had the whole-hearted assistance of a little band of
quiet American gentlemen who laboured in Belgium from the autumn of 1914
until we entered the war in April of this year. They came from all parts
of our country and from all walks of life. They were simple work-a-day
Americans, welded together by unwavering devotion to the common task and
to Herbert Hoover, the "Chief." It was the splendid human side of the
Commission that made it succeed in spite of all obstacles, and that part
of the story will be hard to tell.

The gallant little band is now widely scattered. Some are carrying on
their old work from Holland or England or America in order to ensure a
steady flow of food to Belgium. Others are serving our Government in
various capacities or fighting in the armies of our allies. Some of them
we shall not see again and there will never be another reunion, as in
the old days, when the "Chief" came over from London to Brussels with
work to be done. But the bright light of kindly human service which
brought them all together is still aflame and will always be an
inspiration to those who served, however humbly, in the great work.

WASHINGTON, D.C., SEPT. 24, 1917.

A Journal From Our Legation In Belgium

_BRUSSELS, July 4, 1914._--After years of hard work and revolutions and
wars and rumours of war, the change to this quiet post has been most
welcome and I have wallowed in the luxury of having time t