ther, we started for Berlin. We
discovered von Bissing's chief political adviser, Baron von der Lancken
and his principal assistant, Dr. Rieth, on the same train. These were
the two men who, after the armistice, proposed to Hoover by wire
through our Rotterdam office, to arrange with him for getting food into
Germany and received by prompt return wire through the same
intermediary: "Mr. Hoover's personal compliments and request to go to
hell. If Mr. Hoover has to deal with Germany for the Allies it will at
least not be with such a precious pair of scoundrels."

When these gentlemen, who had helped greatly in making our work and life
in Belgium very difficult, saw us, they were somewhat confused but
finally told us they were called to Berlin for a great conference on the
relief work. When we reached Berlin we found three important officers
from Great Headquarters in the Hotel Adlon. Two of them we knew well;
they had always been fairly friendly to us. The third was General von
Sauberzweig, military governor of Brussels at the time of Miss Cavell's
execution, and the man of final responsibility for her death. As a
result of the excitement in Berlin because of the world-wide indignation
over the Cavell affair he had been removed from Brussels _by promotion_
to the Quartermaster Generalship at Great Headquarters!

The Berlin conference of important representatives of all the government
departments and the General Staff had been called as a result of the
influence of zu Reventlow and the jingoes who wished to break down the
Belgian relief. We were not invited; we just happened to be there. We
could not attend the conference, but we could work on the outside. We
went to Ambassador Gerard for advice. The Allies were pressing the
Commission to get the concessions on the 1916 native crop. Our effort to
get the food for the children was entirely our own affair. Mr. Gerard
advised Hoover to rely entirely on the Commission's reputation for
humanity and neutrality; to keep the position of the Allies wholly out
of the discussion. But this was indeed only the confirmation by a wise
diplomat of the idea of the situation that Hoover already had.

Most of the conference members were against the relief. At the end of
the first session Lancken and one of the Headquarters officers told us
that things were almost certainly going wrong. They advised Hoover to
give up. What he did was to work harder. He forced the officials of the
Foreign Of