The royal imperial and military governor general of Lublin has published the follow. ing announcement: In May, when the spring work in the fields will be practically completed, the military administration will begin work, within the territory administered by it, on the building of roads and on the Vistula. Numerous laborers will be used for this purpose. The military administration will summon them from among the local population, and form them into labor detachments, each of which will be employed as far as possible within its own village or its neighborhood. It will, however, be impossible to avoid the employment of some detachments in other districts of the Government than their own. It is, however, to be clearly understood that all labor detachments will be used exclusively within the territory of the Government of Poland in Austro-Hungarian occupation. As need may arise, all men fit for work will be called upon. The only exception will be those to whom the district authorities may grant exemption in consideration of their profession or for other weighty reasons, in accordance with instructions issued to them. In case of need also women will be employed, provided they come forward of their free will. The workmen will be properly paid and fed. "The attention of the population is hereby drawn in advance to the forthcoming order, and to its purpose, so that no one should give credence to false rumors. work is concerned which will be of considerable economic advantage to the entire country, and in connection with which each particular workman will find a sufficient livelihood to maintain himself and his family, the military administration expects that all men fit for work will apply in their own well-understood interest for inclusion in the labor detachments, and will in that way avoid compulsory orders. The intended works are unavoidably necessary from the military point of view, and must be carried out in any case. The military administration hopes that it will not be necessary to use compulsion. "For the Governor General: "LUBLIN, April 26, 1916." “DIETRICHSTEIN, Major General. On July 5 the department instructed the American ambassador at Berlin by cable to present the substance of this note to the German Government and to attempt to ascertain its attitude relative thereto. The department received no reply to the cablegram sent to the American ambassador at Paris relative to the German counterproposals. On June 17 the department received a cablegram from the American ambassador at Vienna, in reply to its telegram of May 24, stating that the Austrian under secretary of foreign affairs had promised to hasten reply of the military authorities on whole question of relief in Poland, Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania. On July 7 the department sent the following telegram to the American ambassadors at London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, and Petrograd: 1 Inform Government to which you are accredited that since the United States for many months, at the request of the various belligerent powers, has been acting as intermediary in the negotiations between the belligerents relative to a proposed agreement as to the terms under which relief supplies may be introduced into Poland and distributed therein, and since all the negotiations have so far failed to result in any agreement which could bring about the desired result, although all the countries interested have manifested a willingness to permit relief supplies to be sent to Poland under certain specified conditions, the United States therefore, in the name and interests of humanity, now appeals to all the belligerent countries to consider whether it is not possible for the powers on each side to make such mutual concessions in the terms proposed by them for the regulation of shipments of relief supplies into Poland as will make it possible for an agreement to be reached under which relief can be given to the suffering inhabitants of Poland. The United States is instructing its ambassadors to Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Russia to communicate this message to the Government to which they are respectively accredited. On July 20 the President supplemented the department's appeal of July 7 by sending a personal letter to the King of England, President of France, Emperor of Russia, Emperor of Germany, and Emperor of Austria, appealing to each of them to use his personal efforts toward the securing of some agreement between the belligerents which would permit the shipment of food supplies to Poland. A copy of the letter to the King of England was as follows: JULY 20, 1916. YOUR MAJESTY: In view of the overwhelming disasters which have befallen the millions of noncombatant inhabitants of Poland, I feel justified by the universal and earnest expression of the sympathies of the American people, regardless of racial origin or political sentiments, to suggest to Your Majesty that the subject of ways and means for the saving of those of these people who still survive be given the further benevolent consideration of Your Majesty's Government. While no one can fail to appreciate the sufferings and sacrifices of the peoples primarily engaged in the existing war, nor the difficulties in the way of alleviating the hardships of those who are the incidental sufferers from the war, the death by slow or rapid starvation of millions of innocent people is so awful a fact that such an outcome should be averted if it is within the compass of human effort to avert it. In the effort to avert it I confidently pledge the cooperation of the people of the United States, if only the way can be found to make their cooperation effective. May I therefore be permitted to suggest that an entirely fresh consideration be given to the possibility and method of relief for Poland, and to tender the friendly offices of this Government in negotiations to this end, it being understood that any plan proposed shall be of such a character as to be adapted to the accomplishment of no other result than that of the relief of the distressed inhabitants of Poland. In conclusion I can only add that it is my sincere hope that Your Majesty will see in this note no intention to interfere with the rights and policies of Your Majesty's Government, but merely the attempt to express to Your Majesty the sympathy and compassion toward the starving inhabitants of Poland felt by the citizens of the United States a sympathy and compassion which they do not desire shall be evidenced merely by idle words, but which they hope they may be permitted to express by assisting in the actual work of furnishing food to the starving inhabitants of Poland. I have the honor to be, Your Majesty, faithfully, yours, WOODROW WILSON. The letters sent to the President of France, Emperor of Russia, Emperor of Germany, and Emperor of Austria were identical with the one sent to the King of England, except for the necessary change of title. On July 11, 1916, Congressman Thomas Gallagher, of Illinois, introduced the following resolution in the House of Representatives approving of the department's action in sending its telegram of July 7: [H. Res. 300, Sixty-fourth Congress, first session.] IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES. JULY 11, 1916. Mr. GALLAGHER submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs and ordered to be printed. RESOLUTION. Whereas the suffering and distress of the inhabitants of Poland have continued for many months on account of the inability of the various belligerent European powers to agree upon the terms under which relief supplies may be sent to and distributed among these unfortunate and starving people; and Whereas on July seventh, nineteen hundred and sixteen, at my suggestion, the State Department sent a circular cablegram relating to this subject, a copy of which is hereto annexed, to the American ambassadors in Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Russia, to be transmitted to the Governments to which they are respectively accredited, with the hope that it might result in an agreement being reached under which the existing conditions in Poland might be alleviated: Therefore be it Resolved, That this body declare its approval of this action of the State Department in thus petitioning the Governments of the aforesaid countries to make such mutual concessions as will remedy the indescribable conditions of suffering in Poland. COPY OF CIRCULAR CABLEGRAM SENT BY STATE DEPARTMENT ON JULY 7, 1916. Inform Government to which you are accredited that since the United States for many months, at the request of the various belligerent powers, has been acting as intermediary in the negotiations between the belligerents relative to a proposed agreement as to the terms under which relief supplies may be introduced into Poland and distributed therein, and since all the negotiations have so far failed to result in any agreement which could bring about the desired result, although all the countries interested have manifested a willingness to permit relief supplies to be sent to Poland under certain specified conditions, the United States therefore, in the name and interests of humanity, now appeals to all the belligerent countries to consider whether it is not possible for the powers on each side to make such mutual concessions in the terms proposed by them for the regulations of shipments of relief supplies into Poland as will make it possible for an agreement to be reached under which relief can be given to the suffering inhabitants of Poland. The United States is instructing its ambassadors to Austria, France, Germany, Great Britain, and Russia to communicate this message to the Government to which they are respectively accredited. (Signed) POLK, Acting. The replies which the department has received from the various belligerents to the department's telegram of July 7 are shown in the following telegrams and dispatches received by the department from its diplomatic representatives in the various belligerent countries: SECRETARY OF STATE, Washington: Following is text of note just received from foreign office: LONDON, July 27, 1916. "JULY 26. "I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of Your Excellency's communication of July 8, in which you are good enough to lay before His Majesty's Government an appeal to all belligerent Governments to come to an agreement for the relief of Poland. 'His Majesty's Government desire to settle once and for all the whole question of importations of foodstuffs into territory in the occupation of the enemy. They therefore make the following final proposal: If the German and Austro-Hungarian Governments will reserve wholly to the civil populations of the territories which their armies have occupied, viz, Belgium, northern France, Poland, Serbia, Montenegro, and Albania, the entire produce of the soil, all live stock, and all stocks of food, fodder, or fertilizers in those territories, if they will admit to those territories neutrals selected by the President of the United States with full powers to control the distribution of food to the whole poulation and to transfer when necessary and possible from one territory to another surplus stocks existing in the one and lacking in the other, and if the President of the United States will undertake the selection of these neutral agents, His Majesty's Government will, on their part, give them every assistance in their power and will admit into such territories imported food supplies necessary to supplement native stocks and to afford to the populations a fair subsistence ration so long as they are satisfied that their enemies are scrupulously observing their part of the agreement. "If this offer is refused, or if the German and Austro-Hungarian Governments do not reply before the harvest in the occupied territory begins to be gathered, but continue to refrain from stating officially for the information of the allied Governments their exact attitude in regard to these questions of relief, His Majesty's Government will hold them responsible and will exact from them such reparation as can be secured by the allied arms or enforced by the public opinion of the neutral world for every civilian life lost though insufficient nourishment in every territory occupied by the armies of the central powers. "It is obvious that if this proposal is to be put into operation successfully, no time must be lost. The new harvest will shortly be gathered, and for the plan to be of any advantage to the populations of the occupied territories, the fruits of the harvest must be placed in neutral control before they have been appropriated for the use of the subjects of Germany and Austria-Hungary.” PAGE. |