Report on Coordination of Non-Military Activities of Allied Governments

Title

Report on Coordination of Non-Military Activities of Allied Governments

Creator

Unknown

Identifier

WWP19434

Date

1918 June 12

Description

This document reports on the coordination of non-military activities of Allied governments, including relief efforts.

Source

Hoover-Wilson Correspondence, Hoover Institution, Hoover Institution Archives, Stanford, California

Publisher

Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum

Subject

World War, 1914-1918--Civilian relief

Language

English

Text

COORDINATION OF THE ACTIVITIES OF THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE
UNITED STATES, GREAT BRITAIN, FRANCE AND ITALY.
________

1.The activities exclusive of military and naval in which joint action should be secured fall into the following groups:

(a) Finance,
(b) Shipping,
(c) Export and Import Relations,
(d) Foodstuffs,
(e) Raw materials or manufactured or partly manufactured products, exclusive of foodstuffs.

2. Each of these groups is at present organized in the four Governments and responsibility for the formation and execution of a uniform program should be vested in the first instance, as to each of the above-mentioned activities, in four mMinisters, representing respectively the four Governments, to be determined termed the “Council” of Finance, Shipping, Food, etc., as the case may be. By “Ministers” is meant the departmental head responsible directly to the President or the Premiers of the respective gGovernments, whether called ministers, secretaries, departmental head responsible directly to the President or the Premiers of the respective governments, whether called ministers, secretaries, departmental heads, chairmen of boards or whatever the title may be. Where it is impracticable for such Ministers personally to sit on the above-mentioned “Councils,” a personal repesentative may sit in their stead. Several such “Councils” have already been created.

3. Where the subject matter dealt with by the several “Councils” is intricate, voluminous or requires continuous attention, the “Councils” may appoint sub-committees or “Executives” to make studies upon which the “Council” program will be based, and which committees or “Executives” may be charged with the carrying out of programs which have been adopted. These “Executives” should be composed of one or more representatives of each of the four Governments.

4. The object of this recommendation being primarily to insure better cooperation of activities in respect to the provision of supplies, programs will primarily be formed by the ministerial “Councils” representing groups (d) and (e)—namely, foodstuffs, raw materials or manufactured or partly manufactured products, exclusive of foodstuffs.

The joint activities of these departments can be further circumscribed by three limitations:

(a) The Governments are jointly interested in such supplies as must be transported overseas in supplement to deficiencies in local production.

(b) Where there must be agreed distribution and source of supplies.

(c) The activities are also limited to commodities where there would otherwise be competition between the Governments in procuring supplies.

5. When provisional programs have been determined upon by the appropriate ministerial “Council” representing the commodities, such program will be:

(a) Coordinated with finance through the Inter-Allied Finance Commission,

(b) Coordinated with export and import regulations through the Inter-Allied body made up of the heads or representative of the United States War Trade Board and similar departments of the other three Governments.

6. If it is impossible to secure acceptance of a program by between these various ministerial “Councils,” the difference of opinion must necessarily be submitted to the President and the three Allied Premiers for final determination. In order to facilitate the submission to the President of differences which may arise between ministerial “Councils,” it may be desirable for the President to appoint a personal representative in Europe, who will have general supervision of the whole of United States activities of the character here considered.

7. In the execution of any agreed program in the territory of any one of the Allies, such execution must come under the control andof the Minister concerned. The existing Allied purchasing agencies in each other’s territories should handle the commercial details of completion of any program under the diredction of the “Executive” and also under the control of the Minister concerned.

8. Illustration: Cereal needs for the three importing countries--France, England and Italy--will be considered, first, by the Cereal “Executive,” and a recommendation submitted for approval to the four food Ministers. A provisional program will then be adopted by these ministerial committees councils which will be submitted to the corresponding ministerial committees councils dealing with finance, shipping and export and import relations. After approval by these committees councils, the finally determined program will be turned over to the Cereal “Executive” for execution, in such manner and through such agencies as the “Council” may determine.

9. The organization herein represented is illustrated by the annexed diagram.

Original Format

Letter

Files

http://resources.presidentwilson.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/D09434.pdf

Tags

Citation

Unknown, “Report on Coordination of Non-Military Activities of Allied Governments,” 1918 June 12, WWP19434, Hoover Institute at Stanford University Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.