These men had their offices just around. the corner from that of the American Consulate in London. As they knew London well, they had at different times given some useful advise to the Consulate. When the war broke out, Hoover was still in London, while Bates was on his farm in New York State.

One morning in early August one of the men in the Consulate sent word to Hoover: "There are about one thousand Americans out in front of my office demanding transportation home. Won't you come around and help me out?"

Hoover did help him out, and in getting these Americans home free, a neutral body had been formed which could deal with, and was respected by, Germans as well as English and French. The need in Belgium was emphasized by Brand Whitlock, our Minister in

Brussels, who, when The Hague Convention was being discussed pro and con, declared that the people of Belgium could not eat neutrality conventions; that what they needed was food.

It was easy enough to send out a plea that Belgium was starving, that she should be fed. It was another story to feed her. This heavy work devolved upon the shoulders of Hoover at the London office and Bates at the American office, established at No. 71 Broadway, New York. It was up to them not only to find four million dollars a month with which to buy food, but to find the proper kind of food at reasonable prices, and then to get this food by rail and by ship into Belgium.

My common sense tells me that it is an insurmountable job to deal with the State Department of the United States,

with the corresponding department in London, with the corresponding department in Berlin, and with the corresponding department in The Hague-without dwelling on the difficulties of dealing with the German military authorities in Belgium.

My common sense tells me that it is the work of a lifetime to build up a steamship line of thirty steamers. With steamers scarce, and with charter money the highest in the history of the world the past winter, it has proved an insurmountable job for some business firms to get even one ship. My common

This kitchen is located in the now useless sorting room of the express office, and the cooks are chefs from the best hotels.

The holder of this meal ticket was entitled to draw rations for five each day during December. The proper date in the margin was canceled when he received the day's rations.

sense tells me that men have spent a lifetime learning how to handle traffic on the railroads of the United States. My common sense also tells me that it requires ability little short of genius to make people contribute money for any object, no matter how worthy.

Yet, all these things have been done by the members of The Commission for Relief in Belgium.

Any of my readers who has had experience in politics knows the difficulty