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Received at S.F CORNER PINE AND MONTGOMERY STS., SAN FRANCISCO Oct 26 1914

    B83 C0 DI

        LONDON 218--

   MRS HERBERT HOOVER

        ALASKA COMMERCIAL BLDG SANFRANCISCO

OVER ONE MILLION PEOPLE ON BREAD LINE IN BELGIUM AT PRESENT MOMENT WITH SUPPLIES ESTIMATED TO LAST FROM ONE TO THREE WEEKS WHILE WE ARE SECURING AOME SUPPLIES HERE FOR EMERGENCY PURPOSES REAL SITUATION CANNOT BE MET WITHOUT DIRECT EXPORTS FROM STATES AND WE SHALL REQUIRE UPWARDS OF TWENTY THOUSAND TONS FOODSTUFFS MONTHLY CAN YOU INTEREST ANDERSON NEWALL HOPKINS LINDLEY CROCKER GRANT OTHER PROMINENT SANFRANCISCOANS TO PRESENT SHIPLOAD FOOD FROM CALIFORNIA IF CALIFORNIA WILL GIVE US THE FOODSTUFFS WE WILL PAY FREIGHT AND INSURANCE WE SHOULD LIKE FIVE PORTIONS WHEAT THREE PORTIONS BEANS TWO PORTIONS PEAS WITH BACON IF OBTAINABLE MUST BE SHIPPED IN NEUTRAL BOTTOM CONSIGNED TO US ROTTERDAM BELIEVE MCNEAR WOULD ARRANGE SHIPPING EDGAR HAS CABLED HIM IF THERE IS BELGIAN RELIEF COMMITTEE IN CALIFORNIA SHOULD COOPERATE

    2ND SHEET B83 C0 DI

    MRS HERBERT HOOVER

        SANFRANCISCO

Received at S.F CORNER PINE AND MONTGOMERY STS., SAN FRANCISCO Oct 26 1914

--- LONDON 218 ---

WE WANT FOOD NOT CLOTHES AS THIS IS QUESTION STARVATION AND BELGIANS CAN CLOTHE THEMSELVES FOR THE PRESENT I CAN THINK OF NO GREATER CONTRIBUTION TO THIS OCCASION OF WORLDS STRESS THAN A FOOD SHIP FROM CALIFORNIA AND IF POSSIBLE ONE FROM OREGON AND ANOTHER FROM WASHINGTON IT MIGHT BE POINTED OUT THAT OUR COMMISSION IS LARGELY CALIFORNIAN AND THAT WE SHOULD HAVE SUPPORT OF OUR OWN STATE COULD ALSO MAKE SAME CLAIM AS TO OREGON IN MY CONNECTION

                HERBERT HOOVER