Changes

[[Belgium]] faced a food crisis after being invaded by Germany in fall 1914. Hoover undertook an unprecedented relief effort as head of the Commission for the Relief of Belgium (CRB). The CRB became, in effect, an independent republic of relief, with its own flag, navy, factories, mills and railroads. Its $12-million-a-month budget was supplied by voluntary donations and government grants. In an early form of shuttle diplomacy, he crossed the North Sea forty times seeking to persuade the enemies in Berlin to allow food to reach the war's victims. Long before the Armistice of November, 1918, he was an international hero. The Belgian city of Leuven named a prominent square after him.

[[Belgium]] faced a food crisis after being invaded by Germany in fall 1914. Hoover undertook an unprecedented relief effort as head of the Commission for the Relief of Belgium (CRB). The CRB became, in effect, an independent republic of relief, with its own flag, navy, factories, mills and railroads. Its $12-million-a-month budget was supplied by voluntary donations and government grants. In an early form of shuttle diplomacy, he crossed the North Sea forty times seeking to persuade the enemies in Berlin to allow food to reach the war's victims. Long before the Armistice of November, 1918, he was an international hero. The Belgian city of Leuven named a prominent square after him.

After the United States entered the war in April 1917, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] appointed Hoover head of the American [[Food Administration]], with headquarters in Washington. It became a major federal emergency agency, standing far above the others in terms of efficiency and success. Hoover cut American consumption of food needed overseas and avoided rationing at home.  

After the United States entered the war in April 1917, President [[Woodrow Wilson]] appointed Hoover head of the [[United States Food Administration]], with headquarters in Washington. It became a major federal emergency agency, standing far above the others in terms of efficiency and success. Hoover cut American consumption of food needed overseas and avoided rationing at home.  

 

After war ended in late 1918, Hoover, a member of the Supreme Economic Council and head of the American Relief Administration, organized shipments of food for millions of starving people in Central Europe. To this end, he employed a newly formed Quaker organization, the [[American Friends Service Committee]] to carry out much of the logistical work in Europe. He extended aid to famine-stricken Communist Russia in 1921. When a critic inquired if he was not thus helping Bolshevism, Hoover retorted, "Twenty million people are starving. Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!"

After war ended in late 1918, Hoover, a member of the Supreme Economic Council and head of the American Relief Administration, organized shipments of food for millions of starving people in Central Europe. To this end, he employed a newly formed Quaker organization, the [[American Friends Service Committee]] to carry out much of the logistical work in Europe. He extended aid to famine-stricken Communist Russia in 1921. When a critic inquired if he was not thus helping Bolshevism, Hoover retorted, "Twenty million people are starving. Whatever their politics, they shall be fed!"