Feeding the Hungry, P. C. Hiebert, 1929

relief unit was located at Constantino- ple, but we found that the southern part of Russia was not then as needy as the central areas were reported to be. On our return to Constantinople our relief unit, con- vinced of the seriousness of the Russian famine danger, considered it the duty of our organization to make strenu- ous efforts to bring assistance to those stricken in Russia. It was decided to try again to enter the country, this time by way of the North. The decision was communicated to the Mennonite Central Committee in the homeland. Soon after their approval was secured, and necessary documents obtained, the journey to London was begun. At that time there were only a few well established Soviet Diplomatic Missions in Western Europe. One of UNSEALING THE CLOSED DOOR Ls the most important was located in London. That city also offered special opportunities to form contacts with the Russian representatives. As the Relief Unit at Constantinople was constantly being asked to help refugees find location elsewhere, it was decided that I should investigate possibilities for the placing of such in Serbia. Accordingly, several days were spent in Belgrade conferring with the Russian Committee engaged in that type of work and with the Serbian De- partment of the Interior. As the Serbian officials con- sidered their country already overcrowded with refugees, not much was accomplished, tho certain individuals prom- ised their help. At a station near the Italian-Swiss border the Paris train stopped, and I noticed on the news-stand some Amer- ican papers printed in Paris,—either the Chicago Tribune or New York Herald—a copy of which I bought. A headline caught my eye, suddenly rousing me from my indifferent reading to a keen interest. It was the an- nouncement that the American Relief Administration, of which Herbert Hoover was the head, had been asked to give aid to starving Russia, and a high official of the or- ganization would proceed in a day or so to the Baltic States to confer with a special representative of the Soviet Government. It was at once evident that the most im- portant step for me was to meet the man who would probably negotiate the contract with the Soviet Govern- ment for the American Relief Administration. The efficient work of that organization was well known throughout Europe. I had seen it functioning in Austria with scientific precision, highly systematized, yet consciously and sympathetically humanitarian, seeking at the same time to avoid pauperizing those it assisted. Just about two years betore, a delegation of four of us Amer- ican Mennonites engaged in reconstruction work in France 118 FEEDING THE HUNGRY under the Friends Reconstruction Unit, including Bishop S. E. Allgyer, had conferred with Herbert Hoover in his Paris office concerning a field of relief work for the Men- nonite organization. ‘The quiet manner and courteous friendliness of the man, with