Feeding the Hungry, P. C. Hiebert, 1929

passed slowly by, but they were only for the workers—and only for those workers who had tram permits or passes. Of such there were many more than the cars could ac- commodate. Many people shabbily dressed and emaciated wandered listlessly about on the streets. An amosphere of suffering and hopelessness pervaded the city. The ab- sorbing concern of each was where to find the next meal. Overshadowing this was the haunting dread of the secret service—the Tcheka. In sharp contrast was the assurance and conscious purposiveness of the Bolsheviks, who toiled tirelessly to achieve the goals set for the revolution. UNSEALING THE CLOSED DOOR 135 NEGOTIATING THE Moscow ConTRACT When I came from the railroad station to the For- eign Office, it was at an hour of the day when the building was almost empty. It was said that George Tchitcherin, the Commissar for Foreign Affairs, preferred sleeping in the daytime and working at night as there was less inter- ruption then. In the daytime it was therefore often diff- cult to find any one in the Foreign Office or to arrange for an interview. From about midnight to six or seven in the morning were the busy hours. After a rest some would return to the office for a short period sometime during the day, but those hours were irregular. Some would occasionally steal a nap on the lounges in the offices.. So it came about that my calls at the Foreign Office: were necessarily made from about midnight to two in the: morning. At the first opportunity, on Monday, August 29, I went again to see Mr. Weinstein, the head of the: Anglo-American section of the Foreign Office, and his: assistant, Mr. Kogan, to present my credentials and the letter from the Soviet Mission in London. Both men had spent some time in New York and received me courteously. Weinstein requested a brief outline of the proposals of our organization. It was supplied the same day. Hotel Savoy, Moscow. August 29th, 1921 To the Commissariat of Foreign Affairs. Anglo-American Division Attention G. Weinstein Moscow. In accordance with your request during our conversation this afternoon for a letter briefly setting forth the past relief activities of the American Mennonite Relief Organization and the proposed plans for Russian Relief, I have the pleas- 136 FEEDING THE HUNGRY ure of submitting the accompanying memorandum under the headings suggested by you. Respectiully yours, Alvin J. Miller, Acting Director for Russia. Hotel Savoy, Moscow. August 29th, 1921 MEMORANDUM to the COMMISSARIAT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS ANGLO-AMERICAN DIVISION. At the request of the Commissariat of Foreign Affairs the following memorandum is presented under the captions suggested setting forth in general outline the plans of the American Mennonite Relief for assistance in the famine areas. MENNONITE RELIEF “ACTIVITIES “IN *“COOPERA- TION WITH THE QUAKERS When the Friends Service Committee (Quakers) organ