APPENDIX IV.-REPLACEMENT BY GERMAN TONNAGE TO ALLIES OF NATIONAL TONNAGE DIRECTED TO GERMANY

Note From the Freight Committee [Regarding the] Tonnage for Purchases of Food and Raw Materials for the Czecho-Slovakian Republic

A letter from the official buyers of the Czecho-Slovakian Republic has been received by the British Food Commissioner at Rotterdam,

requesting that shipping space may be provided for the transport of 100,000 tons of Government Supplies from Argentine and India. The letter points out that free shipping is very scarce and freights so high as to cause great difficulty to the Czecho-Slovakian Food Commission and to make the import of raw materials for industrial purposes almost impossible. The suggestion presumably is that enemy tonnage should be allocated at rates based on the British Blue Book. This matter has not been brought before the Freight Committee of the Food Section as that Committee has no authority to deal with enemy tonnage otherwise than under the Armistice arrangements.

The request of the Czecho-Slovakian Government raises a broad question of policy, as it would no doubt be inadvisable to make special arrangements for the claims of other Governments which have to obtain tonnage for essential supplies in the open market.

The matter has been unofficially discussed in Paris and is referred to the Supreme Economic Council at the request of the DirectorGeneral of Relief.

Paris Peace Conf. 180.0501/30

Supreme Economic Council: 30th Meeting [Held at Brussels on 20th September, 1919, at 10 a. m. and 4 p. m.]

The Supreme Economic Council held its 30th Meeting on the 20th September, 1919, at 10 a. m., and at 4 p. m., at the Palais des Academies at Brussels, under the Chairmanship of M. Jaspar.

The Associated Governments were represented as follows:

M. Clémentel opened the Session and congratulated the Council on its meeting at Brussels in which he saw a symbol of the deep friendship existing between the Allies. On his proposal, the Council asked M. Jaspar to take the Chair.

M. Jaspar replied congratulating himself on the fact that the Allies were meeting in Council in a place occupied so short a time ago by the enemy. He associated himself with the regrets expressed by M. Clémentel that the American Delegates had not been able to be present.

The minutes of the 29th Meeting were approved, it being intimated that the order of minutes 293 and 295 had been inverted in the French version.

Minute 280 (c) was amended to read as follows:

"It was agreed that a Raw Materials Committee composed of one representative from each of the Governments should prepare a report for submission to the Supreme Economic Council."