Papers Relating to the Foreign Relations of the United States, 1923, Volume II

868.51 Refugee Settlement Commission/123

The Greek Chargé (Tsamados) to the Assistant Chief of the Division of Near Eastern Affairs, Department of State (Dwight)

Washington, August 18, 1923.

No. 1057

My Dear Mr. Dwight: At this particularly critical moment, when the supplies left in Greece by the American Red Cross are exhausted; when the Near East Relief has announced the termination of all adult relief; and when Sixty Thousand additional refugees from Constantinople and the Black Sea Ports are arriving in Greece, the Greek Government wishes once more to call attention to the terrible plight of the refugees now in Greece, facing certain death, and to make a last appeal to the humanitarian sentiments of the civilized world in behalf of hundreds of thousand human beings who, through no fault of their own are homeless, destitute and are now, seemingly, abandoned to starvation and death.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Prior to the influx of the refugees, Greece had a population of about Four and a Half Million people. The total number of refugees, including Sixty Thousand new arrivals, is more than Twelve Hundred Thousand, or an increase of more than 25%.

… The emergency was soon realized by the civilized people of all the world; the American Red Cross sent a special mission to Greece, as did the relief organizations of other countries; thus, with the Greek Government cooperating in a large measure it was possible for the time to save the refugees from certain death.

It is impossible to estimate in dollars the cost to the Greek Government of this cooperation. It is obvious that the expenditure has been very great. The cooperation of the Government consisted in part in:

a) Remission of all harbour, light house and sanitary dues to ships carrying Red Cross supplies.

b) Remission of all Custom Duties.

c) All supplies were transported from the ship to Red Cross warehouses, and from warehouses to point of consumption at the expense of the Government.

d) All wheat was milled at the Government’s expense.

e) All bread was baked at the Government’s expense.

f) American Red Cross Officials and employees travelled free in all trains, ships and street cars in Greece.

g) All American Red Cross cables, telegrams and letters were forwarded by the Greek Government at its own expense.

h) All offices, warehouses, hospital buildings, etc., were furnished free of charge by the Government as well as living quarters for most of the field managers. In most cases offices and living quarters were furnished and equipped by the Government.

i) All light and heat was furnished by the Government.

j) Automobiles were furnished for the use of various Red Cross officials at the Government’s expense.

k) Many of the field managers had special assistants paid by the Government and a special employee was attached to each local committee, selected by the Red Cross, but paid by the Government.

l) Coal, wood and water for cooking were all provided by the Government.

The above cooperation was extended to all relief organizations working in Greece. In addition to above, independently of all other expenses incurred by the Greek Government, the Government had paid out the following sums up to May 1, 1923, together with proportional sums since that date:

		drachmas
a)	Cash allowances, sanitary measures, food and clothing	130 000 000
b)	Transportation of refugees to Greece and in Greece	150 000 000
c)	Rental of buildings of all kinds In which refugees were lodged	250 000 000
Total expenses under above headings		530 000 000

As stated in the Note of the Honorable The Secretary of State to the Ambassadors of Great Britain, France and Italy on March 31: “feeding of great camps of refugees could not continue for an indefinite period.” This view was shared by the Greek Government which set immediately to work to perfect plans of a constructive nature, in order to absorb the new population in the economic life of the country and render them selfsupporting. “What we plan is not the mere feeding of these people; we must provide them with homes and with occupation.” Such were the words of a prominent Greek statesman in an appeal for justice towards Greece.

Two special Commissions were established to study the refugee problem. (A summary of their program was communicated to the State Department with my letter of June 19, No. 794.⁵⁰) Out of the total number of 1 200 000 refugees, 280 000 are selfsupporting and another 250 000 are now half self supporting, leaving 670 000 entirely dependent refugees.

The only possible way to solve the question seemed to be to grant Greece a special loan for the settlement of the refugees. The Council of the League of Nations accepted in principle this point of view and on the basis of the reports of Colonel Procter, who had made a careful study of the refugee situation in Greece and of Mr. Parmentier, a member of the financial commission, it was decided, in July 1923, that the League of Nations should give its moral support in order that a loan to settle the refugee problem could be obtained by Greece.

Colonel Procter in his very comprehensive report calculates that Ten to Twelve Million Pound Sterling will be required for complete solution of the problem.

But before the refugee loan can be perfected and the proceeds thereof made available a certain time will elapse. At one of the sessions at Geneva (July 2–5), the United States Representative Colonel Logan asked, and the question was very much to the point: what would become of the refugees in the meantime, since the American Red Cross had already stopped its activities on June 30, and the Near East Relief had also announced that it would have to stop feeding adult refugees, and since it was known that three or four months would have to pass before the proceeds of the loan could be made available. Besides, the feeding of the refugees would have to go on even after that time, first because the proceeds of the loan were to be used only for permanent settlement of the refugees, and second because it would be impossible to perfect the settlement of three quarters of a million people at the very moment of the conclusion of the loan.

It was thus decided to form a special committee composed of one Greek representative, one representative of the American organizations and the High Commissioner of the League of Nations. The task of this committee was to find the means to feed the refugees during the time of the negotiations and perfection of the loan.

The Greek Government was informed of the formation of the special committee and was asked to state what would be its contribution. In spite of the very difficult economic and financial conditions of the country the Greek Government replied that it would contribute with 10,000,000 drachmas monthly; but that this was the utmost it could do without risk of bringing about a further fall in the value of the drachma thus diminishing the value of the, revenues that were to be given as security for the loan. The British organizations promised to care for 50,000 refugees and the Scandinavian relief organizations pledged themselves to contribute with money. Colonel Logan was requested to ask for the nomination of the American representative on the special committee; but a few days later he informed Mr. Nansen that the United States Government considered the presence of an American representative on the commission inopportune.

At the end of the note already mentioned to the Ambassadors of the three Western Powers, The Honorable The Secretary of State expressed himself as follows:

“If a constructive plan can be worked out for an apportionment of the task and for the gradual solution of the refugee problem, American relief agencies will be ready to co-operate, even after the termination of the emergency relief work of the American Red Cross on June 30th next”.

Can it be that the United States Government means to keep aloof from any participation of American organizations in the highly humanitarian work assumed by the committee created in Geneva? Will American organizations refuse to co-operate further in settling definitely those same unfortunate beings for the preservation of whose lives they have spent vast amounts of money?

The Greek Government hopes you will allow American organizations to be represented on the special committee. The abstention of American organizations may wreck the whole plan and bring to nothing all the endeavors to float a loan for the refugees and to find the necessary means to provide for them up to the moment when the proceeds of such a loan will be made available.

One hundred and ten thousand among the refugees are Armenians and other non-Greek races. The Greek nation will never and under no pretext force them to leave the Greek territory in order to relieve the situation of those of Greek race, … but it must not be forgotten that unless help is forthcoming from richer and happier nations, more than half a million people, irrespective of race and religion, are facing certain death.

The Government and people of Greece, feel under the necessity of proclaiming to the civilized world that, though not primarily responsible for the plight of the refugees nor their presence in Greece, they propose to do their utmost to alleviate their misery, but that the efforts of Greece unaided are not sufficient and that the slow and certain death which now stares these people in the face is not the fault of Greece. If adequate steps are not taken to prevent their misery and death, history will lay the blame at the door of the civilized world.

I am [etc.]

M. Tsamados

50. Not printed.