Herbert Hoover, Heading Efforts to Feed the Starving Millions in Europe in the Wake of World War I’s Devastation, Asks the Former Chairman of the American Red Cross War Council to Join the Effort

The First World War left destruction far beyond the battlefields of Europe, as food supplies were devastated and there was wide-spread hunger and disease. It was determined that millions of children, many of them orphans and malnourished, were suffering and in immediate need of aid to survive. In 1919 the U.S. Congress formed the American Relief Administration as a relief mission to those needy in Europe, and future president Herbert Hoover was named program director. Hoover’s organization provided food aid to Europe’s hungry long after the guns fell silent following the 1918 Armistice.

In 1920, because Europe’s food production had not rebounded enough for them to feed themselves, Hoover assembled a group of charities, including the Red Cross and church groups, to form the European Relief Council. Their purpose was to conduct a “National Collection” for $23,000,000 to succor the starving and diseased children of Europe. Members of that council included Hoover’s American Relief Administration, The American Friends Service Committee, American Red Cross, Federal Council of the Churches of Christ, Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, Knights of Columbus, YMCA, and YWCA. The council issued an appeal to Americans to help the many starving children in war-torn Europe. Hoover asked everyone to feed an “invisible guest” at Christmas. A series of events were set up to raise funds, starting with the Invisible Guest dinners. Hoover and Gen. John J. Pershing, who commanded American forces during the war, hosted the first such dinner in New York City. A candle was placed at the center of the table signifying the invisible guest, one of the hungry children in Europe. The food served was the same as those in the child feeding canteens in Europe. Funds were collected at the first dinner, and it was a major success. John D. Rockefeller Jr. attended the first Invisible Guest event and helped push the fundraising to $3 million for the night.

The Invisible Guest campaign did not stay in New York City; similar events took place across the country. The acts of charity went far beyond the Invisible Guest events. The motion picture industry was young at that time, but it pulled together a major fundraiser for European relief. A “Motion Picture Day” was set up to collect donations. Movie stars appeared at theaters to encourage participation. Special performances were held. The New York Times reported that millions of dollars were raised. Other organizations of every type asked members for funds. The Pope even endorsed the effort. Municipalities like New York City also became involved in seeking to generate contributions.

Cornelius N. Bliss, Jr., whose father was a member of President McKinley’s Cabinet, was a philanthropist who was also active politically. He participated in the successful presidential campaign of Theodore Roosevelt in 1904. In July 1916, he was named treasurer of the Republican National Committee, and also served as president of the Association for Improving the Condition of the Poor. When the United States entered World War I in 1917, President Wilson named Bliss as one of the 13 members of his Red Cross War Council. The next year he became its acting chairman. Bliss also served on the National War Finance Committee which successfully raised a great deal of money for the Red Cross. Hoover sought to tap his skills, experience and connections, and asked him to serve on New York City’s fund-raising committee.

Typed letter signed, on his National Collection letterhead, New York, December 11, 1920, to Bliss, asking him to serve on the committee. “I have asked Mr. John W. Love to act as head of the temporary organization to be set up to organize for the city of New York the systematic gathering of funds for the continuation of American support of 3 1/2 million of children that have been since the Armistice, and are today, dependent upon American charity in Europe. We have consolidated the efforts of all the principal American relief organizations, including the Red Cross, the church organizations, and the organization which I am, myself, directing, and it has been agreed that the continued support of these children must have a complete priority over all other forms of American relief in Europe and that it is a continuing obligation upon the nation as a whole over the coming winter. It is simply hopeless for us to give our time and energies to the handling of these problems unless we can secure the assistance of man of great standing, position, and achievement, who, like yourself, are willing to take time from their own concerns and devote it to this most essential problem.

“I wish to ask you, therefore, if you will not act upon Mr. Love’s General Committee and give to him your personal assistance. We have to find $23,000,000 to feed these children. We are faced with the most difficult economic period in which to find it; and we simply cannot succeed unless we can have the support of such men as yourself. If this issue is the fail and we are to turn these children into the streets of Europe we can take it that the last atom of respect for the United States is gone.” We obtained this from the Bliss descendants, and it has never before been offered for sale.

The effort was successful, and Hoover became known as the man who saved Europe from starvation. It was this very effort for charity and relief that brought fame and deep respect to Hoover and led to his rise to prominence. How ironic it is that he had been in the White House for a mere six months when the Depression hit, and today he is mainly remembered for that.

After the war, Bliss returned to business and philanthropy on a large scale, operating as a trustee, board member, or president of several organizations, including the National Foundation for Infantile Paralysis, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In the Depression, he was one of six men named by New York City Mayor Walker to operate a relief fund, two others being J.P. Morgan and former governor Al Smith. During World War II, he was a chairman of the American Red Cross committee on war activities, and was for a time chairman of the Red Cross.