These obvious advantages to the French in striking a bargain price for the bulk of the American surplus property in France was largely counterbalanced by the fact that, of the American quartermaster stores for sale, nearly half consisted of food supplies, and the highest-quality food then in Europe. There was no oversupply of food in Europe, but the very contrary. England had surplus army property estimated to be worth more than $3,000,000,000; France herself had almost as much to dispose of; and Italy was to be a heavy seller; but the food stocks in all these Allied surpluses were not enough to satisfy the hunger of the undernourished or actually famine-stricken populations of Europe. The much-desired food was used by the American authorities to induce the French not only to pay good prices for materials they did not need, and of which indeed they had surpluses of their own, but also to accept responsibility for such liabilities as the American stores of unstable and dangerous ammunition and our accumulations of junk. Such were some of the conditions surrounding the bulk sale of A. E. F. surplus property to the French Government in the summer of 1919. This sale, as we have said, was consummated by the United States Liquidation Commission, the activities of which are to be discussed in greater detail farther on. Meanwhile a sporadic and piecemeal sale of A. E. F. property in Europe had been going on under the direction of the General Sales Agent and General Sales Board of the A. E. F. The General Sales Agent took up his work on January 1, 1919. He was assisted by the General Sales Board, which was made up of representatives of all the army organizations that had anything to sell. Under this organization the sales of surplus materials reached a total of approximately $175,000,000 by the end of July, 1919, just before the general bulk sale was closed. Of these receipts the sales of quartermaster supplies accounted for $122,000,000. The supplies were sold almost exclusively to governments and relief and welfare commissions. The sales to commercial firms and individuals were insignificant.