Paris Peace Conf. 180.03501/112 HD-112 Notes of a Meeting of the Heads of Delegations of the Five Great Powers, Held in M. Pichon's Room, Quai d'Orsay, Paris, on Wednesday, December 17, 1919, at 10:30 a. m. The following were also present for items in which they were concerned : AMERICA, UNITED STATES OF: Colonel J. A. Logan. Mr. Rathbone. BRITISH EMPIRE: M. Leeper. Cdt. MacDonald. Cdt. MacNamara. FRANCE: M. Loucheur. M. Leygues. Gen. le Rond. Admiral Levavasseur. M. Hermitte. M. Massigli. ITALY: M. Bertolini. C. Amiral Grassi. Cdt. Fea. JAPAN: M. Shigemitsu. Economic and 1. M. LOUCHEUR said that the Organization Committee of the Reparation Commission had examined at its preceding meeting the general economic situation of Austria. He had had the honor of explaining the day before to the Supreme Council the measures proposed for providing Austria with food stuffs for from two to two months and a half.1 There still remained to be examined measures of a more general order which would insure the economic uplift of Austria for a longer period. From information received that morning the negotiations concerning the loan of 30,000,000 florins which Austria was trying to conclude with a Dutch group were proceeding and it could be hoped that the pourparlers would succeed. The Organization Committee had received from the Austrian Chancellor and from the Food Minister a memorandum which gave an estimate of the measures which would be necessary each month to insure the provisioning of Austria, that estimate gave the following figures: They would therefore, so as to take care during seven months of Austria's needs, require a sum of seventy million dollars as a minimum. The figure asked by the Austrian Delegation for the same period amounted to one hundred million dollars. The financial effort to be accomplished was therefore included between two figures. The Organization Committee of the Reparation Commission could only refer to the letter which it had sent on the 14th November last to the President of the Conference. It had pointed out in that letter that it was not for it to decide on the principle of the loan to be granted to the Austrian Republic. That question was not within its competence and concerned exclusively the different Allied governments. The Organization Committee would therefore limit itself, in case the principle of a loan was adopted, to suggesting certain measures of protection, such as the establishment of a certain control over the finances of Austria. The Austrian Government should furthermore promise to have certain financial laws voted so as to give the Powers all desirable guarantees. Before examining those questions in detail, it was, however, advisable to solve the question of principle and to know whether they intended or not to grant Austria an important loan which might 1HD-111, minute 5, p. 562. 'Appendix E to HD-97, p. 253. vary between seventy and one hundred millions of dollars. That was a question which the Organization Committee now asked the Conference to settle. M. CAMBON said that it was important to settle before anything else the question of principle, and he would ask the representative of the United States of America to give his opinion on the matter. MR. WALLACE said that he would refer the question to his government that very day, and hoped to obtain a reply within two or three days. M. CAMBON said it seemed to him extremely important, as well as to the French Government, to come as promptly as possible to Austria's help, so as to avoid throwing into absolute want the population of the small Austrian State which the Allies had just created. MR. WALLACE said that M. Cambon had not been present at the preceding meeting where he had very clearly stated his position. His principal duty consisted in following the meetings of the Council as an observer and in forwarding immediately to his government all questions of a nature to be submitted to its decision. He did not have the necessary powers to express before the Council opinions which would be binding upon the American Government. SIR EYRE CROWE said that the question had already come up before the Council and it had been decided that it concerned the governments alone. The British Government, as a matter of fact, was ready to bear its share of the expenses involved in the economic reestablishment of Austria, but only on the formal condition that America should also stand its share. That consideration was all the stronger as in the actual state of the financial market nothing of any value could be done without the help of the United States. It was not pounds or francs that they needed, but dollars, which they could only obtain from the United States. His Government had made every effort to arrive at an agreement on the subject with the Government at Washington. It had telegraphed many times, but no decision seemed to have been yet taken at Washington. They still hoped that a favorable decision might be taken in the United States, and if so, he could assure the Council that his Government would act in the most sympathetic spirit towards the Austrian Republic. M. DE MARTINO said that they had the strongest reasons, as well from a humanitarian as from a political point of view for coming quickly to Austria's help, whose actual situation appeared extremely serious. They had, however, as Sir Eyre Crowe recalled, decided that it belonged to the governments alone to take decision on the loan which should be granted to the government at Vienna. The Italian Govern 3 HD-111, minute 2, p. 559. HD-97, minute 4, p. 239. ment had not yet taken a decision, and it was natural that it should await, before doing so, the result of the negotiations taking place between London and Washington. It was indeed a question of obtaining dollars, which the United States alone were able to supply. M. MATSUI said that he had also referred that question to his Government and had not yet received a reply. He was therefore not able to state precisely what attitude would be adopted by the Japanese Government; but he hoped that it would be able to participate in the common task. M. CAMBON said that under those conditions he did not see that they could do anything more on that day, and he proposed to adjourn the discussion until such time as the interested governments would have made known their decisions. SIR EYRE CROWE wished to ask how far they had got on the question of wheat, which the Serbian Government was to deliver to Austria. Numerous difficulties had come up on the subject, and he hoped M. Loucheur had been able to obtain from the Serbian Delegates the promise that they would fulfil their contract. M. LOUCHEUR said that he was going to see that very afternoon Mr. Trumbitch as well as the Serbian Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Lascovitch. As he had informed the Council on the preceding day, he intended to propose that an interallied commission be sent which would be charged with the verification on the spot of the conditions under which the food stuffs were sent, and which would insure the satisfactory settlement of all questions concerning the performance of the contract made between Austria and the Jugo-Slav Government. Collection by Customs Duties in Gold Marks (The discussion on that question was adjourned to a later date.) 2. M. LOUCHEUR read and commented on a note of the Organization Committee on the subject (See Appendix A). He said that the difference of interpretation which had taken place in the Committee of Organization concerning the resolutions adopted by the Council on the 6th and 9th of December seemed to be of merely academic interest. As a matter of fact Germany having sent delegates to Paris with a view to signing the protocol and the latter appearing on the whole to be in a conciliatory spirit, it might be hoped that the exchange of ratifications might take place within a very few days and that the Treaty might then come into force. He did not, however, see any objection to addressing at this time a letter to the Germans telling them what it had done at its meeting of December 9th (H. D. 110). If the Council so decided the Organization Committee would immediately prepare a draft letter which would be submitted to the Council. "HD-108, minute 2, p. 505; HD-110, minute 8, p. 545. It was decided: that the Organization Committee of the Reparation Commission should submit to the Council a draft letter to the German Delegation informing it of the decisions taken by the Council at its meeting of December 9 (H. D. 110) concerning the question of collection by Germany of the customs duties in gold marks. Report of the German Delegates 3. M. LOUCHEUR said that the members of the Reparation Commission had held a meeting on the previous day with the naval experts and those sent by Germany at which it had been discussed the questions relative to the reparations claimed for the Scapa Flow affair. They knew, that by the last German note Germany declared itself unable to surrender the 400,000 tons of naval material which had been claimed from her. They thought, however, that the Germans were going to propose compensations of another order. Indeed, the German note stated that "the German Government has charged a commission of experts to put these data before the representatives of the Allied and Associated Powers, and to give them the necessary explanations; it will formulate at the same time precise and definite proposals for a mode of reparations which, although it would mean a new and heavy burden for Germany in its present situation, would not be contrary to its vital interests", that sentence seemed to indicate on the part of the Germans an intention to offer compensations to the Allied Powers for that part of the claimed naval material which they declared they were unable to surrender. The Germans, however, had not made any proposal of that kind. They had been satisfied with giving a list of materiel actually existing in their ports, which they estimated approximately at 700,000 tons, of which 500,000 tons were docks and the remainder dredges, tugs, etc. The figures given by the Germans did not agree with those furnished by the Allies' own experts. The difference was approximately one of 85,000 to 90,000 tons. As a matter of fact a meeting between their naval experts and those of the Germans had been held on the previous evening. The figures given by the two parties had been compared, but he did not yet know the results obtained at that meeting. Supposing, however, that the figures as given by the Germans were correct, the Germans offered to deliver to the Allies 192,000 tons out of the 700,000 which they claimed to have. He made no difficulty in admitting that, if the Germans only possessed 700,000 tons of port material, they could not surrender 400,000 thereof. But the important point was that the Germans up to this time offered no compensation 'Appendix A to HD-111, p. 567. |