Paris Peace Conf. 184.011102/480½
Mr. A. W. DuBois to the Secretary of State40
Sir: I have the honor to report on the coal situation in Austria which has been the leading subject of press and conversation during the past four days,—since the government pronounced a coal crisis and the need of stoppage of tram and other service beginning with today.
There can be no question of the seriousness of the local situation due to lack of fuel, and if this crisis cannot be met by additional shipments of coal from Czecho-Slovakia, Upper Silesia, or Poland, practically all industries will be forced to shut down, hundreds of thousands of workmen will be thrown out of employment, and in spite of their easy-going character and good nature serious consequences can be expected.
An endeavor is being made by the various Allied and other missions to mitigate the present situation and probably it will meet with some success. From my experience on the Interallied Mission of Control for Teschen, which for several months was seriously engaged in dealing with the coal questions between Poles and Czechs, and was interested in the matters of production, distribution, and so forth, I am firmly convinced that the present manner of procedure will not put a stop to these constantly recurring crises (fuel crises) which Vienna is exposed to, and which very probably will lead to a collapse of government and economic structure. The dangers to which middle Europe would be exposed should this happen, from the probable repercussion in neighboring countries, and the breaking down of Austria’s finances and industry which would make it impossible for her to meet the conditions of the peace treaty, are obvious results of a coal famine.
I fully appreciate the great shortage of coal throughout Europe and the difficulties in way of distribution, however the coal that is produced should be so distributed as to take care of the minimum needs of the important centers and to insure a safeguarding against such crises as now threaten this city. For instance, there can be no question that certain curtailments could be made in the consumption of coal in Czecho-Slovakia, which although to a degree injurious to her interests, would relieve coal for shipment to Vienna in sufficient quantities to do away with the ever recurring fear of a crisis and the grave dangers connected therewith.
[Page 575]Considering the character of the peoples with whom one must deal and the hatreds existing between them there is no use attempting to get results by prescribing a mild remedy. The present coal commission with its advisory character lacks the necessary power with which to carry out its decisions.
In a letter to the American Commission to Negotiate Peace written last May and handed to Commissioner White41 I pointed out the advantage of the Entente and Associated Powers retaining control over the disposition and distribution of the coal from the disputed areas of Teschen and Upper Silesia. The control over the coal produced in these regions would be a lever by which the Peace Conference and later the League of Nations could control the coal distribution of all central Europe, since all central Europe is dependent upon Teschen for its gas and better coking coal and upon Upper Silesia for quantity production. Further, as these areas are now under dispute the Peace Conference could easily reserve the necessary rights of control, especially in view of the fact that commissions of control are to take over the management of these areas for the next eighteen to twenty-four months, during the plebiscite period. The next year is the critical time for central Europe and the control and guaranteed equitable distribution of coal during this period would be the greatest assurance that these countries will survive this trying time. I therefore recommend that the proper provisions be made for the control of the distribution of coal from the Teschen and Upper Silesian fields during the period of the plebiscites. If this suggestion cannot be carried out for reasons unknown to me I suggest that the present coal commission be so reconstituted and granted with the power to actually control and prescribe the distribution of the coal from the above mentioned districts. This control can be made real by the Conference or the League in turn through their control over products and other things vital to the central European states.
I am taking the liberty of making these recommendations because, from my practical experience in dealing with these peoples, I am convinced that advisory commissions are powerless to carry out their ideas, because instead of with action they will be fed with vain promises. If the Conference has an interest, as I [am] convinced it has, in the future and stability of the Republic of Austria, drastic action must be taken to forestall disaster.
I have [etc.]