740.00119 Control (Austria) /9–1845: Telegram
The United States Military Commissioner for Austria (Clark) to the Joint Chiefs of Staff 2
PV 7519. This message is reply to War 63998 and 65058 and consists of two parts. Part 1 contains recommendations agreed to in three hour meeting of Allied Council for Austria today. Part 2 contains my personal comments.
1. The representatives of the four occupying powers on the Allied Council for Austria are unanimously agreed that the magnitude of the food problem and the extent of the food import requirements for Austria for 1945–1946, however calculated, are of very considerable proportions. The need for immediate effective arrangements to meet these import requirements also is unanimously recognized.
2. Complete agreement was also reached on an estimate of the food production from domestic sources, each of the occupying powers furnishing the estimate for its own zone. There was also unanimous agreement, except as regards barley, on the amounts which would be available for human consumption. As regards barley the Soviet view was that the total amount available should be used for human consumption, whereas the other members of the Allied Council considered [Page 599] that it should be reserved for the feeding of live stock. (Table I inserted here. Will be included in separate message.3).
3. The appraisal of import requirements depends on the level of food consumption envisioned for the Austrian farm and non-farm populations. Since this is a decision that will concern not only Austria but all of Europe as well as countries outside Europe, it is suggested that the Council of Foreign Ministers decide, at the earliest possible moment, what level of food consumption should be taken as the goal. In the meantime, a number of hypothetical goals have been suggested, and the resulting British-French, USSR and American deficit estimates have been recorded for the information of the Council of Foreign Ministers. The Allied Council considers that ration scales should be established for Austria as a whole, maintaining the principle of differentiation for the various groups of population on the basis of the type of labor performed. (Table II inserted here. Will be dispatched by separate message.3) Most significant information in this table gives deficits as determined by three methods of calculation. Deficits are in order: 1st column is British-French, 2nd column is United States, 3rd column is USSR.3a
| 1. | 2. | 3. | |
| Grain in terms of flour | 472 | 446 | 288. |
| Meat | 61 | 97 | 55. |
| Fats | 30 | 41 | 28. |
| Farinaceous foods in terms of flour including pulses, | 132 | 103 | 119. |
| Sugar | 28 | 24 | 27. |
| Coffee | 7 | 7 | 8. |
| Salt | no est | no est | .14 |
| Potatoes | 0 | 43 | 0. |
| (in terms of grain) | |||
| Vegetables | 113 | 0 | 0. |
4. The four Allied Commanders have stated that no food is being taken from indigenous Austrian resources by the forces of occupation; recognizing the gravity of the food situation in Austria, they are unanimously agreed that none shall be taken in the future.
5. It is appreciated by the Allied Council that the early establishment of Central Austrian Governmental authority will aid the long range food situation, but not by an[y means solve it.] Statistics in tables I and II will be sent subsequent messages.4 Part 2 follows.