740.00119 Control (Austria)/4–2447
The Austrian Foreign Minister (Gruber) to the Secretary of State 15
Mr. Secretary of State: I just learned the result of the meeting of today.16 I should be greatly obliged to you, if in choosing the personality who is to deal with the problem of German property in Austria, an expert could be appointed who is conversant with the general situation as well as with the whole of our own complicated problem. We should therefore attach particular importance to instructions to be given to the personality for the purpose of a close collaboration with the Austrian Government. May I ask in this connection that this very important choice should not be made without taking into account the wishes of our Government.
The present result of the conference means for the Austrian people that they have to go through another winter under the four Power occupation with all the hardships we know. I firmly believe that our population in a supreme desperate effort will overcome these difficulties but it is obviously necessary to avoid by all means that the political difficulties which are bound to come in the autumn should be increased by an economic crisis as it happened in the last winter. Such a danger can only be shunned if Austria is supplied with at least so much coal that our industries will not have to be closed down during weeks and weeks. I therefore beg to make an urgent appeal to you, Mr. Secretary of State, use please all your influence that our coal supplies which are absolutely insufficient should be improved still this summer if necessary by direct shipments from the USA. Otherwise it would be absolutely impossible to prevent all the mishaps which I have mentioned above.
I shall have the honour to submit to you later a concrete request through our technical experts. Anyhow I would not like to leave Moscow without having urgently applied to your help in this question.
[Page 576]I wish to take the opportunity to thank you once more for all the support you have been giving the Austrian interests. The Austrian Delegation may have taken in some questions different views, but we have never forgotten that all actions of the American Delegation are inspired by the desire to help Austria. We could have put a signature under the American Draft without altering one word.
Believe me [etc.]
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A letter of the same contents was sent by Gruber to Foreign Secretary Bevin.
The source text was forwarded by the Secretary’s office to the Division of Central European Affairs on May 5, 1947, with the following comment:
↩“This document was received at Moscow but no action was taken. It is sent to you for information or for action in the event that any is necessary or desirable.”
- Ante, pp. 386 and 388.↩