862.00/10–149: Telegram
The United States Commander, Berlin (Taylor) to the United States High Commissioner for Germany (McCloy), at Frankfurt
140. For McCloy.1 Thirty-third meeting Allied Kommandatura held September 30 under French chairmanship.
[In the first part of this cable Taylor reported on the use of Berlin printing facilities by the Federal Government and the exemption of certain properties from the Berlin emergency building tax.]
Commandants then discussed subsequent steps which might be taken to induce Soviets and Reichsbahndirektion to fulfill agreements re railway workers’ West mark wages (mytel 135 September 28, repeated Department 1399, London 447, Paris 500, Moscow 1272). After considerable discussion it was agreed that Kommandatura’s civil administration committee will explore urgently with transport, legal, public safety and other experts, favorable and unfavorable results which might be expected from following possible courses of action:
- 1.
- Seizure of West sector Reichsbahn property not directly used for operating railways.
- 2.
- Repudiation of Soviet claim to control of Reichsbahn—a claim which has hitherto been recognized only tacitly and not in any written agreement.
- 3.
- Seizure of West mark intake from West sector ticket offices.
- 4.
- Authorization to Magistrat to continue distraining on increased scale revenue from nonoperational West sector property of Reichsbahn, on grounds that such revenue is not being paid into blocked account in West sector bank in accordance with regulation 14 of currency [Page 399] conversion ordinance of May 31. (Magistrat had already collected 270,000 marks in this fashion and had requested Kommandatura approval for carrying out distraints on all nonoperational Reichsbahn property in West Berlin.)
French Commandant then raised subject of removals of railway equipment from West sector installations and said that since such removals had, especially in last fortnight, reached rather serious proportions in French sector, he intended inform Soviets early next week, as US Commandant had done some time ago, that removals could henceforth not be made without his express permission. He suggested British Commandant might wish do same thing simultaneously. British agreed he would seek authority from superiors to do so.
Sent Frankfort 140, Department pass to Moscow 130, repeated London 449, Paris 501, and Department 1404.