§ Sir E. Graham-Littleasked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the terms of the Allied Control Agreement for Austria, he will make a statement on the requisitioning and removal by the Russians of 5,000 railway trucks and 500 engines in Austria.
§ Mr. MayhewOn 22nd October officials of the Austrian railways were summoned to the Soviet Headquarters and ordered to deliver 5,575 passenger coaches and waggons and 540 locomotives to the Soviet Authorities on the grounds that they were "war booty." Some of the rolling stock and locomotives were to be repaired before delivery. The Austrian Government protested to the Soviet Authorities against these orders maintaining that, unless captured in actual military operations, rolling stock is not generally considered to be liable to seizure as "war booty," and also that the effect of the orders was bound to be harmful to the Austrian economy.
3WAs the Soviet Authorities refused to discuss the matter, the Austrian Government asked for the intervention of the Allied Council. At the meeting of the Allied Council on 26th November the Soviet High Commissioner adopted the attitude that this matter was solely the concern of the Soviet Authorities. He was not prepared to accept the proposal by the High Commissioners of the Western Powers that, in view of the serious effects of the removal of so much railway equipment from Austria and of the responsibilities under the Control Agreement of the four Allies for the reconstruction of the Austrian economy, the matter should be discussed by a quadripartite agency before any further action was taken.
It is, of course, clear that, whatever may be the rights and wrongs of the Soviet claim—and this claim has never been justified in discussion with the other Allies—the manner in which the Soviet have acted is contrary to the spirit of the Control Agreement and must be harmful to the Austrian economy, which that Agreement was designed to protect.