Papers and Documents relating to the Foreign Relations of Hungary, Volume 1, 1919–1920 (Budapest, 1939)

Documents

1920 443 1. This committee, which we might call the Vienna Reparations Commission, held its first meeting last week on July ist. The organization which has heretofore existed and which has been commonly designated as the Reparations Commission had the official title of „The Preparatory Sub-Committee of the Reparations Commission". The dispatch of the sub-committee was requested by Chancellor Renner in the course of his negotiations in Paris during December, 1919; it arrived in Vienna at the end of January or the beginning of February of this year. 2. The Vienna Reparations commission was in effect formed in Paris. The President and Vice-president of the meeting held here in Vienna on July ist were appointed to their respective offices in Paris before they came to Vienna. The Vienna commission consists of Sir William Goode of Great Britain, President ; Messrs. Morawski, Poland, and Scaramanga, Italy, Vice Presidents. 3. For the preparation of questions to be dealt with by the Reparations commission, the Austrians created an interdepartmental! commitee under the chairmanship of Dr. Schüller, Section Chief in the Foreign Office ; all the government departments are represented on this committee. The Reparations commission and the Austrian representatives do not have joint meetings. To my knowledge, the Reparations commission has already, on three different occasions, asked Dr. Schüller to appear before them to give information. He gave the requested information and the commission discussed and decided the issues in the absence of the Austrian representatives. 4. So far, the Reparations commission has finally decided only one issue. In this instance it acted favourably upon the request of the Austrian Government that it should be permitted to use certain moneys, obtained from the sale abroad of securities, for the purchase of superphosphate. Prior to its final establishment on July ist, the commission did not decide any question on the merits and in several concrete cases declared itself without jurisdiction. 5. There are at this time no official reports or data available concerning the functions of the Reparations commission. 6. Our efforts to obtain prior information concerning the activities of the members of the commission have been heretofore unsuccessful. The secrets of the commission's proceedings are