ITALIAN TRADE SCANDAL

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 199, 11 May 1918, Page 7

ITALIAN TRADE SCANDAL

The "Daily Chronicle'' special correspondent, writing .from] Milan on Fcbruitry 2G, sriy-s (hat a big 'scandal 6f! shameless trading with the enemy has been brought to light- For some time past tho Homo Government had information that contraband business in silk and cotton shreels was being carried on with Switzerland on nil ewutionally largo scale from Uppu' Piedmont and Lombard)', 'the matter came before Parliament, when the-'Minister'nf Finance gavo assurances that a stringent investigatioa was pending, and the police made a thorough perquisition of the establishments belonging to the Lombard Silk Thread Company, which has its admims. trative ' offices at■' Milan, with spinning mills at Novara and six other towns. The result of tho inquiry shows that the company, which-possesses a nominal •capital of half a million sterling, with a .CIMO/Jfll) reserve, Ifad devised _ cunning means of maintaining an cxlensivo trade* with Germany and Austria ever since tho outbreak of'tho war.. The directors, nuar)v all of whom are ti'led personages, created a pseudo-Swiss company at Zurich under tho trade name of GaruImnelel.

Tho primary object of litis scheme wan to realise credits due from customers in Germany on pre-war contracts, but under pressure from these enemy clients who, in liquidating outstanding debts, the. Zurich office became quickly transformed into a huge clearing-house for Italian silk produco destined for Germany. Some insight-into the extent of this traffic is afforded by the fact that certain expert members of the Milan staff were transferred to Zurich under the pretext of offering theiir services to the pseudo-indepniidont Garnhandel, which figured as of, purely Swiss origin, whilst the Milan central company's balancesheet, during the year 1910 alone roveals a net profit of .CSHO.OOO derived from tins single source. In the meantime another company,-called the Flore nc>4, v.-as sot up at Sagra; o for 1110 nirvow of earning on similar oMiations wilU. S tria:ito 3 a,T. Seven-eightbs^ taly mvo tan arreted, and their prU residences have ten searched.