AUSTRIAN STRAITS.

Taranaki Daily News, 14 July 1916, Page 11

AUSTRIAN STRAITS.

STORY OF INTERCEPTED MESSAGES j £3,000,000 WANTEOt Renter's Agency lias received .t.n an ofiicial source copies of .'ut;-reentc>, inpssnppß showing the dire .traits- U which Austria is reduced in ..tu'litr vfc* raise loans in foreign amivriift place an entirely different liif't « the financial operations of Aust.l' j Some days ago an intercept-".'' me?_i sage from Baron von Burian, tlio Foreign Minister of Austria-Hungary, to the Austrian Ambassador at Washington, was worded in such a way as to suggest that New York hankers had voluntarily oll'ered a loan of twenty-five million dollars to Austria, whereas the true facts of the ease are that Hirr von Krassnv. president of the Nieder Oestcrreiflii>rhc IJisknnto Gcselelschaft, of \icmia. had been telegraphing during April and May to Mr. Leopold Perutz, of Xew York, endeavoring to obtain a loan. On May 5 Dr. Krassnv telegraphed to Perutz as follows: "Immediate definite agreement for largest possible amount, if possible 15,000,000d01,. desired here. Amount is to be deposited Mr our disposal with National City Bank, New York. Ambassador Washington will be authorised to settle with your co-oper-ation condition with regard to position of syndicate taking over first class, and corresponding in rank to contracting parties here. You inform, using name I of the broker, Chandler, that further con- I ditions, special eolemn assurance that three months before maturity, if war continues, prolongation on the easiest terms. Meanwhile, put yourselves in [ connection with Washington."

SIGNIFICANT. ' A further intercepted message is evidence of Austria's financial straits and that she is reduced to offering the transfer fees of real estate as security for loans. The reference of the unsuitability of transferring the money to Berlin is also significant. It reads: "Julius Horn, Perlin, to Leopold Perutz, New York, April 23, 1916. Krassny wires to Washington pressing for conclusion of contract with co-operation of all authorised here. Endeavor to get fifteen million , prompt if possible. Authorities wish 1 that Washington should sign the bonds on account of corresponding transfer of the equivalent for our account to Swiss Credit Bank, Zurich, Amsterdamsche Bank, Amsterdam, Danske Landmands- ' bank, Copenhagen, or Stockholm Enskilda Bank. Stockholm, at choice of syndicate. Transfer to Berlin unsuitable. Bonds alluded to in number 4671 half 1 maturing 1916 and half 1917. Bonds will ■be repaid at 100 per cent, at the town named in text, whereto amount for payment of coupons and repayment of'principal will be remitted direct. It could also be arranged if desired that also New York could be named as a place of payI ment. 'Die bonds are secured, as is statj ed in the text, by the transfer fee 3 of real estate." [ Apparently Austria lias to hypothecate taxes to secure even so small a loan nin,oon,ooodol. Nor is this surprising in ( the case of a country which has already been exploited financially by its German | friends —a country whose exchange shows '' a depreciation of nearly 50 per cent., whose internal loans have beefa shown to be a fiasco, and which will certainly not be in a position to pay back to the syndicate at maturity the loan which Aus- , tria is endeavoring, to show was voluntarily offered to her by New York banki ers.