New-York tribune., 1919-08-01
Germany to.Get
Big Credit When
Treaty Is Ratified
Nordegg Says Negotiations
for Advance of $780,
600, 900 to $25O,OOO, 900
Have US. Govt. Approval

announcement or tne extension OF
large banking credits to German in
terests represented by the Deutsche
Bank of Berlin will probably be made
as soon as. the peace treaty with Ger
many is formally ratified by the United
States Senate.
The amount will run from 100000,
600 to $25O,OOO 600 No attempt will
be made to sell securities publicly, the
transactions taking the form of ad-
vances by American banks.
Martin Nordcgg, German engineer
and capitalist, who has been in the
United States since 1915. and who is
said to be in the confidence of the
Canadian and American governments,
is conducting the negotiations. Mr..
Nordegg told The Tribune yesterday
that he does not directly represent
the Deutsche Bank. 1t was learned
the past conducted business transac
tons for the German bank, and that
while he might not be an official rep
resentative of that institution, he
nevertheless was dealing for it in the
current negotiations.
Government Approves
"Everything that l am doing in the
negotiations / am conducting" said
Mr.. Nordegg, "is with the approval of
the State Department at Washington:'
He is also cooperating with the Fed
eral Reserve Board.
after the armistice was signed"
said Mr.. Nordegg, ~ received au-
thority from Mr.. Hoover, of the food
administration in this country, and
from the Canadian government to go
ahead and establish corporations in
the United States and Canada, the
purpose of which would be to buy
foodstuffs for shipment to Germany.
l have gone ahead since and under
taken credit negotiations. We hope to
get at least $1o0,o0o000 but would
raise the figure to $25O00O, 900 or
$500.000, 900, if possible"
Mr.. Nordegg said he had encountered
a great deal of trouble in getting
his cables through to Germany. To
) overcome this difficulty he has sought
to enlist the assistance of the Depart
ment of Commerce, and has, it is,
stated, obtained permission to use the
government wireless to get his mes
sages through to Germany. He re-
fused to give any Of the details of
the credit negotiations which he is
carrying on, but asserted that the
banks here which will extend the first
credits will be out and out American
institutions. "No German-American
bank or any institution with a Ger
man sounding name will participate" i"
/ he declared.
Although Mr. Nordegg has been in
the United States since 1915 he has
enjoyed immunity from prosecution as
German citizen by the American gov
crnment and was not interned during
+ the period that the United States was
at war He came here from Canada
source Mr. Nordegg, although a Ger
man citizen, has long been on intimate
terms with the Canadian government
and has en-. .oyed the confidence of high
officials in that government. 1t was
! through his close connection with
Canadian officials, it was stated yes
terday. that he got into the good
eraces of the State Department at
Washington.
Secrecy Maintained
An almost impenetrabc veil of
secrecy has been thrown about the
negotiations for German credits which
Mr. Nordegg is conducting by long
| distance and certain amount of
mystery attaches to the whole proceed
lngs. The first intimation that a Mr.
Nordegg was working here to obtain
credits for German interests came last
week in the form of cable from Lon
don, to the effect that he had closed a
100000, 900 credit on behalf of the
Deutsche Bank. At the time local bank
ers with international connections de-
clared they knew nothing of the ncgo-
tlations nor had they heard of Nordege.
Contact was made yesterday with
Mr.. Nordegg through the law Office of
Mlrabeau l.. Towns, at 25 Broad Street.
When found Mr. Nordegg was reluctant
to discus the credit matter asserting
that it would prove embarrassing to hi,u
in view of the relations with Washinr-
ton, and he expressed fears that the
deal might fall through as result of
premature publicity.
1t has been known Tor some time in
Wall Street that one of the difficulties
IN the way of making credit advances
to German interests has been the re-
luctance of American banking houses
to take the first step, owins to fears
Of hostile criticism by the American
public. The so-called group Of Ger
man-American banking Institutions has
been especially careful about openly
resuming relations with their German
corres spondents.