Evening star., 1947-04-19
TakeUp
Austrian Border
Problem Tonight
Deadlock on Issue
Expected to stymie
I reoty for Present
BY the Assoeiofed Press

pT HaS $ssoeiuieo fTeSS
MOSCOW, April 19.-The Big
Four Foreign Ministers agreed
today, at the demand of Secre-
tary of State Marshall, to take
up the problem of Austria S
frontiers tonight.
This involved chiefly Yugoslavia' S
demand for Southern Carinthia.
Russia has favored and the western
powers have opposed this demand.
A final deadlock on this issue
tonight = following last nights
stalemate on German assets-would
be about the only thing needed to
bury the Austrian treaty for the
present.
3 Articles Completed.
While Gen. Marshall and British
Foreign Secretary Bevin have not
declared themselves formally for an
immediate windup of the confer
ence, both are widely reported to
be anxious to leave here as soon as
possible in view of almost over
whelming evidence that no agree
ment can be reached on either a
German or an Austrian treaty.
Gen. Marshall's move today ap-
peared to be one more test to
prove no progress possible without
an almost incredible change of
policy on somebody's part.
The Big -Four got through three
routine articles of the Austrian pact
today, and while there was some
shifting of positions on minor points
and much arguing back and forth
in the two-hour session, informants
made it clear that nothing worth
while was accomplished.
Reds Seen Stalling.
United States informants, sug-
gesting that Russia apparently does
not want to finish an Austrian treaty
in Moscow, speculated that the Rus
slams might have decided to stall all
changes in Central Europe until they
could evaluate the effects of Presi-
dent Truman's program to stem
Communism.
These informants said the Soviet
Unions stiff attitude on the Austrian
pact in the Foreign Ministers Coun-
Gil might be the result of a basic
policy decision by the Kremlin to
freeze the Central European situa-
tion pending further development
of the proposal now before Congress
for s400, ,o00, 900 in aid to Greece and
Turkey in what the President has
termed a move to help free peoples"
resisting aggression by armed min
orities'' OF Outside pressure.
This uIleompromising Russian at
titude was exemplified by Soviet
Foreign Minister Molotov's detailed
rejection last night of Gen. Mar
shall's proposal to find some mid
die ground" for breaking the dead
lock over the key dispute of what
constitutes German assets subject to
seizure in Austria. ..
European Split Unchanged.
Barring wholly unexpected changes
in Mr.. Molotov's stand, top au-
thorities said, an Austrian settle
ment in the Moscow Conference
evidently has been ruled out by
this rejection. One high official
said the United States would not
even consider Mr. Molotov's counter
which Gen. Marshall said
would make Austria a "puppet
state"
Without some unpredictable change
in the situation, this was taken to
mean that the conference here will
not change substantially the basic
fact of European East-West split,
with the Soviets continuing their
troop domination of the
Eastern section up to the West
ern borders of their occupation
zones of Germany and Austria.
One theory responsibly advanced
within the American delegation is
that the Russians might have been
willing to modify their situation
somewhat by agreement here, such
as on the Austrian treaty, so long
as estimates gave them a good
chance to profit by the change.
This, in the American view, would
have meant a chance to exchange
occupational control of limited
zones for an opportunity to seek
political influence throughout all
Austria and Germany as unity de-
veloped.
New Factor Seen in Situation.
President Truman's proposal on
Greece and Turkey, however, was
seen as having introduced a new
factor. In effect, he notified Russia
that the United States Government