Evening star., 1952-06-11
BY JAMES E. ROPER.

~ - SEANAASO ne ANOA AASs
Russia rang the wrong number
when it asked the West to pay a
$l4 million telephone bill in Ger
many.
The United States soon will tell
the Communists that the West
paid the bill in full-and in ad-
vance-in 1916.
Then it will be up to the Rus
slams and the East Germans on
their party line to decide whether
to cut of the service.
Russia presented the $14 million
bill Thursday. The dunning note
delivered to American representa-
tives asked that a check for the
full amount go to the Communist
East German regime.
The charges were for use of a
telephone cable running from
Frankfurt, in the American zone
of West Germany, to the American
sector of Berlin. The line crosses
the Soviet zone.
U. S. Claims Full Rights.
But the United States claims it
has full rights to this cable. The
Western reply will remind the
Communists that, in 1916, the
West turned over to the Commu-
nists a large amount of tele-
communications equipment, such
as cable and relay stations. In
return, Russia gave the West
exclusive use of the Frankfurt-to-
Berlin line, known as FK-41.
This agreement was worked out
by American Gen. Lucius D. Clay
and Soviet Gen. VASTLY Sokolov-
sky. The State Department says
no time for ending American use
of the cable was set.
Trouble, however. began to de-
velop in 1949. Until then, the
United States Army Signal Corps
had sent technicians into the
Soviet zone to maintain the cable.
In 1949. Russia told American
repairmen to keep out. The Rus
SLAMS promised that, thereafter,
Communists would maintain the
line.
At about the same time, the
East German regime presented
telephone bill for $6 million. The
next year, the Communists dunned
the West, asserting the bill had
grown to So million.
"Please Remit Promptly"
These requests were made on
comparatively low level. The
latest and biggest bill came from
the Soviet Control Commission.
marked with the diplomatic equiv
alent Of third notice-please re-
NIT promptly"
The increasing Soviet pressure
causes some anxiety here. The
West does not have to use the
telephone circuit-it now has
many radiophones on a standby
basiS-but it's loss would mark
just one more dip in East-West
relations.
Russia effectively used a similar
issue in Korea for propaganda
purposes in 1948. The Communist
North Koreans charged American
occupied South Korea refused to
pay for electricity it received from
the North. The South was sup
posed to pay in goods. The Com
munists kept changing specif1ca-
tions on the goods they would ac-
cept. This delayed deliveries. The
Communists, in a welter of prop
aganda charging that the Ameri-
cans would not pay their honest
debts, finally shut of the electri-
city-and kept it off.
Newest Communist Move.
The propaganda and nerve
jangling effects of such tactics
prompts officials here to keep a
wary eye on the newest Commu-
mist move in GERMANY demand
that the West pay daily dnstead
of semi-monthly) the freight
charges on goods shipped from
the Western zone to Berlin.
Neither the United States Gov
ernment nor private shippers is
expected to be affected by this.
officials here say private COM
panies in the Western zone make
payments to the nationalized
Western railroads. They, in turn,
pay the nationalized East Ger
man railroads for carrying the
freight across the Soviet zone to
Berlin.
Thus the settlement is made
between the West and East Ger
man regimes. There is no Western