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20
"give tons coul amount you have on hand Frey has no authority selling on credit he has advised has Bold cash."
7.0. No. 05290 of 11.10.17.
From: weyartment Commerce, Berne.
To: Legation Suisse, ashington.
"Huit surveillance autorise quatorzemille kilos knotted hemp de Herman Jubler cotton exchange building New York reference unneufhuitzero pour Charles Pfister Wohlen.......
From intercepted correspondence it appears that Pfister's business with 0. Martini, Manila developed considerably. As an export permit for Switzerland was refused to Pfister in respect of 9000, kilos of hemp ooming from Martini and stored with the Societa Italo Svizzera di Trasporti, Genoa, Pfister on August 22nd, 1917 made the following apparently dishonest proposal to Fabbriche Riunite F. & E. Gilli, Florence, in order to overcome the difficulty. The 9,000 kilos may be the 9000 kilos originally mentioned in the Germann & Co. correspondence:
"9000 Kilogs. of knotted hemp. As I told you 9000 kz.
of knotted hemp are stored with the Societa Italo- Svizzera but export permit for this has been refused by the Minister of Finance and it appears that it is not easy to obtain one.
The only solution that I can think of would be that you took possession of these 900 kgs (oil) 1.e. that I send them to you.
You can then get into communication with the Minister of Finance and apply to him for an export permit pointing out that you have no use for these goods in your business.
Will you kindly let me know if you are prepared to take this up? The goods if knotted in Italy or merely put on bobbins will probably be able to be exported as in this way Italy will have the advantage of working the raw material."
On the 7th October Pfister asked Soc. An. Truciolo, Carpo, and several other Italian firma to purchase the goods then lying at Genoa,
Owing to the intercepting of Pfister's letters his attempts did not succeed and he had recourse to Amerigo Cattaneo of Milan, Martini'e representative.
As regards the new business that Pfister is doing with Martini it may be noted that in the period from the 20th July to 29 Aug. he bought 81,000 kilogs of woven hemp fibre in spite of the difficulties which he is encounter- ing in importing such goods into Switzerland.
Various references in the intercepted letters seem to show that the 9000 kg. lying at Genoa correspond to
a consignment to which the English Government would not give a permit for shipment from Manila, and which was therefore sent to Hermann Dubler of New York with the intention of sending it on to Marseilles in transit for Switzerland.
This sugrests strongly that they were ordered by Germann & Co. Por reasons not known the goods, before they arrived at Marseilles were disembarked at Jenos.