Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1943, The British Commonwealth, Eastern Europe, the Far East, Volume III

861.24/1326: Telegram

The Ambassador in the Soviet Union (Standley) to the Secretary of State

Moscow, March 12, 1943—4 p.m.
[Received March 12—3:48 p.m.]

150. The Soviet press of March 12 gave wide coverage to Tass despatches from the United States press [of] Stettinius’ statement of March 7 regarding Lend-Lease supplies to Russia⁸⁰ was carried in considerable detail and included many figures on supplies sent up to February 1.

Stettinius’ recent radio speech on the necessity of creating an army of 8,200,000 was published at some length as well as the Vice President’s recent address in Columbus.⁸¹ No reference to the Soviet Union was contained in the Tass version of Wallace’s speech.

The passage of the Lend-Lease Bill in the House of Representatives⁸² was also prominently carried.

Standley

80. See the New York Times, March 8, 1943, p. 19; for complete text, see the Congressional Record, vol. 89, pt. 2, p. 1700. See also the Eighth Quarterly Report to Congress (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1943), summary of which is printed in Department of State Bulletin, March 20, 1943, p. 230.
81. Address delivered at Columbus, Ohio, on March 8, 1943; for text, see Congressional Record, vol. 89, pt. 9, p. A1087.
82. The House passed the Lend-Lease extension act on March 10, 1943, followed by the Senate on March 11. Upon President Roosevelt’s signature the same day it became law; 57 Stat. 20.