Office of the Historian

893.811/601

The Secretary of the Navy (Denby) to the Secretary of State

Washington, February 5, 1924.
27403–340:39–L

Sir: I have the honor to refer to your letter of January 17, 1924 (File FE–893.811/575)67 and to this Department’s reply thereto of January 25, 1924 (File 26403–340: 39–L),67 concerning the present status of proposed legislation for the construction of six river gunboats for use as a naval patrol on the Yangtze River, China.

In this connection there is enclosed herewith for your information a copy of a letter addressed to this Department by the Director of the Bureau of the Budget, dated January 29, 1924,67 from which it will be observed that the legislation proposed in the attached copy of bill was duly presented to the President, who instructed the Director of the Bureau of the Budget to advise me that “it is not in conflict with his financial program, subject to the understanding that he will not approve a supplemental estimate for the fiscal year 1925 except for the purposes of three river gunboats.”

Accordingly, under date of February 2, 1924, the Department addressed a letter to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, enclosing a draft of the proposed legislation, with the recommendation that it be enacted into law at an early date.68

Sincerely yours,

Edwin Denby
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  4. The construction of six river gunboats was authorized by an act of Congress approved Dec. 18, 1924 (43 Stat. 719). These gunboats were completed in 1928 (Annual Reports of the Navy Department for the Fiscal Year, etc., 1928, p. 277).↩