893.20/536
The Consul General at Shanghai (Cunningham) to the Secretary of State
[Received June 15.]
Sir: I have the honor to enclose a memorandum of conversation51 between H. T. Rowland, an American citizen, chief of the flying and ground school, Central Aviation Academy, Hangchow, China, and a member of my staff.
The information given by Mr. Rowland indicates that no more than eight of the original sixteen members of the American civilian mission which virtually founded the Academy will be retained at the expiration of their three year contracts in June, 1935. It will be noted from the memorandum that Mr. Rowland has advocated to the Chinese closer cooperation between the Italian, American and Chinese instructors and authorities as a solution of present difficulties, and attributes, at least to some degree, the fall from the grace of the Chinese authorities of the American instructors to the fact that the American Advised (Colonel Jouett) had not attached himself closely to General Chiang Kai-shek while the Italian Adviser definitely had.
Whatever may have been the cause for the disruption of American instruction and maintenance at the Academy, and one may conjure up Japanese objections as well as Italian ascendency, it appears a fact that the very fine American direction of efforts which have brought about the training of some four hundred admittedly excellent Chinese pilots is shortly to be greatly curtailed and possibly eclipsed.
Respectfully yours,
- Not printed.↩