711.00111 Regis. Lic/1222
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Chief of the Office of Arms and Munitions Control (Green)
After consulting Mr. Hornbeck78 and Mr. Hamilton,79 I asked the Chinese Ambassador80 by telephone this morning to call at my office. He said that he would come immediately.
After some preliminary conversation of no significance, I told the Ambassador that I was disturbed by the fact that during the current month licenses had been granted authorizing the exportation to Japan of arms to the value of $893,983.06, whereas the corresponding figure [Page 594] in respect to China was only $176,044.31. I explained why the Department had adopted the policy of publishing monthly statistical summaries of licenses issued by this office, and I pointed out that the figures which I had just given him, with such modifications as might result from licenses issued between now and the end of the month, would be published during the first week in April.81 I reminded him that one of the arguments which had been recently emphasized by persons who desired the immediate application of the Neutrality Act82 to China and Japan was that it was no longer physically possible for China to import arms purchased in the United States and that therefore the invocation of the act would penalize Japan without affecting exports to China. I said that, although I realized, of course, that China was still finding it possible to import arms, nevertheless a publication of these figures might tend to give the opposite impression and might result in further agitation in this country for the immediate invocation of the Neutrality Act. I suggested that, if the Chinese Government had already placed any further orders for arms in this country which might be ready for export in the near future, it might be advisable for the companies with which the orders had been placed to apply for export licenses within the next few days in order to increase the valuation of arms authorized for export to China before the publication of the March statistics.
The Ambassador said that he entirely agreed with me as to the result which the publication of these figures might have. He said that he would see to it that applications for further export licenses were made within the next few days if his Government had placed any further orders for arms in this country. He disclaimed any knowledge of the orders which might have been placed and under which applications for licenses might be made.
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- Stanley K. Hornbeck, Adviser on Political Relations.↩
- Maxwell M. Hamilton, Chief of the Division of Far Eastern Affairs.↩
- C. T. Wang.↩
- Released April 4; see Department of State, Press Releases, April 9, 1938, p. 455.↩
- Joint resolution approved May 1, 1937, amending earner legislation; 50 Stat. 121.↩