811.24 Raw Materials/104: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Kennedy )
345. Your No. 578, April 29, noon.34 You can state that there is no favorable prospect of securing sufficient funds to make possible the direct purchase of any rubber or of large stocks of tin. Although the [Page 244] House of Representatives passed a bill authorizing appropriations of $100,000,000, no time period for such appropriations was specified, and the bill in any event must be considered by a conference committee along with the Senate bill, which authorizes only $10,000,000 a year for 4 years.35 In any event it is unlikely that more than $10,000,000 will be available this year, and there is still uncertainty as to whether even this amount will be appropriated.
No purchases of rubber were contemplated under the original program of $100,000,000. Tin would be included but it would be the most costly item and $10,000,000 would supply only a fraction of the amount required. Only a part of a $10,000,000 appropriation could be used for tin purchases, however, since we are also in urgent need of other strategic materials.