Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1940, The British Commonwealth, The Soviet Union, The Near East and Africa, Volume III

700.00116 M.E./10

Memorandum by the Chief of the Division of Controls (Green)

[Washington,] December 15, 1939.

After consultation with Mr. Moffat² and Mr. Henderson,³ and after receiving instructions from the Secretary⁴ that the policy of discouraging the sale of information in regard to the manufacture of high quality aviation gasoline was to be extended to the U. S. S. R.,⁵ I called Mr. C. S. Reed, president of the Lummus Company, New York, and Mr. Carter, secretary of the Universal Oil Products Company, Chicago, by telephone this afternoon.

I told Mr. Reed that I understood that his company had two employees—Raymond Barton Owens and Viggo E. Hanson—now in the U. S. S. R. engaged in constructing a plant for the manufacture of gasoline products. I suggested that the company instruct these men to leave the U. S. S. R. without delay and to communicate with the American Ambassador in Moscow.⁶ Mr. Reed asked no questions. He said that he would act immediately upon my suggestion.

I told Mr. Carter that I understood that his company had two employees—Hugh Rodman and Orion Newall Miller—now in the U. S. S. R. engaged in constructing a plant for the manufacture of gasoline products. Mr. Carter said that the company also had a third American employee—A. C. Rassmussen—in the U. S. S. R. I made the same suggestion to Mr. Carter that I had made to Mr. Reed. Mr. Carter asked whether he was correct in his understanding that Mr. Halle, president of the company, who had attended a conference at the Department yesterday, would understand the reasons for my making this suggestion. I replied in the affirmative. Mr. Carter said that he would immediately communicate with Mr. Halle and would take appropriate action.

J[oseph] C. G[reen]

2. Pierrepont Moffat, Chief of the Division of European Affairs.
3. Loy W. Henderson, Assistant Chief of the Division of European Affairs.
4. Cordell Hull, Secretary of State.
5. For the institution of the moral embargo, see telegram No. 265, December 4, 1939, 6 p.m., to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union, and footnote 2g, Foreign Relations, The Soviet Union, 1933–1939, p. 801; also telegram No. 313, December 24, 1939, 4 p.m., to the Ambassador in the Soviet Union, ibid., p. 806.
6. Laurence A. Steinhardt.