Foreign Relations of the United States Diplomatic Papers, 1941, The Far East, Volume IV

894.24/1306

Memorandum of Conversation, by the Adviser on Political Relations (Hornbeck)

[Washington,] January 6, 1941.

Mr. Butler³ and Mr. Hill⁴ called on me this afternoon. Mr. Butler referred to a memorandum which he had left with me under date November 20, 1940⁵ on the subject of possibly cutting down on Japan’s piling up of petroleum reserves by taking tankers out of operation into Japanese ports. He referred to previous conversations on that subject and the fact that thus far this Government has given no official expression of its views. He then gave me the memorandum and compilation of figures that are here attached⁶ and asked Mr. Hill to summarize the contents and purport thereof. Mr. Hill elaborated somewhat on the subject of the problem of withholding increments of reserve supplies from Japan and spoke of the quotas which the Japanese Government has allotted to the Standard-Vacuum and Shell oil companies for importation into and distribution in Japan. He said that the British Government and Shell advocate non-acceptance by the companies of those quotas but that Standard feels that the quotas should be accepted. [Here follows a discussion of details.]

S[tanley] K. H[ornbeck]

3. Nevile M. Butler, British Chargé in the United States.
4. P. C. Hill, Third Secretary of the British Embassy in the United States.
5. Not printed.
6. Neither printed.