Office of the Historian

811.20 Defense (M)/2743

Memorandum by Mr. Howard J. Trueblood, of the Office of the Adviser on International Economic Affairs

[Washington,] July 1, 1941.

Mr. Klossner, President of the Rubber Reserve Company, telephoned to me to inquire whether or not there was any political objection to the purchase of 2500 tons of rubber in Thailand. This rubber, according to Mr. Klossner’s information, originally was destined for Russia but shipment was now impossible, and a dealer had informed him that it could be secured.

I checked with Mr. Hiss, who in turn consulted with Mr. Peck of FE,68 and later informed me that there was no objection to the transaction provided [assuming69] that it did not involve breaking any existing contract with the Russians. I passed this information on to Mr. Klossner, and I believe that he is going ahead with the deal.

  1. Division of Far Eastern Affairs.↩
  2. Revision by Mr. Hiss.↩