811.20 Defense (M)/4078 Suppl.: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in China (Gauss)
14. Further reference your number 9, January 2, 2 p.m. K. C. Li, representing the National Resources Commission, and appropriate [Page 635] authorities of this Government have been negotiating for the supply of tungsten during 1942. Mr. Li has estimated total 1942 production of tungsten of 20,000 tons and has further expressed the opinion that this amount could be made available at Rangoon during 1942 for export to the United States.
In view of estimate of 12,000 tons as 1942 production in paragraph 1 of your telegram under reference, it would be helpful to the Department if you would indicate sources of your estimate and if you would comment upon K. C. Li’s estimate.
Assuming that K. C. Li’s estimate is over-optimistic, it occurs to the Department that if ways could be found for sending practical mining experts to China current tungsten production might be increased to some such figure as Li has estimated. In any event, in view of importance of tungsten to our war effort it might be desirable to send such experts in an endeavor to increase tungsten production whatever the actual production of tungsten would otherwise be.
Please give us the benefit of your views as to whether such a plan would be practicable and useful and in the event of affirmative reaction on your part indicate desirable qualifications of experts and the number of such experts who might best be sent, and how best to fit them into the general picture.
It has seemed to us that the transportation question involves two principal stages: (1) transportation from the point of production to Kunming and (2) transportation from Kunming to Lashio. According to our best information here transportation of as much as 20,000 tons of tungsten per annum from Kunming to Lashio should not, under present conditions, require any change in existing transportation practices. This is based on assumption that sufficient empty space is currently available in outward bound trucks and that gasoline needed for these trucks is already provided for. The Department assumes therefore that your reference paragraph 4 to gasoline needs has reference to the stage of transportation from point of production to Kunming and understands from your statement as to trucks that there are sufficient trucks for this stage of the transportation as well as for the journey from Kunming to Lashio. We have understood, however, that transportation from point of production to Kunming is in large part by coolie back, and we wonder to what extent trucks and gasoline need be used for that transportation.
It would be helpful to us if, in your furnishing of estimates of transportation and gasoline needs, you would, as requested above for your estimates of mineral production, inform us of the sources of the estimates.