845.24/98: Telegram
The Consul at Bombay (Donovan) to the Secretary of State
[Received May 21—8:45 a.m.]
385. Following is text of press release to be released in India morning of May 22 by American Technical Mission:
“The American Technical Mission spent about 5 weeks in India investigating India’s war production and has visited representative plants in and around Calcutta, Jamshedpur, and Bombay that are producing munitions and equipment for the armed force. It has also had many conferences in New Delhi, Calcutta, and Jamshedpur, and [Page 655] Bombay with Indian Government officials, and industrialists. On the basis of its investigation and studies, the Mission has prepared a preliminary report which it submitted today to His Excellency the Viceroy.
The Mission on its return to the United States will confer with the President, the Department of State, and the Board of Economic Warfare and give a report of its survey and the recommendations it has made to the Government of India. It will have a number of recommendations to make to the United States Government in addition to the 35 specific recommendations which it cabled from Calcutta and Bombay.69 The Mission will then promptly prepare a comprehensive report of its work in India for the Government of India and the Government of the United States.
The function of the Mission was to make recommendations after investigation concerning ways and means by which the United States Government could assist in augmenting India’s war production. The work of the Mission, therefore, has been directly related to the common war effort of the United Nations and has been in no way connected with the postwar industrial and commercial problems of India.
In transmitting the preliminary report of the Mission to His Excellency the Viceroy, the Chairman, Doctor Henry Grady, stated that the Government of India would probably not wish to publish the preliminary or final report for general distribution because it contains a great deal of confidential information which should not be made available to the enemy. The Mission would have felt very much more restricted in its statements with regard to war needs if it had believed that the report would be published. In his letter of transmittal Doctor Grady added that if His Excellency the Viceroy wished to publish a summary of the report, this might not be undesirable if confidential information pertaining to the war effort was not included.
The preliminary report which the Mission has submitted to His Excellency the Viceroy covers 25 pages of typed material and contains a number of recommendations. The recommendations made to the Government of India are based on a sympathetic and constructive approach to India’s war production problems. War production has a fairly good start in India but must be developed very much further if India is to become the arsenal of the Middle and Near East.
The Mission’s recommendations cover the problem of establishing a governmental and industrial organization for war, adequate to secure the effective coordination of India’s production. Various suggestions have been made by the Mission as to how India might adapt its governmental organization to effect the purpose of maximizing war output. The Mission recommends no particular organization, but gives to the Government of India the various suggestions which have been made to it in this regard.
With the strengthening of the Government organization and the mobilization of industry so that the full conversion of peace time production to war time production may be brought about with the shipment of the tools and materials which the Mission has requested by cable, and with the improvement of transport communications and the handling of cargo at ports, the groundwork will be laid for national war production on a considerably augmented scale. The Mission is [Page 656] asking the Government of India to review the plans of the military authorities with regard to quantities and types of war production in this area, not only for India, but also for the other United Nations in this sector of the war front.
With the determination of objectives based on current military planning the Mission will then recommend to the United States Government the sending of equipment for plant extensions and for the establishment of such new plants as the carrying out of the program will require.
The Mission will maintain for the time being its organization in Washington in order to carry on there its work of securing for India those things needed to make the country increasingly effective in producing materials essential to the winning of the war. There will also be sent to India on the basis of the Mission’s recommendations a number of technicians and production executives who under the direction of the Government of India will work in the various plants, and thus assist in achieving those objectives for which the Mission was sent to India.
The Mission has received the fullest cooperation from the Government and industrialists of India. It has received many courtesies from the people of India and is deeply grateful for these manifestations of genuine friendliness. The Mission’s purpose has been to attempt to inaugurate a period of closer collaboration between India and the United States in their common aim to destroy the aggressors. The Mission feels that, in general, it has been able to accomplish the things for which it came. [Apparent omission] the Government and industrialists of India, the Mission believes that its efforts will bear genuine fruit.”
- The extensive correspondence of the American Technical Mission concerning specific items is not printed.↩