893.24/1572
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. Alger Hiss, Assistant to the Adviser on Political Relations (Hornbeck)
| Participants: | Mr. Ray of Lend-Lease; |
| Mr. Stanton;23 | |
| Mr. Hiss. |
Reference: attached copy of a Lend-Lease memorandum which Mr. Ray left with me today.24
[Page 500]With particular reference to item 4 (a) Mr. Ray stated that he had been informed yesterday by the Air Transport Command that the schedule for large increases in air freight capacity on the Chinese-India run in 1943 has already been postponed for three months. Specifically he said that it had been planned beginning in March to send to India 10 transport planes a month. This has now been postponed until June. Mr. Ray said that he believed additional whittling down of the proposed schedule was under consideration. In discussing this matter with Mr. Stanton and me Mr. Ray said that he thought that a letter from this Department to the Secretary of War on the subject might be helpful and that he thought the Department could verify his statements by conferring with Colonel Mason of the Air Transport Command who, he believed, would not hesitate to inform the Department of the above developments. Mr. Hornbeck, who came in for a moment while Mr. Ray was present said, in this connection, that he thought consideration of this whole matter would now have to await General Arnold’s25 return to this country.
Without further reference to item 4 (a) Mr. Ray said that the supplies he had in mind included arsenal material, actual munitions, spare parts for motor vehicles and the like. It might well also include, he said, items in which the Chinese expressed special interest such as the radio transmitter which has been the subject of recent consideration. Many of the supplies he has in mind are, he said, already in India. In answer to questions, Mr. Ray seemed to indicate that, short of consultation with Dr. T. V. Soong upon Dr. Soong’s arrival in this country, there is no way of being sure that we know what items the Chinese wish assigned priority. He agreed that there are in general three important categories of supplies which the Chinese themselves desire to have flown into China: (1) supplies which General Stilwell considers essential for his planned offensive in Burma; (2) supplies needed for maintaining and increasing the activities of General Chennault’s air force in China and (3) Lend-Lease supplies destined for the Chinese themselves. So far as Mr. Ray knew there is no authoritative indication as to the proportion of total air freight space which the Chinese desire to be accorded to each of these three categories of supplies. Presumably the Chinese want more space for each of the three. However, when the issue is one of relative priority as between these three categories, it is probable that only Dr. Soong or the Generalissimo can speak with authority and in any particular case the authoritative views of the Chinese Government may likely raise delicate questions as to the appropriate jurisdiction in this field of various United States authorities such as General Stilwell, General Chennault,26 [Page 501] the War Department, the Lend-Lease Administration, the Munitions Assignments Board and this Department.