893.24/1680: Telegram
The Ambassador in China (Gauss) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 16 (17?)—3:33 a.m.]
2428. Upon examination of the files we find that we have two drafts of proposed reverse Lend-Lease agreement which vary considerably in language although not in general purport: (1) draft enclosed with Department’s mail instruction No. 250, March 17, and referred to in Department’s 313, March 9 and 637, May 19;65 and (2) draft received March 30 from Stilwell’s headquarters (it was stated in Department’s 313, March 9, that was being communicated to Stilwell with request that he furnish Embassy a copy and therefore the copy received by us from him should assumably be identical with that enclosed with Department’s mail instruction reference).
We have not yet been able to learn whether (2) is in fact the draft as communicated to Stilwell via War Department or whether its variations from (1) represent suggestions for changes. In any case, as Foreign Office desires a copy of appropriate draft to compare with that in its possession preparatory to signature, we suggest that the difficulty can most easily and quickly be resolved by telegraphing us the final approved text in full as soon as possible—unless that text definitely is the same as the one enclosed with Department’s mail instruction No. 250, March 17.