800.796/8–344
The Chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board (Pogue) to the Assistant Secretary of State (Berle)
Dear Adolf: In reflecting upon the seriousness of the conference which we had with the Russians on Tuesday of this week,58 I had first thought they might be trading. But on the assumption that they are not doing that, I bring forward a thought which you might have already put in motion. You will recall that when you, Senator Clark, and myself were called to the President’s office some time ago, he re-counted [Page 521] a talk which he had had with Stalin about air problems of the future.59 He said that he had told Stalin we would like to fly across Siberia on the way to China; that he would have no objection to the Russians flying across Alaska and even the United States on their way to somewhere else if they wanted to do so. Stalin’s reply was that he thought Roosevelt was, in general, right; that we would all want to be flying outside our borders when the war was over; and that he felt sure some satisfactory arrangement could be made.
With commercial, cultural, and political relationships so deeply affected by the civil air policy of the future, and believing in the inevitability of the victory of technology over political barriers (which is to say believing in the inevitability that the world’s air must be opened up), I suggest that you consider the possibility of urging the President, himself, to take a hand in this problem directly with Stalin. No doubt, you have already pondered on this possibility; but I feel confident that you will understand my earnestness in writing you this note.
Sincerely yours,