740.0011 P.W./8–944
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Stettinius) to the Secretary of State
The Secretary: The President and General Marshall have about decided to send Pat Hurley to Chungking to work between General Stilwell3 and the Generalissimo.4 Pat has not been informed and will not [Page 248] be until General Marshall is advised that this is acceptable to the Generalissimo.
General Marshall prefers that I not mention anything to Pat Hurley about being Ambassador until the appointment is made, so I shall have to postpone doing this until General Marshall gives us clearance.
Things are not going well in the WPB,5 and the President has about decided to send Donald Nelson to Chungking along with Hurley to make a general survey of industry. It is likely that he will ask Nelson to stay in China for some time.
I was asked whether this was satisfactory to us, and I stated it was perfectly agreeable to have Donald Nelson go to China as long as this was similar to his trip to Russia last year. No action is required on our part until we hear further from the White House. I have acquainted both Mr. Acheson6 and Mr. Grew7 in confidence of the possibility of Nelson making this trip.
- Lt. Gen. Joseph W. Stilwell, Commanding General, U.S. Army Forces, China–Burma–India; Deputy Supreme Commander, Southeast Asia Command (SEAC); and Joint (Allied) Chief of Staff for China Theatre.↩
- Chiang Kai-shek, President of the National Government of the Republic of China.↩
- War Production Board; Chairman, Donald M. Nelson.↩
- Dean G. Acheson, Assistant Secretary of State.↩
- Joseph C. Grew, Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs.↩