894.50/7–2247
The Assistant Secretary of State (Hilldring) to the Assistant Secretary of War (Petersen)
Dear Mr. Petersen: This is in further reference to my letters in regard to the appointment of a War Department expediter. The Department of State has just submitted to the State–War–Navy Coordinating Committee a proposed SWNCC paper No. 381 entitled “Revival of the Japanese Economy”.36 The Department of State considers that the program proposed in this paper is of the utmost importance and that it should be treated as a matter of the highest priority within the United States Government.
Past experience, for example with reference to the Greek and Turkish Aid Program,37 would seem to indicate that the many and varied Washington functions necessary to this program’s success will only be performed adequately if one person is specifically responsible for that performance and has sufficient time and authority to take the initiative in bringing it about. It is believed that the above program [Page 266] is too important, too large, and too specialized to be included among the functions of some existing group or persons.
It is therefore suggested that an executive of unquestionable stature and ability be appointed to coordinate all operations in the United States relating to the program for rendering Japanese self-supporting proposed in SWNCC 381. This executive could also very well function as Expediter for Japanese trade developments in cooperation with the Advisory Committee on Occupied Areas Affairs thereby permitting the present Expediter to specialize in problems relating to German trade development.
I shall appreciate your views on the possibility of an early appointment of such an additional executive.
Sincerely yours,
- Dated July 22; a copy was sent in instruction 538, July 30, to Tokyo for the information of the Political Adviser in Japan.↩
- For documentation on this subject, see vol. v, pp. 1 ff.↩