740.00119 PW/4–447

Mr. Robert W. Baker, Secretary to Mr. Edwin W. Pauley, to the Acting Secretary of State

Dear Mr. Acheson: Mr. Pauley has asked me to ascertain whether you approve his making the attached statement; and, if you do approve, whether you would care to issue it through the Department of State.63

As you know, while Mr. Pauley has resigned as the United States Representative on the Allied Commission on Reparations, and as the President’s Personal Representative on reparations matters, he has, at the request of the President and Department of State, agreed to remain as advisor on reparations, subject to the call of the Secretary.

Sincerely yours,

Robert W. Baker
[Page 381]
[Enclosure]

Proposed Statement by Mr. Edwin W. Pauley

The following statement was made today by Edwin W. Pauley, formerly United States Representative on the Allied Commission on Reparations and Personal Representative of the President in reparations matters:

“The order of the State–War–and–Navy Coordinating Committee, authorizing General MacArthur to begin the removal of industrial equipment from Japan as reparations,64 will be beneficial both to the countries which will receive it and to the Japanese, themselves.

“The receiving countries: China, the Philippines, the Netherlands East Indies, and the British colonies of Malaya, Burma and others will benefit because they need this equipment desperately to rebuild their economies, shattered by Japanese aggression.

“The Japanese will benefit because they will at last be on the way to learning definitely what plants are to be removed. Thus, a start is made toward removing the uncertainty which has hindered the Japanese in planning for their future.

“The only regret is that this action has been so long delayed. I believe it appropriate to note that, in my Interim Report to the President on December 18, 1945, more than fifteen months ago, I emphasized:

“‘A program of interim removals should be announced to other claimant nations immediately, and the successive actions of seizure, inventory, packing, and shipment should follow in the shortest possible time in order to make both the framework of policy and the course of action uncompromisingly clear. … The sooner the interim removal program is made clear to the Japanese, the sooner they will see that they cannot rely definitely on certain things … the better it will be for them as well as for us.’”

Although Mr. Pauley has resigned as reparations Ambassador, he has, at the request of the President and the Department of State, agreed to remain as advisor on reparations, subject to the call of the Secretary.

  1. Mr. Acheson replied to Mr. Pauley on April 12: “The Department has no objection to the statement which you propose; but I would suggest, however, that you issue it personally.” (740.00119 PW/4–447)
  2. Sent to SCAP as serial 75, April 4, supra.