The Ambassador has the honor to enclose for the information of the Department
a copy of a self-explanatory letter addressed to the Minister-Counselor in
regard to the establishment of the Embassy Executive Office. Copies of this
instruction have been forwarded to the Chief, Army Advisory Group, Nanking;
Chief, Naval Advisory Group, Nanking; Commander United States Naval Forces,
Western Pacific; Commander, Army Transport Command, Shanghai; Commanding
Officer, American Graves Registration Service, Shanghai; and Chief, Foreign
Liquidation Commission, Shanghai.
[Enclosure]
The Ambassador in China (Stuart) to
the Minister-Counselor of Embassy (Butterworth)
Sir: In order to implement Presidential
Directive dated March 3, 1947, a copy of which is attached for ease of
reference, you are instructed to establish in the Chancery an Executive
Office of the Embassy for the purpose of assisting me in supervising and
coordinating the application of basic American policies with regard to
China in connection with the activities of U. S. military organizations
functioning in China.
It is my desire that the Executive Office will function as an integral
part of the Embassy directly under the Minister-Counselor, to whom it
will report. You are authorized to appoint such Embassy personnel as you
may deem necessary to serve in the Executive Office in addition to their
other duties.
The Embassy Executive Office will be charged with making such
recommendations as may seem necessary to it in order to insure complete
and consistent implementation of United States policy toward China on
the part of all United States military agencies operating
[Page 1438]
in China and with the
preparation of such memoranda and reports for me as may be necessary.
The establishment of the Executive Office will not in any way interpose
a barrier to the direct and free access to the Embassy of any military
command or agency in China.
Although the Executive Office will be composed of Embassy, Army and Navy
members, it is my desire that the office function as a unit and that
such recommendations as may emanate from it will be prepared jointly by
all members, reflecting, of course, when pertinent, the opinion of any
military agency which may be the subject of such recommendations.
When it is necessary on matters of policy to address any communication to
a United States military command or agency in China, such communication
will continue, as in the past, to be from the Embassy. Likewise, the
Embassy Executive Office will utilize Embassy channels of communication
with Washington. However, this should not be construed as to preclude
the Army and Navy members of the Executive Office from using service
channels to their respective departments or to military commands or
agencies in China when seeking information or guidance or in matters
connected with local administrative support.
Army and Navy personnel assigned to the Embassy Executive Office will be
considered as members of the Embassy staff responsible to me and
reported to the Chinese Government as such, but for purely
administrative purposes will be considered as attached to appropriate
military commands.
This instruction is of a tentative nature and will be modified as
experimentation and experience dictate.
Very truly yours,
