893.50 Recovery/1–1449
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Far
Eastern Affairs (Butterworth)
[Washington,] January 14, 1949.
Memorandum for the Record
Mr. Lovett called on his return at noon from the Cabinet meeting and
requested that I record in writing the following:
In accordance with the Department’s suggestion, the subject matter of the
attached memorandum45 was discussed at a full Cabinet
meeting today at which the Vice President-elect46 and Mr. Hoffman were
present. Mr. Hoffman advocated his point of view for three-quarters of
an hour, using the same arguments he had employed on January 7 in Mr.
Lovett’s office with Messrs. Labouisse, Butterworth, Cleveland and Bruce
also being present. Mr. Lovett mentioned some of the larger implications
involved in the problem and read the two pertinent excerpts from Title
IV of the ECA Act.47 The President polled the whole
Cabinet who unanimously voted that the memorandum represented their
considered attitude.
The Acting Secretary also left with the President the attached memorandum
regarding rehabilitation projects in Formosa48 and gave a copy to Mr.
Hoffman.
The Acting Secretary also gave to the President the memorandum regarding
the situation in Tsingtao and Formosa, a copy of which is also
attached.49
[Annex]
Memorandum Presented to Cabinet Meeting
[Washington,] January 14, 1949.
Following discussion of the China aid program in the National
Security Council and further discussion in two meetings of the
Cabinet, the President in an interview, at which Mr. Clark
Clifford50 was present, communicated to the Acting
Secretary of State by way of confirmation the following decisions:
[Page 615]
- 1.
- That this Government would continue to support through the
implementation of the China Aid Act the present Chinese
Government or a legal successor Government which pursues an
anti-Communist policy. However, should a government come
into power which comes to terms with the Chinese Communists,
all aid should cease irrespective of whether the Communists
are in numerical ascendancy or not.
- 2.
- When the Chinese Communists either directly or indirectly
through a coalition government take control over any area,
all ECA supplies ashore or in the process of being unloaded
can be distributed under conditions similar to those now
prevailing. However, ECA supplies which have not yet reached
such ports should be diverted elsewhere.
- 3.
- That the military supplies under the China Aid Act should
be delivered insofar as possible in accordance with the
advice of our military authorities in China.
The second sentence of numbered paragraph 1 quoted above means, of
course, that aid should cease to those areas that come under the
control of a government in which the Communists participate.
