Office of the Historian

693.419/8–2449

Memorandum by Mr. Livingston T. Merchant of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs to the Chief of the Division of Chinese Affairs (Sprouse)

[Washington,] August 24, 1949.

Mr. Rusk59 indicated to me this afternoon that the President is moving rapidly toward an attitude and policy with respect to Communist China which will result in an abandonment of the thesis [Page 871] contained in NSC 41.60 It apparently is still his desire to prevent the American tankers from delivering oil to Manchuria.61 We are also immediately instructed to explore in more concrete terms the possibility of aid to Li and Pai.62 In this connection I think you should attempt urgently to reach Kavanaugh of CalTex and ask him to drag his feet on the fuel oil contract for Shanghai.

  1. Dean Rusk, Deputy Under Secretary of State.↩
  2. February 28, p. 826.↩
  3. For correspondence on this subject, see pp. 1002 ff.↩
  4. Marshal Li Tsung-jen was Acting President of the Republic of China, and General Pai Chung-hsi was his principal military supporter. For correspondence on military aid, see pp. 472 ff.↩