26. Editorial Note

On June 29, Assistant Secretary Holland sent to Deputy Under Secretary Murphy a memorandum prepared in ARA containing a proposal for the loan of vessels from the United States Navy’s inactive fleet to Latin American countries for use in performing hemisphere defense missions. In his covering memorandum, Holland stated that he “would very much appreciate having this proposal placed on the agenda of the meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff on July 1.” (Department of State, Central Files, 720.5–MSP/6–2955) In a memorandum to Holland, dated June 30, Murphy replied in part as follows: “I do not think that the State–JCS meeting is the best place for initiating substantive business of this kind. Consequently, I would suggest that it be taken up with Defense by letter. Following [Page 233] this, I see no reason why it should not be discussed in a subsequent State–JCS meeting.” (Ibid., 720.5–MSP/6–3055)

A proposed letter to Secretary of Defense Wilson was drafted in ARA by Robert M. Sayre on July 12, and sent for concurrence to Murphy and Frederick Nolting. In a memorandum to Acting Secretary Hoover, dated July 15, Nolting stated that he had initialed the draft letter, “but believe this proposition should be broached with Defense as a straight inquiry and should not be pressed as a political ‘must’ in the event Defense sees objections.” He further commented that it was his understanding that ships in the Navy’s “moth ball fleet” were not excess, but “were carefully selected for retention in order to fill the Navy mobilization needs in case of hostilities.” In such an event, the argument contained in the letter that the loan of ships would strengthen the Inter-American Defense Plan “would not be valid.” (Ibid., 720.5–MSP/7–1555)

The draft letter was transmitted to the Acting Secretary under cover of a memorandum from Holland, dated July 18. In a memorandum dated July 19, Robert G. Barnes informed the Acting Secretary of Nolting’s position and that Murphy had not concurred in Holland’s memorandum and wanted to discuss it. (Ibid., 720.5–MSP/7–1955) A memorandum from Barnes to Holland, dated July 26, reads in part as follows: “I understand that the Under Secretary feels we should not make a formal request at this level now but that you should continue to explore this question at the working level in Defense.” (Ibid., 720.5–MSP/7–2655)

On July 27, in a memorandum requesting his Staff Assistant, Norman Pearson, to have the proposed letter to Defense redrafted, Holland stated in part the following: “I think you are right in your conclusion that our draft of letter to Secretary Wilson on a loan of naval vessels does not meet Mr. Hoover’s request that we merely say that the suggestion has come to our attention. He wanted us to give the impression that the idea had really originated somewhere in Defense and had come to our attention and that we were expressing our feeling that the idea merited consideration.” (Ibid., 720.5–MSP/7–2755) A revised draft of the letter was sent forward to the Secretary under cover of a memorandum from Holland, dated August 12. (Ibid., 720.5–MSP/8–1255) This draft was not attached to the copy of Holland’s memorandum in Department of State files, and no further documentation on the subject has been found dated prior to the letter sent on October 7, infra . The source text of the October 7 letter, however, bears drafting dates of July 29 and August 5, and presumably was the same as the one transmitted with the Holland memorandum of August 12.