Office of the Historian

Department of the Army Files: Telegram

No. 1049
The Assistant Secretary of State (Clayton) to the Chief of the Mission for Economic Affairs in the United Kingdom (Blaisdell)1

secret
[Babelsberg,] July 29, 1945.

Victory 416. For Blaisdell from Clayton.

I am informed that War Cabinet adopted substantially the recommendations outlined in your 7382, July 21 to Washington.2 Believe we should strongly urge the British to revise this decision and to maintain export to Europe of usable grades of U. K. coal at former rates. Our allocation of six million tons for Europe will in any event arouse some criticism, owing to prospective shortage for domestic heating and to our strained shipping and inland transport position. If at same time exports from U. K. are discontinued criticism will be accentuated. Despite tightness of British coal position, it should be possible to maintain quarter of a million tons monthly for European relief instead of transferring whole supply burden to U. S.

  1. Sent over the signature of Byrnes.↩
  2. Document No. 1042.↩