893.51/6928
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
The French Ambassador came in and said he had heard of a report from Ambassador Bullitt to me,49 to the effect that I had previously suggested to the French Ambassador that it might not be best for the French to make loans to China at this stage, the theory being that it might irritate Japan. The Ambassador said that, of course, I had not said any such thing to him and he had not thought of such an idea himself, much less reported it back to his Government. This was the substance of our conversation. There were some general remarks by him about the world situation, with special reference to Europe, but nothing of consequence.