Marshall Mission Files, Lot 54–D270: Telegram
Mr. James R. Shepley to General Marshall
99691. I saw the President again this morning after he had read my memorandum.77 He had a number of questions and we had a full discussion on the important points. The President was acutely interested in your estimate of Russian intent with regard to China. I discussed at length your thinking on the matter and the extreme difficulty of making an exact estimate. He agreed completely that regardless of how accurately we can judge Russian intent it is of paramount importance to the United States that the unification which your efforts have brought about must succeed. He is ready to support this objective to the limit in every way that he can, whether in the Administration or before Congress. He feels that your trip to the U. S. will be [of] great value in keeping Congressional and public opinion solidly in line with this policy. He fully understands the necessity for liberal American assistance to the Chinese Government in money, materiel and personnel. He also understands the difficulty of implementation in China and the significance of the Executive [Page 512] Headquarters. He agrees with you completely that U. S. efforts in China during the critical period ahead must be coordinated and administered by a most capable man and that such an Ambassador must be in full charge. The President said he is most anxious to find the right man for the job and questioned me in detail about General Wedemeyer. There has been a great deal of press comment here about the extent to which military men are being placed in diplomatic posts. Since your mission, General Smith78 has been selected for Moscow and General Hilldring79 has been made Assistant Secretary of State in charge of occupation affairs. The President stated, however, that he felt there were much stronger arguments in favor of appointing military men to such posts than against, since for the last few years the best talents of the nation has been drawn to the Army and Navy and that these men have had the best kind of practical experience in dealing with the very problems which now confront the nation. I told the President that you have been considering the comments on your return that in contrast to the difficulties created for your mission by Congressional filibusters, strikes, soldier riots, etc., was the great assistance that came from the President’s statement of policy and his strong support. He seemed highly pleased that you wanted the U.S. public to realize this. I told him also of your efforts to get our aid to China on a basis that could be subject to the least amount of political sniping and of your troubles with Soong80 on the offset.81 The President said if this country only had some more men like you it could lick this period of crises every hour on the hour. He said he fully appreciated your desire to wind up your mission in China and that he will cooperate with you doing so in any way you want him to.
- Not found in Department files, but see telegram No. 98786, February 28, from Mr. James R. Shepley to General Marshall, p. 446.↩
- Lt. Gen. Walter Bedell Smith, U. S. Army (ret.).↩
- Maj. Gen. John H. Hilldring.↩
- T. V. Soong, President of the Chinese Executive Yuan.↩
- See telegram No. 294, February 14, 11 a.m., from the Counselor of Embassy in China, vol. x, p. 939.↩