Foreign Relations of the United States, 1947, The Near East and Africa, Volume V

867.00/10–847

The Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of the Army (Royall)

Washington, October 8, 1947.

My Dear Mr. Secretary: In response to a request contained in a letter from Major General George J. Richards to Mr. Peurifoy, Assistant Secretary of State, dated September 16, 1947¹ the State Department has instructed the Treasury Department to arrange for the transfer of $45,420,000 to the Department of the Army from the Greek-Turkish Aid Appropriation. This sum is for the purpose of furnishing assistance to Turkey under the Greek-Turkish Aid Act of May 22, 1947. The State Department has also advised General Richards that the above sum of $45,420,000 is to be held in reserve by his office for the Army program (including the highway and arsenal improvement programs) and the Air Force program and allotted for commitment and expenditure only in accordance with subsequent letters from the Department of State approving the release of the funds for specific purposes.

A copy of the relevant letter to General Richards from Mr. Peurifoy, dated September 30, 1947, is enclosed for your information.¹

You will note that the arrangement with General Richards makes possible the release of funds for necessary immediate procurement under the Turkish Aid Program upon the basis of approval by the Department of State of segments of the several component programs. This will avoid any hindrance to the progress of this work which might arise from a delay in the submission to and approval by the Department of State of the firm and comprehensive program recommendations called for by the Memorandum of Understanding² between our two Departments in regard to the Turkish Aid Program and by the letter of August 22, 1947 from the [Acting] Secretary of State to the Secretary of War according general approval to the one year aid programs recommended in the July 15 Report to the Secretary of State by the American Ambassador to Turkey.

While the State Department is prepared to expedite portions of the program by releasing funds in the manner outlined in the letter to General Richards, it does not expect that more than a temporary and minimum use of this device will be made. It is assumed that the Department of the Army will within a very short time submit its recommended revised program for State Department over-all consideration and approval. Such approval will make possible the allocation of funds to cover the entire approved Army programs and avoid piecemeal consideration of program segments. This will be in accord with the request contained in the [Acting] Secretary of State’s letter of August 22, 1947, referred to above, and with the intention expressed in the War Department’s letter dated August 29, 1947, from Lieutenant General LeR. Lute to Mr. George C. McGhee.³

Sincerely yours,

Robert A. Lovett

1. Not printed.
1. Not printed.
2. Not printed; a copy is attached to Acting Secretary Lovett’s letter of August 19 to Secretary of War Royall, not printed.
3. Not printed. In a letter of October 16, Charles M. Hulten, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Administration, advised General Richards that “in view of subsequent discussions with officers of the Departments of the Army and Air Force, the State Department has, except with respect to the Highway Improvement Program, approved the portion of the aid program upon which your request of September 16, 1947 for the transfer of the above mentioned $45,420,000 was based. In pursuance of the letter of September 30, you are, therefore, authorized to allot amounts from the $45,420,000 for expenditure in accordance with your request of September 16, 1947.” (867.00/10–1647)