893.00/11–1147
Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs (Butterworth) to the Secretary of State
Subject: Conversation with Congressman Judd98 November 8, 1947
As requested, I called upon Congressman Judd at his office on Saturday afternoon and explained to him that you were fully engaged with the preparations for Monday’s meeting with the Committees of the House and Senate and that you had asked me to see him in your stead.
Congressman Judd began by indicating that, although he did not agree with our past policy toward China, he was now only concerned with the curent situation, but he ended by making an hour-and-a-half speech on the situation in China, past, present and future.
In particular, Congressman Judd had wished to impress on you his view that the situation in China required urgent action. He also wished to make the following five points:
- 1.
- That the security requirements in Japan and Korea depended on the maintenance of a non-Communist government on the China mainland.
- 2.
- That it was sounder “to build on the existing government, bad [Page 918] though it is,” than to have it collapse or to have a new government which would be Communist-dominated.
- 3.
- That no economic or financial measures can solve China’s situation unless the civil war is terminated or the Communists are contained.
- 4.
- The civil war cannot be terminated or the Communists contained
without American assistance in the form of
- a.
- Moral assistance, i. e., a statement of support.
- b.
- Ammunition.
- c.
- Training of troops on a large scale.
- 5.
- U. S. help to be successful must be all-out.
Congressman Judd had apparently seen the Generalissimo a couple of times. Two statements he made quoting the Generalissimo were of interest. In discussing the instructions under which the U. S. Army Advisory Group operates the Generalissimo had apparently said that he had no desire to have American troops involved in fighting or to encourage the Soviets to retaliate and therefore American military personnel should not go nearer the front than one hundred li. The Generalissimo is said to have inquired why the United States took a different view of Communism in the East than in the West. Why was the United States prepared to help European countries, particularly such countries as Greece and Turkey, and yet would not render similar aid to a hard-pressed country like China? Was it that the United States was not really concerned about Far Eastern developments? Was it that the Chinese Government had not lived up to its undertakings? Or was it a racial matter, that the United States cared for white people but not for yellow?
- Walter H. Judd (Republican), Minnesota.↩