893.50 Recovery/10–1848
Memorandum of Telephone Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Chinese Affairs (Sprouse)
Subject: Delivery of Military Matériel under the China Aid Program
I telephoned Dr. Tan this afternoon to inform him that Mr. Butterworth had discussed the above-mentioned subject with Mr. Lovett this morning. I further stated that Mr. Lovett had informed Mr. Butterworth that the Secretary had taken up the matter with him during his recent visit to Washington and that Mr. Lovett had given him all information available here. I added that Mr. Lovett had obtained the impression that the Secretary in discussing the matter had not had specific dates for the delivery of the matériel in mind.
Dr. Tan said that the Chinese understood that when the Secretary returned to Paris he wrote a note to the Foreign Minister stating that the “most important part” of the ammunition would reach China by December 1. Dr. Tan said that information obtained here from the Department of the Army indicated that a token shipment was expected to leave the West Coast in early December. I told Dr. Tan that if I received any further information in this regard I would promptly communicate it to him.