Editorial Note
On December 8, 1951, Senator William F. Knowland of California released to the press the names of 32 United States nationals in prison on the China mainland, a list which Assistant Secretary Rusk had sent him at his request, on a confidential basis, with a covering letter of October 19, 1951 (293.1111/10–351). On the same day, the State Department made an oral announcement to the press, explaining why it had refrained from publicizing individual cases of Americans imprisoned or detained against their will in China and stating that it was making every effort to free those Americans but that it believed it inadvisable to make public all the steps it was taking. For the substance of the Department’s statement, see the Department of State Bulletin, December 24, 1951, page 1014. The text of a letter from Under Secretary of State Webb to Senator Knowland, December 14, 1951, concerning Knowland’s release of the names, and the text of Knowland’s reply by telegram, December 21, 1951, may be found ibid., January 7, 1952, pages 11–12, and ibid., February 11, 1952, page 239.