841.24/5–1645
The Acting Secretary of State to the Secretary of War (Stimson)
My Dear Mr. Secretary: I have your letter of May 16, 1945, in reply to the letter of December 12, 1944,15 regarding pricing information on reciprocal aid furnished by the United Kingdom.
The considered opinion of the Department of State as expressed in its letter of December 12, 1944 resulted from a careful study of the reciprocal aid pricing situation in the United Kingdom and extended discussions between American and British representatives which took place in London in October and November, 1944. A representative of the War Department participated in those discussions, and it is believed that he is fully cognizant of the practical difficulties which would be involved in attempting to furnish the complete data desired by your Department. It is not believed that these practical difficulties have been removed as a result of the ending of the war in Europe, and consequently this does not appear to be a sufficient basis for changing the position taken in the letter of December 12, 1944. Accordingly, I regret to advise you that this Department does not feel it is in a position to press the British for more information than they agreed [Page 54] to furnish as a result of the discussions in October and November, 1944.
Sincerely yours,