Office of the Historian

800.24/8–1945

Memorandum of Trans-Atlantic Telephone Conversation, by the Chief of the Division of Commercial Policy (Brown)

[Washington,] August 19, 1945.

I told Mr. Hawkins95 that I was telephoning to tell him of the decisions which had been taken by the Secretary, the President and Mr. Crowley with regard to termination of lend-lease so that he and Mr. Clayton would know about it before the British were advised. Mr. Hawkins stated he had not heard anything yet on the subject.

I told him that letters were going out from Mr. Crowley early Monday96 to the British97 (and also to other purchasing missions), stating that we were anxious to enter into discussions about the basis for discontinuation of lend-lease in the most expeditious manner possible and suggesting that the following principles should govern these discussions:

1.
No new contracts for lend-lease procurement should be entered into.
2.
Lend-lease material now in pipe line or awaiting transfer may be taken by the British if paid for on terms to be agreed.
3.
Any lend-lease material transferred to the British and still on hand could be retained by them on payment on terms to be agreed.

Simultaneously, procurement agencies are being told that they must stop deliveries as of V–J day, which should be in a few days. Mr. Riley98 was going to ‘phone the British Monday morning when the letter went out and ask them to come over and discuss the matter because we were going to have to stop deliveries and wanted them to have a chance to have deliveries continued by agreeing to pay for them.

I understood also that the Chiefs of Staff were authorized to continue to provide on lend-lease some items they considered necessary to help in redeployment of troops.

I told Mr. Hawkins that Agriculture had stopped loadings of foodstuffs as of noon on Saturday but that this was a mistake and Agriculture would be instructed to continue loadings until V–J day.

1 asked Mr. Hawkins to pass this information also to Messrs. Blaisdell and Griffin.

Mr. Hawkins said he would pass this information on to Messrs. Clayton and Collado immediately.

  1. Mr. Hawkins was in London as Counselor of Embassy for Economic Affairs.↩
  2. August 20.↩
  3. Letter from Mr. Crowley to Mr. Brand is quoted in circular telegram, August 20, 9 p.m., p. 107.↩
  4. Henry W. Riley, Deputy Administrator, Foreign Economic Administration.↩