Office of the Historian

800.24/8–2045: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)

Washington, August 20, 1945—6 p.m.

7056. To Clayton from Secretary. After our conversation99 I have concluded section (e)1 of the Aug 17 Lend-Lease Directive should be changed along lines suggested by you. This change would state that countries which have not entered into 3(c) agreements may obtain goods upon agreement to pay for them “on terms to be mutually agreed on.” I was unable to talk to Crowley but have discussed this matter with the President.2 This change will be made before any public announcement.

Byrnes
  1. Reference is to a trans-Atlantic telephone conversation which took place on the morning of August 20. No record of this conversation has been found in Department files; for a brief summary, see R. F. Harrod, The Life of John Maynard Keynes (New York, Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1951), p. 596.↩
  2. This should read: “section (c)”.↩
  3. On September 20, the Acting Secretary of State, Mr. Acheson, sent to President Truman a memorandum, not printed, requesting his formal approval for the change in section (c) of the August 17 lend-lease directive. The memorandum bears President Truman’s signature and indication of his approval. The memorandum also stated that the change in wording had been communicated to the British on August 21 and confirmed on September 6. (800.24/9–2045)↩