Typed Note from Edwin Pauley

TROMAN and CHINA ts Because China would manifestly be one of the major recipients of capital goods taken from Japan as industrial disarmanent, I considered it important to see, at first hand, the extent of damage in that country and the possibilities for transferring industies there. Accordingly,' accompanied by Dr. Coons, I visited Shanghai, Tienstin, Peiping and Chungking; and on November 22, met with President Chiang Kai-Shek. We were considerably embarrassed by unavoidably causing a good deal of inconvenience, in the course of this visit, to our host and hostess. Leaving Peiping, we had started for Chungking, but, enroute, got a report of bad weather -- which, incidentally, later proved to be completely false. So, the pilot went, instead, to Shanghai, where we spent the night. We tried to get a message through to the Generalissimo, but communications being what they are in China, we were unsuccessful. We got to Chungking without difficulty the following day, and were met by the Generalissimo and Madame Chiang, who assured us with apparently complete sincerity that they had not minded in the least their day-long futile wait, because the day had brought the first sunshine that they had seen in a long time, so they simply settled down at the airport to enjoy it. After we were driven into the city, we first conferred with T. V. Soong, to whom we outlined our reparations plans, and who spoke to us of the great need of China for machinery for rehabilitation. Then, we went to the Generalissimo's downtown home, where we discussed the possible ways in which China mightutilize such industrial equipment as would be available for transfer out of Japan. Madame Chiang acted as interpreter.