Salt Lake Telegram | 1943-02-17 | Page 10 | More Supplies for China

More Supplies for China ChinaT AT AT T LAST we have clarification of the apparent apparent apparent ent inconsistency between a statement made by President Roosevelt concerning aid to China in his message to congress on the Jp state of the Union and a statement in news news' dispatches from the next day iii w The president said we were flying as much S lease lend material to China as ever traversed the the Burma road The news story quoted Chinese ChiI Chinese Chi Chi- I I nese Wane spokesmen as saying that the amount of material reaching China could not be compared compared com com- pared to the amount which reached China ilir over the Burma road At the time we pointed out the apparent direct contradiction and said there should be prompt clarification The clarification hasn't tl been prompt but it finally came the other day I I i iI i In 1 a statement by J. J Franklin Ra Ray chief of ofa a t t tr r 0 2 M L d t I I I r t o the Chinese branch of the lend-lease lend administration adminis adminis- Mr Ray explained the conflict in in this way When the Burma road was Vas in use the main effort was vas to provide materials and supplies for improving the road itself and a paralleling railway line The result was that only a part of the goods which traversed the Burma road was for actual use within China ad and d therefore therefore therefore there there- fore it is true that we have been delivering a larger volume of lend lease goods for actual use in China hina over the air line than we did over the Burma road Were We're glad to have that explanation Of course the controversy and the explanation are not of fundamental importance The only really important thing is that we get to China the supplies she so vitally needs to fight the Japs and Japs-and and that we get them there in fact and not in iri theory And the best news of all in Mr Rays Ray's statement was his revelation that facilities for supplying China are now being greatly increased with new n w air fields and new roads being built and new cargo planes assigned to the route