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persons competent to carry through the business of
 
enlarging existing plants and placing of orders.
 
The French Air Ministry, and Daladier as well,
 
have great confidence in Colonel Jacquin who is now
 
in Washington; but business on the scale contemplated-
 
which will probably amount to a billion dollars--
 
will probably be placed in the hands of Monnet.  Nothing
 
of course will be done until the embargo provisions
 
of the Neutrality Act shall have been eliminated.
 
       You will note in the long and disorderly slip 
 
of paper--handed me tonight by Guy La Chambre--which
 
gives the orders placed in America, that between now
 
and next February,one hundred Douglases and 215 Glenn
 
Martins are to be delivered; but that no Curriss P-36s
 
are to be delivered between now and next February.
 
The reason for this is that the Curtiss P-36 production
 
between now and February has been taken by our own army.
 
In combat the P-36s have proved superior to the German
 
Messerschmidts and everyone, from the aviators who fly
 
them up to Daladter, is enthusiastic about them. Fifteen
 
of the P-36s have already been lost in combat and, in-
 
cidentally, have destroyed approximately 22 Messerschmidts.
 
It