-2-                             
 
                                                            
 
entity and associating you, Mr. President, very prominently with its   
creation. I expect to send you a telegram later in the day confirming the   
   public announcement of the plan by the Prime Minister.   
 
                                                            
 
 
 I am happy to be able to inform the Prime Minister when we meet   
tonight that bis request for five hundred repaired trucks which he asked   
for in our first interview is being granted: one half of this number   
being delivered before the end of the month and the remainder before the   
10th of October. This, of course, satisfies the emergency which the Prime  
Minister had pointed out and which I had passed on to General Wilson of   
A.F.H.Q., and to Captain Stone of A.C.C. I discovered that there were   
6,500 trucks needing repairs in Southern Italy, and from this number   
repairs were found to be possible in the case of 500 for immediate   
use. If the whole 6,500 could be likewise put into service, transportation   
problems in liberated Italy would immediately take on a much better   
aspect. This is the simplest and cheapest procedure to have followed; an   
alternative is to have new trucks manufactured and shipped from America   
               which involves time and waste.               
 
                                                            
 
      With assurances of continued regard, believe me       
 
                                                            
 
                      Sincerely yours,                      
 
                                                            
 
                           {MCT}                            
 
                                                            
 
                      Myron C. Taylor