DEPARTMENT OF STATE                     
 
                           WASHINGTON                       
 
                        February 22, 1944                   
 
                   MEMORANDUM FOR THE PRESIDENT             
 
                                                            
 
 
1. In connection with the attached, I am certainly mindful 
      of the political dangers inherent in the a accumulation by the 
      British Government of very large dollar balances as a result 
      of the lend-lease program. However, may I re-call certain facts 
      which may make a proposal such as this one equivocal at this 
                              time?                         
 
                                                            
 
 
2. Negotiations have been conducted with the British on the 
      termination of certain lend-lease transfers which we regard as 
      embarrassing, and no longer necessary. The British were assured 
      by the Secretary of the Treasury and by Mr. Crowley that the 
      changes submitted on January 7. Were all we were going to undertake 
      for the present, and that our proposals were being made in the 
      light of domestic political considerations, not British assets. 
      The British have not delayed these negotiations. Research on 
      certain items being submitted was not completed by the Foreign 
      Economic Administration until the middle of January, and some 
      important items were not submitted to the British until about 
      February 1. It is expected that the lists will be wound up by 
      March 1. At a meeting in my office on February 15, Mr. Crowley 
      told Lord Halifax it was his thought that at the