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subsequent post-war rehabilitation. There is this to be noted.
Tito asked me emphatically, and more than once, to convey to
the United States Government his desire, and that of the Na-
tional Committee, that whatever material assistance we give
to the Partisans should be recorded under Lend-Lease procedure
and will be repaid ander these'procedures by the Partisans.
Tito stated that even if the United States were willing to sup-
ply material ex Lend-Lease and without any expected payment in
return, that would be distasteful and unacceptable to the Jugo-
slav people.
The Partisans would like to think that they exemplify the
self-help school of economics and that their requests for help
will be kept within modest limits and less than their known
needs might suggest. Their ultimate total requests may bulk
small compared to the same situation in other countries; but
there is every indication that they have been so looted and
despoiled that even minimum estimates of the help they would
like to get from somewhere will probably amount to no small
figare. I think the amount they will need to keep them alive
will actually be very small because they will need to be tided
over only between harvest seasons. Their soil is rich, their
harvests are almost always good, and after one peace-time