EXHIBIT No. 477 [Copy of confidential letter dated February 10, 1939, from manager, New York branch. Mitsubishi Trading Co., to manager, machinery department, aeronautics and ordinance division, Tokyo] Confidential Re Aircraft Engine Materials. THE MANAGER, FEBRUARY 10, 1939. Machinery Dept., Aeronautics & Ordnance Division, MSK Tokyo. DEAR SIR: We should like to inform you regarding various conditions surrounding orders placed for you and for MJK covering aircraft engine materials. MAKERS' ATTITUDE Nearly all of the makers concerned have received from the United States State Department a letter informing them that, in view of Secretary Hull's speech in June of last year, the United States Government would look unfavorably on exports of aircraft parts and materials to aggressor nations although no embargo has been imposed and there is no other law at present restricting such shipments. As a result of this letter, which was received by the makers shortly after Secretary Hull's speech and also as a result of the publicity given to the letter a few weeks ago in the daily newspapers, the makers are hesitant in accepting orders because they fear the unfavorable publicity which would result should the fact of their taking these orders become generally known. Furthermore, they are fearful of labor difficulties in the event that their workmen learn that the materials on which they are working are destined for shipment to Japan. As you undoubtedly know, most of the manufacturing plants in this country employ workmen who are members of the American Federation of Labor (A. F. L.) or the Congress of Industrial Organizations (C. I. O.). Both organizations have gone on record as opposing the shipment of materials of this kind to Japan and other countries where military action is in progress. In view of these conditions, the makers are extremely cautious in accepting orders and, when they do accept, stringent conditions are imposed. BETHLEHEM STEEL EXPORT CORPORATION All orders to Bethlehem must be placed on the basis of part numbers only. No reference can be made to the fact that the parts are for aircraft use, but it is permissible to give the material specifications. No mention of cancelation may appear and this point must be covered by a separate confidential letter. (See Copy "A" attached.) AMERICAN HAMMERED PISTON RING COMPANY There is no way in which this company can conceal the fact that the material furnished is for aircraft purposes and it is therefore necessary for us to place our orders with their Export Manager, Mr. P. F. Baillet, pesonally. He, in turn, places his orders with the company on his own order forms. Nevertheless, we must omit all references except part numbers on our order sheets and we must also furnish a confidential letter containing all details which would ordinarily appear on the order sheet. (See Copy "B" attached.) ALUMINUM COMPANY OF AMERICA This company notified us on February 3rd that they had decided as a matter of policy to refuse to accept our orders for aircraft parts. They gave as reasons that their domestic business has increased to such an extent that they cannot accept new orders and that they do not wish to have export orders for aircraft materials on their books because of the unfavorable publicity which would result in the event of any Governmental action. In our opinion, the latter reason is the more important. We have negotiated with this company in an effort to change their attitude but we are sorry to report that they flatly refused to consider either new business or repeat orders. The only suggestion which they can make is that we purchase outright the dies already partially paid for in connection with MJK indent orders and to ship these dies to some other factory. We are negotiating with them at present to determine the extra cost for the purchase of these dies. CANTON DROP FORGINGS & MANUFACTURING CO. We purchased from this company a quantity of 10,000 Nitralloy Cylinder Forgings to MJK Drawing No. 68169 for delivery to the Imperial Japanese Navy. Undoubtedly these forgings will be turned over to MJK by the Navy after arrival in Japan and we therefore feel that we should include remarks concerning this company. As you know from our negotiations some time ago with reference to Nitralloy Bars from MJK, the Nitralloy Corporation of France maintains strict control over the export of this material and Canton and other makers refused to quote because of possible difficulty with the Nitralloy Corporation. Since that time, however, Canton carefully reconsidered the agreement with the Nitralloy Corporation and have decided that there is nothing in the agreement to prevent their selling Nitralloy Forgings for export. However, they are afraid that the Nitralloy Corporation or one of their licensees might cause trouble by instituting legal action should they learn of the fact that Canton is selling these Forgings for export and it was therefore necessary to us to place our order for this material in the same manner as the Bethlehem orders, namely, that our order sheet was to state the part number only and to make no mention of the specifications of the material. All of the details concerning material specifications, heat treatment, and other conditions of sale were covered in a separate confidential letter. (See Copy "C" attached). THOMPSON PRODUCTS, INC. We ordered Valve Forgings from this company and, after some negotiation, they agreed to accept the same conditions under which we placed our orders with Bethlehem and Canton, namely, that the order sheet was to show part numbers only and that all other details were to be covered in a separate confidential letter. (See Copy "D" attached.) OHIO SEAMLESS TUBE CO., AIR ASSOCIATES, DZUS FASTNER CO. These three makers will accept our orders without any reservations and subject to cancelation in the event of a United States Government embargo or legislation preventing shipment. The situation with regard to the purchase of aircraft materials is becoming more serious as the United States Government rearmament program goes into effect. Naturally all the makers mentioned above supply materials to aircraft manufacturers against United States Army and Navy orders and these orders must be given precedence over all others. Also, the domestic orders are usually so large that the available capacity of the makers is taken up and they are unable to accept additional business. There is a further consideration that Army and Navy inspectors are usually stationed in the plants during the fabrication of these orders and the makers are afraid of embarrassing situations which might arise should they be processing material for export to Japan while these inspectors are present. All of these factors have a strong bearing on the situation and we felt it advisable to outline these conditions for you so that you would understand the reasons for refusals and delays whenever we might advise you of such by cable. You may be assured that we are doing our utmost to improve relations between us and the makers and to expedite shipments as much as possible in order to avoid any possibilities of embargo or restriction before completion of the orders. Yours faithfully, MITSUBISHI SHOJI KAISHA, LTD., NEW YORK, -, Manager. Copy to: Aero Engine Works, MJK Nagoya; MJK Tokyo; General Dept. Administrative Div., MSK Tokyo. EXHIBIT No. 478 [Copy of letter dated February 28, 1940, from manager, Seattle branch, Mitsubishi Trading Co., to manager, machinery department, division A, Tokyo] MITSUBISHI SHOJA KAISHA, LTD., Seattle, Feb. 28, 1940. Lieutenant Y. Terai of Kaigun [Navy] and the Boeing 307 Stratoliner. The MANAGER, Mach. Dept., Div. A, Tokyo. You are already aware of the arrival of Lieutenant Commander Y. Terai of Kaigun on the Hikawa Maru here as referred to in our Letter MA-8 of February 27 addressed to San Francisco office, a copy of which was sent to you. Mr. Terai is an aeronautical man (pilot) and is to be stationed at the Japanese Embassy at Washington, D. C. This information was given to us by Sanematsu Shosa, who arrived previously from Japan, so although we did not have a letter of introduction from you or from General Dept., we took it upon ourselves to take care of this gentleman. In view of the capacity of Mr. Terai and the special request from Mr. Sanematsu, we took Mr. Terai to the Boeing Aircraft Co. factories in Seattle and had him meet Mr. Minshall, Vice President, together with a representative from this office. Various matters concerning the 307, the revised models thereof, and other matters in general were discussed. Although the completed planes themselves could not be seen because of the fact that the 307 was kept in the same hangar as the flying fortress bomber, still we were able to show Mr. Terai blueprints, diagrams, some photographs, performance figures, and other essential information concerning this plane. During the course of that interview we were informed that the revised model is practically through with its C. A. A. flight tests, and there is every assurance that the license embodying authorization of cabin supercharging will be forthcoming very shortly. The tests governing the 307 original model are also well on their way to completion. So far, there has been no feature on which the C. A. A. have raised any question, even on this original model. Revised catalogues on the revised model are in the course of production, and when these are received we will give you a further letter of explanation regarding the difference in these planes at that time. Boeing's Mr. Minshall also informed us that the P. A. A. will probably take delivery next week of two 307 models which are now being given the finishing touches. He mentioned that there is a slight possibility that our representative may be given a chance to board her on a short flight just prior or during the course of delivery to P. A. A. After the interview, we drove Mr. Terai in our car by plant No. 2 and plant No. 3, besides showing him the King County Airport, namely Boeing Field, and it just so happened that Boeing's current production of flying fortresses for the U. S. Army were undergoing Boeing Flights Tests at that same field so it was possible for Mr. Terai to get a fairly close-up view of two of this type of plane. In a previous letter we informed you that Boeing would gradually cut out using machine-gun blisters and instead the transparent covering for machinegun mountings would be flat and not bulge out beyond the fuselage. This innovation was incorporated in one of the bombers at the field and it gave Mr. Terai some idea of its appearance, although he had to stand at too far of a distance to see the details. One purpose we had back in our minds when we took Mr. Terai to Boeing's was that if he were qualified to make an inspection and if a plane was in a position where it could be seen, we thought that his comments might be helpful to Japan Air. Being a pilot, his expressions would perhaps not be taken as final, by Japan Air, but we felt that nothing would be lost and something might be gained by this procedure even if only to work for the good graces of the Kaigun Navy personnel. Mr. Terai was extremely pleased from the information which he garnered from his visit under our guidance, and we feel that you would be interested in hearing of what transpired here as reported above. Mr. Terai also informed us that his predecessor is an aeronautics man. We do not know whether he is an engineer or not. He is to leave New York on March 15 for the West coast, sailing from San Francisco on March 25. We doubt very much whether he shall have time to visit Seattle, but we asked Mr. Terai to recommend a visit here as much as possible with the same purpose in mind as that which we have had regarding Mr. Terai's visit. We have also mentioned this to our New York Branch and no doubt they will do whatever they can to further our cause in this respect. In closing, we might also advise you that none of our competitors did anything in the way of service for this gentleman and the only others who offered their services were the N. Y. K. on whose vessel he arrived in Seattle. TH: AW MITSUBISHI SHOJI KAISH, LTD., SEATTLE, CC: New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles. EXHIBIT No. 479 [Letter dated July 16, 1940, from M. Hasegawa, Los Angeles branch, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., to engineering department Mitsubishi & Co. Ltd., New York] MITSUI & Co. LTD., To Engineering Department, Mitsui & Co. Ltd., New York City, New York. We received a message from Mr. Askew, of Douglas Aircraft Co., stating that after checking their records, they discovered out of Order No. E/O 1537 which covers three sets of Hydrolic System, they failed to include twenty-seven different valves, which amount to $313.00. Due, however, to the United States President's proclamation, prohibiting the shipment of any aircraft equipment, parts, and accessories, Douglas Aircraft Co. cannot ship the above valves under their name. They suggested that they would deliver the valves to our office, here, so that there might be a way to forward the same by our own boat, calling these valves Automobile parts. We then inquired as to the size and weight of the total twenty-seven valves but they were unable to supply this information as their supplier has not as yet informed them. When we requested Douglas Aircraft Co. to communicate direct with you, they advised that they would rather have us write to you in their behalf to secure your opinion regarding disposition of the parts in question. Yours very truly, By M. HASEGAWA. SUBMITTED BY SIMS CARTER, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, SEPTEMBER 12, 1944, ON ECONOMIC PENETRATION BY GERMAN HEAVY INDUSTRY EXHIBIT No. 480 [Excerpt from Report of Survey of Special Steels Market of Argentina, prepared by the sales engineer of an American steel company for his New York office November 26, 1942. Available in the files of the Economic Warfare Section, War Division, Department of Justice] EXHIBIT No. 481 (Letter of May 8, 1943, from the Argentine affiliate of an American steel company to its New York office. Copy available in the files of the Economic Warfare Section, War Division, Department of Justice] EXHIBIT No. 482 [Minutes of the London committee of the International Steel Cartel, May 11, 1939] E. I. A./U. K./U. S. A. Agreement Sixth Meeting MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE LONDON COMMITTEE HELD AT THE COMPTOIR SIDERURGIQUE OFFICES, 3 RUE PAUL CÉZANNE, PARIS, ON THURSDAY, 11TH MAY 1939, AT 10 A. M. Present: Mr. R. M. Peat (in the chair); M. H. Dieudonné, Continental Group; Mr. I. F. L. Elliot, British Group; Mr. Wm. B. Todd, American Group. In attendance: Mr. H. Craig, Mr. Victor Malcolm, British Group; Mr. R. V. Kennard, American Group; M. E. Conrot, Continental Group; Mr. J. R. Mackay, Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co. MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON THE 3RD MAY 1939 A draft of the Minutes of the Fifth Meeting of the Committee, held on the 3rd May, was considered and the terms of these Minutes were settled. RELATIONS OF THE LONDON COMMITTEE WITH THE COMPTOIRS AND THE S. E. A. The Committee approved the terms of a memorandum setting out the position between the London Committee and the Comptoirs and the S. E. A., and it was agreed that copies of this memorandum should be sent forthwith to each of the parties to whom the Minutes of the London Committee are circulated. In order that the views of the Presidents of the Comptoirs might be obtained in regard to this matter, as provided in the memorandum, the E. I. A. representative undertook to arrange for a meeting between the Presidents and the London Committee, and it was suggested that this meeting should be held on Tuesday, 16th May, in London, or, if that date was not suitable to the Presidents, on Monday, 22nd May, in Paris. REVISED QUOTAS AS FROM 20TH APRIL 1939 There was submitted to the Meeting a statement showing the provisional figures for these revised quotas. The statement was left over for later consideration after the members had had an opportunity of examining the figures, copies of the statement to be circulated meantime with the Minutes. It was agreed that the Secretary of the Black and Galvanised Sheets Comptoirs should be asked to submit his figures for the revised Sheet quotas. It was also agreed that the Secretary of the Joint Co-Ordinating Committee should be reminded that the points which were outstanding in regard to the settlement of the American Group's quota figures for Black and Galvanised Sheets (pages 13-14 of the Minutes) had been referred to that Committee. In regard to future statistics for Sheets, it was agreed that provided the Comptoirs' sales figures were available for ten-day periods, i. e., at the 10th, 20th, and the end of the month, delivery figures on a monthly basis would be sufficient. EXCESS/DEFICIT FIGURES AT 20TH APRIL 1939 A statement of provisional excess/deficit figures at the 20th April 1939 was submitted. The particulars were noted and it was pointed out that the American Group figures had yet to be confirmed. OUTSIDER COMPETITION AND PRICE REDUCTIONS The Committee agreed by a majority (the British and American representatives being in favour and the E. I. A. representative dissenting) that the American Group be authorised to accept a price of $1.90 c. i. f. for 2,300 tons of ship plates for Kockums, Sweden. The American Group also submitted a duplicate offer for 2,400 tons of shipbuilding material for Eriksberg at a price of $1.90 c. i. f. against competition by Hokar. The Committee took the view that the American Group should be asked, to make every effort to obtain £9. 5. 0 per ton c. i. f., but it was agreed, by the same majority as for Kockums, that if that price could not be obtained the American Group be authorized to take the order down to $1.90. It was agreed that the Plate Comptoir should be asked to submit to the Committee full particulars of any authorisations for shipbuilding steel given by them below the established prices since 20th April. It was agreed that the Chairman and the American representative should be furnished with a copy of the Comptoirs' agreement with Coopra in Holland. MERCHANT BARS It was agreed that as the ARGENTINE is not within the sphere of American influence it should be eliminated from the list of WESTERN HEMISPHERE prices which the American Group had submitted to the Comptoir. In regard to the point raised by the Comptoir that the American Group's c. i. f. prices for certain countries in the BRITISH EMPIRE and for RUMANIA were |