Edward M. House Papers
Dr. S. E. Mezes to Colonel E. M. House
Future Need for the Staff of the Intelligence Section (Inquiry)
I. Agreements.
All are to have subsistence while attached to Conference, salary till they reach home, and transportation home.
The following are promised in addition salary to July 1st, but subsistence only, of course, while here: Clive Day, C. H. Haskins, Mark Jefferson, D. W. Johnson, A. K. Lobeck, P. T. Moon, Charles Seymour, W. L. Westermann.
Assistants, clerks etc., are mainly from the Army, so they could no doubt be detached, and their keep and space saved when their chiefs are relieved.
II. Needs.
Assuming that the reports of Territorial Commissions will be accepted where they are unanimous, and that enemy states must accept these frontiers and will not be allowed any readjustments requiring further study, the boundaries and territorial questions still to be settled are,
- (1)
- All within Russia (except Polish-German frontier) i. e., Finland, Esthonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland north, east and south, Ukraine, and the fringe along the south of Russia. Lord and his assistants, or substitutes, would be needed for these problems whenever they are taken up.
- (2)
- Italian-Austrian and Italian–Jugo-Slav frontiers are unsettled, but would take only a few days after the Four act; for them only Major Johnson and one assistant would be needed.
- (3)
- Albanian frontiers; also held up by Italian settlement. A matter of a few days after the Four decide. This falls in Day’s field, but could be taken on by Johnson or Westermann.
- (4)
- All of Turkey. Westermann and an assistant, or substitutes, will be needed whenever this comes up. It is a matter of a few days only unless the Syrian and Palestinian questions get into a mess and call for difficult frontier decisions—the last being unlikely.
- (5)
- Colonial questions. I do not know their status. It might be well to hold Beer, and decide about him later.
- (6)
- China–Japan. Hornbeck or Williams needed. I have no idea when this will come up. I assume that none of our men will be needed on boundary commissions.
- (7)
- Economics and Statistics. This force probably will not be needed after May 10th to May 15th.
- (8)
- Library. A beginning should be made in packing the least used books, only indispensable books being kept out for later attention.
- (9)
- Maps. A beginning should be made in the cutting down of the cartographic force. The decision as to Jefferson and some assistants might well wait until later.
III. Conclusions; note assumptions above.
- (1)
- The following men and their assistants could be advised soon that they will be relieved by May 10th to May 15th; Haskins (Western Front); Seymour (Austria-Hungary); Lunt (Italy); Williams or Hornbeck (Far East); Day (Balkans); Mezes or Bowman (Administration); Shotwell (Library and History); Young (and Ayres?) (Economics and Statistics).
- (2)
- It will be necessary to decide about the following men later unless you can decide now; Lord (Russia); Beer (Colonies); Westermann (Western Asia); Hornbeck or Williams (Far East); Johnson (Italian claims); Jefferson (Maps).
- (3)
- If some territorial questions are to be settled after an interval following the break-up of the Conference, it might be well to keep here in convenient custody, a minimum of maps, statistics and other material bearing on them.