500.A15a3/671: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Chairman of the American Delegation (Stimson)
67. Your No. 42, February 7, 10 a.m. No figures have been given out here; and although it is quite clear that your statement had the President’s approval, there has been no specific statement made that he approved it. We do not want to give the impression that you are operating under instructions from here. Your concrete proposal has been sent to Castle. Your statement was widely carried in the press here, but it is too early to appraise reaction. It is favorable, as far as we have it. Swanson was very much pleased, I think, and, while he has made no public statement and says that he is going to withhold judgment, I feel certain that his judgment is favorable. Senator Hale has made no public statement, but he does not like it.
My own personal feeling is that the form and matter of your proposal are going to be approved, and that there is not going to be any opposition except that which comes from a small group who would never agree to anything anyway. What makes the most impression is the unanimity of action of your delegation; I think that there will be a very general impression that you have done a good job, and that if you did not ask for more it was for the reason that you are exercising sound judgment on the spot. There is to a rather remarkable degree a willingness to trust the delegation, as far as I can read the press. A note consistently running through the press is the cool, deliberate manner in which the delegation has gone about ascertaining what was wise before they offered proposals.