600.0031 World Program/236: Telegram
The Ambassador in Belgium (Gibson) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 22—3:20 p.m.]
124. My 121, December 15, 10 p.m.32 I had a conversation with Van Zeeland today on his return from Italy.
He was gratified by the attitude of the Italian officials whom he saw and who gave the impression that they were hopeful of developments which would permit their joining in future plans for dealing with economic difficulties.
He had a final informal conversation in Paris and is now awaiting a message from Chamberlain with whom he desires to have a final conversation before releasing his report. He assumes that Chamberlain will not be able to see him before December 28 or 29 and the report will not be made public until after that date.
He states that while there will be no fundamental changes in the report there will be a number of minor modifications which he will communicate to me for your confidential information as they are made.
He said again that he would greatly appreciate any suggestion you might care to make but hoped they would be received before the 28th.
He seems to be greatly troubled over the problem of maintaining secrecy about his report and inquired insistently whether I had made it clear that the report was in tentative form and only for your strictly confidential information. I assured him that I had made it abundantly clear.
- Not printed; see footnote 31, supra.↩