Hopkins Papers
Memorandum by the President’s Special Assistant (Hopkins)
Memorandum
Hull sent the President a revised statement which he proposed to take up with the British and the Canadians to see if they would agree.1
In the statement Hull retreats from his original position that the Governor and his German wife shall be placed back in the administrative office for a temporary period. The new plan provides that not only will the Administrator not be returned to the Islands but that no new Administrator will be appointed by the Vichy Government. [Page 396] Instead the government will be a consultative body which is made up of four appointees of Vichy and seven elective officials. The President did not know whether these officials were pro-Vichy.
The plan would be that the radio station would be monitored by the Canadians and ourselves and the Islands declared of no military value for the balance of the war, and that on these terms the Free French would get out.
The President suggested to Hull that he, with the President, talk it over with Churchill when he arrives on Sunday but Churchill [Hull?] demurred at this. Obviously Hull is so mad at Churchill because of his anti-Vichy speech in Canada, which he thinks made the settlement of this issue in the Islands so much more difficult for Hull.
I think Hull also believes that the British have turned their press agents loose on him. He is obviously very sensitive of the criticism he is receiving and blames it on the British and particularly on Churchill.
Hull really wanted to take the whole thing up through the normal diplomatic channels but the President insisted on handling it with Churchill.
- The “revised statement” is the formula quoted in the draft telegram to Vichy (supra).↩