840.48/5621
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
Sir Frederick Leith-Ross, who is in this country to discuss with the officials of this Government the problem of relief of the Allied Nations, came in at his request.
We talked generally about the war and then reached the matter that brought him to Washington. I remarked that I had just stated to the press, in reply to a question, that the discussions would relate to the matter of emergency relief during the war and afterwards during the transition period. I added that Russia, China and others of the [Page 114] United Nations would probably participate in the conversations with respect to any phase of the matter in which they might feel an interest, but that no specific plans or program have thus far been developed. I said that whenever anything of news value appeared in these discussions, it would promptly be given to the press. I went on to say that Mr. Dean Acheson, Assistant Secretary of State, would preside over the discussions and that certain other Government agencies, such as the Treasury Department, the Board of Economic Warfare, the Agriculture Department, et cetera, would be represented at the meetings.
I then suggested to Sir Frederick that he join Mr. Dean Acheson in a preliminary discussion of the details of the matter in question, which he said he was ready and glad to do.24
- Exploratory conversations were initiated with the British on the basis of a draft agreement of June 19, 1942; for text, see Department of State, Postwar Foreign Policy Preparation, 1989–1945 (Washington, Government Printing Office, 1949), p. 515.↩