840.50/572
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Assistant
Secretary of State (Acheson)
[Washington,] July 14, 1942.
The Russian Ambassador called at my request, made pursuant to the
Secretary’s direction. I reminded him of the conversation which he had
had on July 1 with the Secretary and which was later continued with me,
in which the Secretary explained the purpose of Sir Frederick
Leith-Ross’s visit and assured the Ambassador that he would be kept in
touch with the course of those discussions and would be given copies of
whatever ideas on the subject we reduced to writing.
The Ambassador remarked that he was most anxious to be kept in touch
inasmuch as his Government had not had any reply to the proposal which
it had made to the British Government, a copy of which it had given to
Mr. Winant.
I replied that, as he would see from what I was about to say, the matter
was still in a formulative stage in our minds, and this Government was
not yet prepared to make any definitive answer.
I then said that the group within the Department and a few persons from
other agencies had for some time been studying the Russian proposals and
the whole matter of the desirable international organization for relief
purposes. This group had felt the need of hearing directly the
experience of the London Committee, particularly as the recent purchases
by some of the exiled governments indicated a tendency toward
disintegration. We had had several meetings with Sir Frederick
Leith-Ross and felt that we understood the situation much better as a
result.
I said that on Saturday we had prepared for the Secretary’s consideration
a memorandum outlining some of the basic principles which we recommended
for such an organization and a draft of a paper to show one method of
giving these principles concrete form. The Secretary, in accordance with
his conversation with the Ambassador,
[Page 118]
wished me to go over these papers with the
Ambassador and to ask that either he or someone designated by him, after
having had a chance to go over the papers, would discuss them with
me.
I said that this group, as he would see from the documents, was much
impressed with the Soviet position that the organization should be
international in character and that it should have a council or group of
representatives made up of all of the United Nations and that it should
have a small executive or steering committee. We also thought, and
believed that this was in accord with the Russian suggestions, that the
organization should be prepared to act as well as to plan; that this
required some administrative staff. I said that we also realized that
there were many difficult problems which would arise out of the
relations between the organization and the agencies of the member
governments, both in respect to obtaining supplies and their
distribution; that these were of such a variety of types that probably
only the general principles applicable could be stated in any document,
and that the application in particular cases would have to be worked out
as activities developed.
I then gave the attached papers to the Ambassador, telling him that
proposed to give similar copies to the Chinese Ambassador and to Sir
Frederick Leith-Ross,28 but that
at this stage we did not think it desirable to give them to other
Governments.
The Ambassador asked whether these papers were a reply to the Soviet
memorandum in the nature of a proposal from this Government. I replied
that they were not, but that was giving them to the Ambassador in
accordance with the Secretary’s assurance that he would be kept fully
informed of the progress of our thought and also because we hoped to
obtain the benefit of his, as well as the Chinese and British,
suggestions and criticisms as we went along.
The Ambassador said that he would read the papers promptly and would let
me know whether and when he or someone from the Embassy would discuss
the matter with me further.
[Annex 1]
Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of
State (Acheson) to the Secretary of State
[Washington,] July 11,
1942.
Mr. Secretary: submit for your
consideration a draft outline of an international relief
organization based upon the Soviet Government’s memorandum of
January 13, 1942, expanded to take in all the United Nations.
[Page 119]
A number of persons have participated in preparing this draft, which
I wish to emphasize is tentative and still in the process of
consideration by this group. In formulating this draft we have taken
into account Sir Frederick Leith-Ross’ experience with the
Inter-Allied Committee in London. You will observe certain basic
points which have emerged from our discussions. These are:
One. Effective measures should be ready and
supplies available for the relief of any area as soon as it is freed
from Axis oppression.
This should clearly be the first task of any international relief
organization.
Two. The relief effort must be a cooperative
undertaking. Every country, including those receiving relief, must
do its full share.
Three. Relief should aim at
rehabilitation.
It is self-evident that relief should so far as possible avoid the
creation of any sense of dependency and should be limited to the
transition period until the recipients become self-supporting. It is
not contemplated that the proposed organization should attempt to
deal with reconstruction and the word “rehabilitation” is used to
indicate roughly the extent to which it should go.
Four. It should have a broad international
basis.
The United Nations, as such, were not in existence when the Soviet
proposal was formulated. Any international organization created now
in this field must clearly be based on the United Nations.
Five. The members should have equality of
voice.
No other basis would prove acceptable. Provision is accordingly made
for a Council, which would be the policy-making body of the
organization and which would be composed of one representative from
each member government. It would meet perhaps twice a year.
Six. There should be provision for the
effective making of decisions.
It is believed that there should be a Policy Committee, composed of
representatives of China, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics,
the United Kingdom, and the United States, which should act as the
steering committee of the Council, when the latter is in session,
and exercise all the Council’s powers and functions between
sessions. Whether other governments should be represented on the
Policy Committee, and if so which, requires careful consideration.
It is believed that the problem can best be solved by inviting the
participation of other governments on an ad
hoc basis when action of particular interest to them is
discussed.
Seven. The organization should not be too
highly centralized.
The overall problem will be vast and there should be provision for
co-ordinated but decentralized planning on a regional basis. The
facilities and work of the existing Committee in London should be
fully utilized.
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Eight. Many problems will require technical as
well as political consideration.
As suggested in the Soviet proposal, provision should be made for the
consideration by experts, who would represent the views of their
governments, of problems such as those of supply, finance,
agriculture, nutrition, transport, etc.
Nine. There must be effective execution of
plans.
The administration of relief should be in the hands of an executive
of the highest caliber who should have full power and
responsibility, within the limits of available resources and the
broad policies laid down by the Council for the carrying out of
relief operations. Complete flexibility as to the manner of doing
this should be retained so as to permit procurement and distribution
either through agencies of the respective governments, or through
voluntary agencies, or where necessary through the United Nations
organization. In any event the executive should have full knowledge
and co-ordinating authority. His staff would be international but he
should have complete freedom in selecting it. In view of the major
role which the United States will perforce play as a source of
supply he should be an American.
Ten. There must be co-ordination of
purchasing.
In order to prevent the dislocation of prices and markets through
competitive buying and to provide equitable distribution of scarce
commodities, all purchases by member governments made outside their
own territories during the war for post-war relief should so far as
possible be co-ordinated through the proposed organization.
As I indicated above, the attached draft embodying the foregoing
ideas is tentative and is still being given study by those who are
working on it. At the same time I think it would be useful to have
the ideas of the Soviet, British and Chinese Governments while the
matter is in this formative stage in our minds. If you have no
objection, I propose to make copies available to them and to request
their comments. I shall, of course, make clear the tentative nature
of the draft, the circumstances of its preparation, and its present
status. It is intended as a progress report on our thinking and a
basis for comments and not as a definitive statement.
[Annex 2]
Relief and Rehabilitation Administration, Draft
No. 1, July 10, 1942
[This draft not printed. For a revised draft, see infra.]
