740.0011 European War, 1939/19353
Memorandum by Mr. Carlton Savage, Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State (Long)
Mr. Gray5 informed me on December 13 that the Secretary had just been informed of the President’s desire that there be no declaration [Page 834] of war on any of the small European countries, such as Bulgaria, Hungary, and Rumania, who were reported in the press as having declared war against the United States. Mr. Gray said the Secretary desired that this information be given to any one at the Capitol who might be interested.
I gave the information to Senator Connally6 by telephone on the afternoon of December 13 and he said he agreed absolutely with the President. I could not reach Mr. Rayburn,7 Mr. McCormack,8 or Mr. Bloom9 on December 13, but I gave the information to Mr. Bloom’s secretary on December 15 and to Mr. McCormack on December 16.
- Cecil W. Gray, Assistant to the Secretary of State.↩
- Senator Tom Connally, Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.↩
- Representative Sam Rayburn, Speaker of the House of Representatives.↩
- Representative John W. McCormack, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives.↩
- Representative Sol Bloom, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.↩