840.48 Refugees/4150: Telegram

The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)

4927. Your 5305, August 12, 9 p.m. We regret omission of two points mentioned in Committee’s recommendations. They must be included. The first relating to consideration of projects individually is highly important in as much as it follows a directive from the President. In a memorandum dated May 14, 1943, in answer to a question presented by the Secretary regarding our participation in the cost of financing from time to time the movement of refugees, the President stated “I suggest that we do not give unlimited promises but that we undertake with Britain to share the cost of financing from time to time any specific cases”.

[Page 207]

Our answers to the questions raised regarding the administrative expenses of the Executive Committee are: (a) expenses as heretofore incurred in the financing of which we have shared and propose to continue to share; (b) the expenses should be shared equally by members of the Intergovernmental Committee as a whole, membership on that Committee carrying with it such responsibility.

In regard to publicity concerning the Committee meeting, we received advance information on August 12 that a portion of the press here was to publish on the following day a story regarding the meeting. Accordingly, we were obliged to prepare some statement for immediate release in time to reach the press on August 13.76 The substance of the release is given in Radio Bulletin no. 192 of August 12. The British Embassy was informed and given an advance copy of the release to be telegraphed to London with the request that you be also advised. It would have been of much assistance to us to have had beforehand the communiqué issued by Sir Herbert Emerson as conveyed by your 5305 of August 12.

Hull
  1. See Department of State Bulletin, August 14, 1943, p. 98.