Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1943, General, Volume I

840.50/2177a: Telegram

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

Washington, June 30, 1943—10 p.m.

3993. For Winant and Biddle⁶³ from Acheson and Lehman. M. Gut,⁶⁴ Baron Boel⁶⁵ and M. Lychowski⁶⁶ are on the way to London by plane and expect to confer with officials of the European Allied Governments before the end of the week regarding provisions of the draft agreement on relief and rehabilitation. Baron Boel and Lychowski have had extensive discussions on this subject in the Department and memoranda of these conversations are being sent to you airmail tomorrow.⁶⁷

The following summarizes briefly some of the main points placed before these gentlemen as interpretations of phases of the draft plan which were viewed most critically by them.

1. It is not anticipated that the Central Committee will control the organization or play the major part in determining its policies. The Council is the primary policy-making body. It is not conceivable that the Central Committee would enter into a trial of strength with the Council by reversing any policies established by the Council. The Central Committee’s function will be primarily that of a steering and nominating committee, for purposes of expediting business, and of an emergency policy committee available to the Director General whenever unexpected developments create the need for some immediate backing for him.

2. The Director General will have responsibility and authority for operations and administration. The Central Committee is in no sense an executive committee. The Director General will have much the same position in this organization that the President has in the United States Government.

3. The Regional committees and the Supply Committee, and to a lesser degree the standing technical committees, will be the working committees of the Council which in collaboration with the Director General will assemble the necessary information and pursue the detailed studies required as a basis for wise policy decisions by the Council. They will have much the same relationship as committees of the House of Representatives or the Senate have to the Houses of Congress here.

4. The Director General will have full authority and responsibility for choosing all of his staff, including the Deputy Directors General, and the agreement does not require him to consult with or follow the advice of anyone else. He will of course seek knowledge and advice from all those who can be helpful. He will seek the most competent and able administrators and specialists wherever they may be found and he will have constantly in mind the desirability of securing staff members of many nationalities.

5. The Department has been greatly concerned to learn from the Polish Ambassador that he understood from alleged statements made here and in London that food will be used as a political weapon, and relief be administered with political objectives in view. Every effort is to be made to correct this impression, for this Government has and will have every intention of preventing the distribution and administration of relief and rehabilitation for any other purpose than impartial assistance to those in need. The phrase “food is a weapon” has been used only with respect to prosecution of the war and no American official has intended to give the impression that food would be used as a political weapon.

Within your discretion you may emphasize the position set forth above and in the memoranda being transmitted to you by airmail, whenever you find an opportunity to discuss these matters with appropriate and interested officials.

It will be appreciated if you will keep the Department informed regarding the progress of discussion and thinking on these matters in London.

It is assumed now that September 1 will be the earliest possible date for convening the conference and that that date will be possible only if substantial agreement is evident by the 15th of July and real agreement definite by the 1st of August. [Acheson and Lehman.]

Hull

63. Anthony J. Drexel Biddle, Jr., Ambassador near the Governments at London of Belgium, Czechoslovakia, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, and Yugoslavia.
64. Minister of Finance and Minister of Economics of the Belgian Government at London.
65. Financial Adviser to the Belgian Government.
66. Chief of the Economic Section of the Polish Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Shipping at London.
67. Not printed.