Hopkins Papers: Telegram
The President’s Special Assistant (Hopkins) to Prime Minister Churchill
52. Personal and secret to the Prime Minister from Harry L. Hopkins.
The President is delighted that the Prof1 is coming. He, however, has not changed his original belief that the conference should be on the Teheran scale. He thinks it would be a great mistake to take over a hotel like the Frontenac during the tourist season and, under any circumstances, is anxious to have a small, intimate staff conference along with his meeting with you. He understands, of course, that you must have a cypher staff and he, naturally, will have his own. I do hope you can agree on a conference of this size. It is necessary for us to have your final decision as to the number and composition of your party at the earliest possible date in order that we may complete our plans.
The President feels that it would be a great mistake to have news paper men all over the place. They will inevitably, no matter what they are told relative to a communiqué after the conference is over, be demanding press releases every day. The President hopes that no newspaper men will be imported into Quebec from anywhere and that the news of the conference will rest on a communiqué to be issued at the conclusion of your talks.
I think it is very important that this be fully understood in Canada.
- Lord Cherwell.↩