Hopkins Papers: Telegram
The President’s Special Assistant (Hopkins) to Prime Minister Churchill
53. Personal and secret to the Prime Minister from Harry L. Hopkins.
A story has been passed by the London censorship written by Frederick Kuh which states that a conference with you and the President is going to take place in the immediate future and, in all probability, this conference will be in Canada. It states further that there will be no Soviet representation.
The President, at his press conference tomorrow, when asked about this, intends to say that he has no further comment other than his previous statement that he intended to see you some time soon. He will [Page 22] stand on this statement and does not intend to be drawn out about the place or the time and hopes that you will do the same.1
Will you be sure that your censorship deals with this matter accordingly.
Furthermore, on this particular point I think you should make certain that Mackenzie King sings the same tune.
As I wired you this morning,2 the President is particularly anxious that Mackenzie King give no invitation to newspapermen as he did before,3 either in Canada or the United States, to come to Quebec. The President would appreciate it if you would make this clear to Mackenzie King.
- Roosevelt stated at his press conference of August 29, 1944, that he would see Churchill soon, but he declined to elaborate on the details of his plans. See New York Times, August 30, 1944, p. 32.↩
- Supra.↩
- The reference is to the arrangements for the press made in 1943 in connection with the First Quebec Conference. Cf. Mackenzie King’s message to Hopkins on this subject transmitted in a letter to Hopkins from the Canadian Ambassador (Pearson) on September 3, 1944, post, p. 33.↩
- The source text also has the holograph signature “Harry L Hopkins”, but only the given name “Harry” was to be transmitted at the end of the message.↩