Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1944, General, Volume I

500.CC/10–744: Circular telegram

The Secretary of State to Certain Diplomatic Missions in the American Republics ²³

Washington, October 7, 1944—7 p.m.

Recirtels September 30, 6 p.m. and October 5, 6 p.m.²⁴ The document²⁵ transmitted with the circular instruction of September 29²⁶ will be released for publication Monday, October 9th, at noon. Please inform the Foreign Minister as soon as possible of this fact and tell him that you wish to deliver a copy to him in advance of publication and would appreciate an opportunity to call on him for that purpose at 9 o’clock Monday morning.²⁷

In handing the document to the Foreign Minister, you should say that these proposals have been agreed upon by the four delegations to the Dumbarton Oaks conversations and referred to their respective governments who will publish them simultaneously at noon October ninth. Please state that your Government has, as an act of special courtesy, instructed its diplomatic representatives in the other American republics which have actively cooperated in the war effort to deliver these proposals to those governments informally in advance of publication, but that they will not be transmitted formally to any government until further consideration has been given by the four governments to the questions which remain undecided, and until, therefore, a complete set of proposals can be placed before the governments as a basis of discussion at a full conference.

Please impress upon the Foreign Minister my confident expectation that he will keep the receipt of the document and its contents in strictest confidence until the time of publication. You should also tell him that copies will be handed to diplomatic missions in Washington at 9 o’clock Monday.

You are also requested to speak to the Foreign Minister along the following lines:

President Roosevelt and I are keenly aware of his interest and that of his government in the successful establishment of an effective general international organization, and we realize that there will be questions which he wishes to ask and comments he desires to make regarding these proposals, in advance of a general conference to consider them formally. It is my hope therefore that, after he has had an opportunity to study them, he will transmit his views upon them to the chief of his government’s diplomatic mission in Washington, as I should like very much to meet together at a convenient time with all the chiefs of mission of the American republics which have actively cooperated in the war effort in order to have a full and frank exchange of views on the proposals. I shall of course, be glad to receive his chief of mission at any other time to discuss them, if he so desires.

You will, of course, report fully on reactions to these proposals.

Hull

23. Sent to all American Republics, except Argentina, Brazil, Haiti, and Mexico; repeated to Brazil as instruction 6427, to Haiti as instruction 122, and to Mexico with the directive to “inform Cabot”, Chief of the Division of Caribbean and Central American Affairs.
24. Neither printed.
25. “Proposals for the Establishment of a General International Organization”, p. 890.
26. Not printed.
27. October 9, 1944. In a circular telegram dated October 8, noon, the Chiefs of Mission in all the other American Republics, except Argentina, were advised to take action in accordance with this telegram of October 7 (500.CC/10–844).