800.515/9–544: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)
7189. ReDeptel 6775 of August 24, 1944. Respecting Resolution VI of the Bretton Woods Conference, the chiefs of mission at Dublin, Madrid, Bern, Ankara, Lisbon, Stockholm, and Tangier [Page 227] are being instructed26 to present on or about September 19 notes to the governments to which they are accredited, reading substantially as follows and to report any reactions or developments:
“The 44 nations assembled at the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, adopted the following resolution. (Here quote the text of the Resolution as set forth in the circular airgram referred to.)
“I have been instructed to inform you that my Government, considering the Bretton Woods Resolution to be directed at the same purposes as the Declaration of London, of January 5, 1943, with respect to looted property, and the declaration of February 22, 1944, concerning gold, fully supports the said Bretton Woods Resolution. In accordance with the terms of that Resolution, I am instructed therefore to state that my Government calls upon your Government to institute the measures set forth in the Resolution. I am further instructed to state that my Government considers cooperation in this matter to be of primary importance to the welfare of occupied nations and to the protection of the lives and property of their nationals, and to the peace and security of the post-war world.”
It would be desirable to have simultaneous parallel action by the British Government. Since the note above quoted merely endorses the Bretton Woods Resolution VI, and since, as stated in your 6472, August 11, 1944, the Foreign Office is prepared to cooperate in any measures with respect to that Resolution taken by the Department, it is thought that British will accede readily to this proposal.27 A suggestion similar to this is being made to the Soviet Union. It is not thought wise to postpone action any longer than necessary; hence the deadline is set at about September 19. A press release describing in general terms the action taken will be issued shortly thereafter in Washington.
- Circular telegram, September 5, midnight, to diplomatic representatives in Ireland, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and Turkey, and telegram 3063, September 5, 8 p.m., to Switzerland, not printed. In telegram 2135, September 5, midnight, to Moscow, the circular telegram was repeated, with an additional paragraph stating, in part: “Please inform the Soviet Government of the intended action and state that we would welcome similar action by them. Since the note proposed above is in pursuance of a recommendation of Resolution VI, it is thought that the Soviet Union may well wish to take like steps, at least in Ankara and Stockholm.” (800.515/9–544)↩
- In telegram 7522, September 13, 8 p.m., from London, Ambassador Winant reported on his discussions with a representative of the British Foreign Office concerning the desire of the Department to address a note to certain neutral governments regarding implementation of Resolution VI of the Bretton Woods Conference; the Foreign Office representative stated that he did not believe the United Kingdom Government would be prepared to associate itself with the démarche in the form proposed but that the Foreign Office was anxious to bring about the results desired by the Department (800.515/9–1344).↩