Office of the Historian

103.9164: Telegram

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

Washington, October 18, 1944.

8614. SD 4096. To Reed for Brown and O’Boyle9 from Land by Morse and Chubb.

1.
Planning committee report discussed and approved at WSA internal meeting today.
2.
Conway has suggested that weekly meetings of SEPC could be used to coordinate all matters coming up to branch of the board from the various other committees. Purpose is to provide a general overall policy steering committee at somewhat lower than the branch of the board. We feel that such an arrangement could be carried out through [Page 717] paragraph 9 of main report and that SEPC members could either act in that capacity or in capacity of a sub-committee of the branch of the board.
3.
Proposal is that first meeting of executive board be held here on November 14 and that board’s work should be completed that week.
4.
Suggestion is that invitation to meeting should go out over signatures of Land and Leathers as chairmen in Washington and London respectively. Following tentative wording is suggested for your approval:

“Pursuant to paragraph 6 of the annex to the agreement on principles the War Shipping Administration and Ministry of War Transport as chairmen of the United Maritime Executive Board hereby notify you that a meeting of that board has been called to meet in the offices of the War Shipping Administration in Washington at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, November 14, 1944. The purpose of that meeting will be to take such steps as may be necessary to prepare for the coming into operation of the central authority established by the agreement on principles. The planning committee established pursuant to paragraph 12 of the annex to the agreement on principles having prepared its report and submitted the same to the contracting governments for consideration and adoption, this meeting of the United Maritime Executive Board will provide an opportunity for formal action as to such adoption, and pursuant to the recommendation of the planning committee it is recommended that the contracting governments authorize their representatives as members of the executive board to act on that report on their behalf at this meeting.”

5.
With regard to appendix 9 of the planning committee report Radner10 suggests that words “territories and possessions” be substituted for the words “territorial possessions” wherever used. If agreement not already printed and circulated suggest this editorial collation. [Land.]
Hull
  1. Chariest R. O’Boyle, Chief, Wartime Insurance Division, War Shipping Administration, who had recently joined Chubb and his associates and was remaining in London through the early stages of UMEB.↩
  2. William Radner, General Counsel, War Shipping Administration.↩