Office of the Historian

800.24/11–3044

Memorandum by the Assistant Secretary of State (Acheson) to the Under Secretary of State (Stettinius)59

[Washington,] November 30, 1944.

Mr. Stettinius: Apropos of your conversation with Lord Keynes of November 26, memorandum of which is attached,60 you may be interested to know that his statement to you, that Messrs. Morgenthau, Hopkins, Acheson and Cox had been over his draft of statement prepared for Sir John Anderson and thought it appropriate, was a triumph of hope over reality.

At the meeting the following afternoon Secretary Morgenthau mentioned a similar statement which Lord Keynes had made to him. Mr. Morgenthau pointed out that he had not seen the statement; Mr. Hopkins added that he had seen the statement and told Lord Keynes that he did not approve. I stated that I had seen the statement and told Lord Keynes that Oscar Cox was handling the matter and that in its then form I was sure the statement would not be approved by Oscar; and Oscar concluded by saying that he was at that time engaged in revising the statement with Lord Keynes.

This is merely to keep the record straight. In fact, after the meeting with Mr. Morgenthau, we all engaged in the business of revising the statement and finally got one which was issued today and was agreed on by everyone.61

Dean Acheson
  1. Although this memorandum was addressed to him as Under Secretary, Edward R. Stettinius became Secretary of State on this date.↩
  2. Supra.↩
  3. See statement by Assistant Secretary Acheson before the Subcommittee on Foreign Trade and Shipping of the Special Committee of the House of Representatives on Postwar Economic Policy and Planning, November 30, 1944, Department of State Bulletin, December 3, 1944, p. 656; see also speech by Prime Minister Churchill to the House of Commons on the future of Lend-Lease, November 30, 1944, Parliamentary Debates, House of Commons, 5th series, vol. 406, col. 69.↩