Matthews Files
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Winant ) to the Secretary of State
Dear Ed, Since I have not had an opportunity to see you, there are two matters that I would like to bring to your attention before the coming Conference.
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The other matter I want to take up with you has to do with the European Advisory Commission. I am enclosing a copy of a letter which 1 am sending to the President,2 and also a copy of an Economic Directive which I received this week from the Department and was told to present to the Commission.3 If you read it you will find that it is in contradiction with the position of the State Department as it relates to Germany, according to the most recent policy statement, which I am also enclosing.4 This latter paper is in line with the position taken informally by the Russians and the British in the Advisory Commission.
The proposal in the Economic Directive forwarded to me is so contrary to the Russian position and to that of the British that I am postponing introducing it into the Commission until I have had an opportunity to talk with the President. If I did introduce it, the Russian Government might fail to confirm either the Control Machinery Agreement or the Protocol on Zones of Occupation recommended by the European Commission to the respective Governments. Failure to get agreement on zones of occupation in Germany, with the Russians one hundred miles from Berlin, might lead to frictions and disagreements, which would affect not only the occupation of that country but the future of Allied unity. The Control Machinery Agreement is equally necessary.
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