500.CC(PC)/9–2045: Telegram
The United States Representative on the Preparatory Commission (Stettinius) to the Acting Secretary of State
[Received 9:05 p.m.]
9702. Copre 126. Please transmit the following message to the President as from me:
In accordance with your instructions I have succeeded in getting the Executive Committee of the Preparatory Commission of the United Nations to approve our proposed time schedule for speeding up its preparatory work and bringing the United Nations into being in 1945. Executive Committee has set October 15 as target date to complete its work. Preparatory Commission will be called after interval of two weeks and not later than November 15. Organizing meetings of General Assembly, Security Council and Economic and Social Council will be held for practical reasons in London shortly after Preparatory Commission completes its work and not later than December 4. Plan is to complete organization work in December and adjourn Assembly before Christmas to meet again in the spring. I am urging that Councils and Secretariat should move in January to permanent headquarters to start work and prepare for spring Assembly meeting there. I am not certain that the Russians and British will wholeheartedly cooperate in driving through to meet this time schedule. The Russians were opposed to meeting in London preferring that the Assembly should meet in the United States in January. There were indications that the British preferred a meeting in January in Geneva which would have the added advantage from their point of view of permitting the League of Nations to hold a full dress final meeting in Geneva in December without any competition. They both consented to our proposal reluctantly.
I believe our leadership on the time schedule has been valuable and has put new life into the work of the Executive Committee. With good will I believe we shall be able to meet this schedule.
I have had preliminary discussions regarding the permanent headquarters of the organization. The Russians, Chinese and Australians are strongly in favor of the United States. There are indications that the British may make a fight for Geneva or at least for some place in Europe. If the Russians strongly resist Geneva as I suspect they will I believe there will be a general swing towards the United States. This is the biggest political question for most of the delegations here.
[Page 1452]I plan to return home around October 15 for consultations during the two-week interval before the Preparatory Commission meets.26
- The following message from President Truman was cabled to Mr. Stettinius in telegram 8711, October 2, 7 p.m.: “I am pleased to see from your message of September 20 that you have succeeded in persuading the Executive Committee of the Preparatory Commission of the desirability of early organization meetings of the principal organs of the United Nations. I agree that it will be helpful for you to return home around October 15 for consultations with me and the Department.” (500.CC(PC)/9–2045)↩