800.42/4–2445: Telegram
The Ambassador in the United Kingdom ( Winant ) to the Secretary of State
[Received 10:40 p.m.]
4165. For Anderson 5 from Kefauver.6 Drafting Committee yesterday came much closer to complete acceptance of American draft, approving all main features.7 Revisions they have made are minor. Voting arrangement and national commission approved without modification. Science returned to position in original US proposal. Shall send airmail draft with all changes by Conference after Executive Bureau meeting tomorrow.
Richardson 8 yesterday made a Drafting Committee approved proposal that Conference and US Government jointly present revised statement of proposals for consideration by Governments and by the international conference to be called after the San Francisco meetings.9 This proposal will go to the Executive Bureau tomorrow. In view of this suggestion and the full use of the US draft it is recommended that this procedure be approved by the Department. Appreciate difficulty of getting consideration of the procedure with staff in San Francisco meetings but prompt action is needed inasmuch as Conference is held up until reaction is received from Department.
British would like to have Conference print proposals for constitution and make them available to educational and cultural groups and to the public so that there can be discussion prior to the international meeting. Such a step would require action at the plenary session of the Conference on May 16. If publication of joint proposals by Conference is approved suggest that they be published in State Department Bulletin at same time for circulation in US. Recommend approval of this step with publication after San Francisco meetings. Department reaction desired but there is not the same urgency for this as there is for item in preceding paragraph.
Immensely pleased with the spirit of the discussions and the agreement reached. The US document stood up very well under analysis [Page 1512] and as the discussions advanced, there was a growing respect for the US formulation. It is a high tribute to these men that they acknowledged the higher quality of the US document accepting it as the basis of operation, and modified their position on a considerable number of important points without irritation or resistance. [Kefauver.]
- Eugene N. Anderson, Assistant Chief, Division of Cultural Cooperation.↩
- Grayson N. Kefauver, of the Division of Cultural Cooperation; United States delegate to the Conference of Allied Ministers of Education.↩
- The Embassy had reported in telegram 4017, April 19, 9 p.m. (800.42/4–1945), that on April 18 the Drafting Committee of the Conference decided to drop its draft proposal for a constitution and to use the United States draft as a basis for formulating working proposals to be presented by the Conference to the Governments concerned and to the international conference to be called later.↩
- W. R. Richardson, Acting Assistant Secretary in the British Ministry of Education.↩
- For documentation on the United Nations Conference on International Organization, San Francisco, April 25–June 26, see pp. 1 ff.↩