740.00119 Control (Germany)/11–1345
Memorandum of Conversation, by Mr. Franz Schneider, Consultant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Administration50
He51 stated that he is getting out a week from next week-end; be announced tomorrow.52
[Page 1001]Regrets whole public discussion of change to civilian control, which is demoralizing to existing staffs on both sides of the water.
Regrets Army wants to dump whole business because of a little criticism. Army can do a better job than anyone else now. Regrets Patterson wrote letter to Byrnes53 day before he, McCloy, got back. He had been handling the matter. Clay apparently got Patterson to sign the letter. Clay and others on Eisenhower’s staff had been emphasizing to Eisenhower that his reputation would suffer if he continued to control Civil Government. He, McCloy, had cooled Eisenhower off on the matter on his recent trip; but Eisenhower’s associates had shown him articles in PM54 and convinced him he should act.
He had told the President that he greatly regretted the premature desire to get rid of Civil Government and the President said, “I do, too.” He had no idea where the President got the idea of having the new “direct organization under the President”. Concluded that it was an idea of his own.
I showed him the brief proposal we laid before Clay.55 He said he liked the idea. Then told him Clay’s reaction to it. He said some of Clay’s points were well taken—guessed the High Commissioner would have to be in Germany most of the time. Recognized the problem of getting policy changed—which was crucial.
After much discussion he agreed that the best thing would be for the Army to keep Civil Government. But it would be awful hard to get that decision reversed now. He was willing to talk to Patterson along that line. But perhaps the most practical procedure now would be to pull for a civilian High Commissioner who would be under the War Department. That sort of a set-up had existed in old Philippine Government. He would talk to Patterson along that line; and suggested that I find out how Secretary Byrnes felt about it.
- A copy of this memorandum was transmitted to the Secretary of State under cover of a memorandum from Assistant Secretary of State Russell, November 13. In his covering memorandum Mr. Russell wrote: “The general theme of Mr. McCloy’s conversation was that the Army, in the civil administration of Germany, had a ‘going’ administration and that it appeared to him to be a wasteful procedure to throw away the going concern operated by the Army and to create under the sponsorship of the State Department an entirely new organization. Orderly administration would result from the continuance of Army control of the civil government, which control, in the opinion of Mr. McCloy, has been reasonably satisfactory in the past and should show substantial improvement in the future. There is considerable merit in this thought. If the Army is to transfer to the State Department responsibility for civil government in Germany on June 1, 1946, it will mean that the Army, which has been operating this civil government for well over a year, steps out of the picture and the State Department, which will have no background of experience at that time, must step in. It would appear wise to retain the experienced management furnished by the Army if this is at all practicable.” (740.00119 Control (Germany)/11–1345)↩
- John J. McCloy, Assistant Secretary of War.↩
- Mr. McCloy’s resignation as Assistant Secretary of War was announced November 15.↩
- Reference is probably to the Secretary of War’s letter of November 2, p. 996. Mr. McCloy had been on an inspection tour of U.S. Armed Forces in Europe and East Asia. He visited Germany October 5–13.↩
- New York daily.↩
- See footnote 41, p. 997.↩