Editorial Note
In a meeting held on October 22, 1946, with representatives of the State, War, and Navy Departments, President Truman stated that the form of a contract on trusteeships would be agreed upon by the [Page 660] United Nations first, and that the United States would then offer the islands formerly under Japanese mandate for trusteeship under that form. In response to the statement by Secretary of the Navy Forrestal that he wanted to make certain that the terms of the arrangement would permit the Navy to maintain adequate bases, Secretary of State Byrnes gave assurances that no changes in the United States proposal would be accepted without the approval of the President or the Secretary of State. See James F. Byrnes, Speaking Frankly (New York: Harper and Brothers, 1947), pages 219–220; Walter Millis, editor, The Forrestal Diaries (New York: The Viking Press, 1951), pages 213–214. Cf. Foreign Relations, 1945, volume I, pages 350–351. For the public statement on this subject which the President made on November 6, 1946, see page 674.