740.00119 Council/8–546: Telegram
The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in France (Caffery)
us urgent
3863. Secdel 594. For Cohen.98 You will have seen London’s tels 7134 July 30 11 am and 7153 July 31 11 am as well as Warsaw’s 1189 Aug 2 9 am commenting on proposed draft note to PolGov.99 We feel that Lane’s suggestions are helpful and should be incorporated in draft note.
With respect to attitude of British ForOff we feel that British objections could largely be met by manner in which approach to Molotov is made. It should be possible to ascertain the Soviet attitude without formally proposing a joint démarche to PolGov.
We believe that recent Pol referendum will have convinced SovGov that in anything approaching a fair election the Peasant Party would obtain a clear majority. It would therefore seem they will be faced with following alternatives:
- (1)
- Allow a Peasant Party victory and attempt to work with a coalition govt formed by Mikolajczyk.
- (2)
- Conduct a fraudulent election which would return present regime to power.
- (3)
- Declare Peasant Party illegal or so restrict its activities as to force boycott of election. Mik has already threatened to boycott elections unless international supervision is arranged.
- (4)
- Force Peasant Party to agree to single list. (Warsaw’s 1187 Aug 1 11 pm reports that Mik has refused offer of 25 percent Peasant Party representation without Mik’s personal inclusion in govt.)
- (5)
- Further postpone elections indefinitely.
The only solution satisfactory to us would be free election or agreement upon adequate representation in a coalition slate of the non-bloc parties acceptable to their leaders. It is unlikely that either of these solutions could be obtained without agreement with SovGov.
We feel that if Sec agrees Lane should be instructed to inform Mik that we cannot agree to participate in international supervision of Polish elections but it would be well if at same time we could inform him what steps we are taking to carry out our obligation under Yalta agreement. We would at same time instruct Lane to point out to Mik the unwisdom, in our view, of a boycott of election.1
Repeated Warsaw as 726.
- Benjamin V. Cohen, Counselor of the Department of State and member of the American delegation at the Paris Peace Conference.↩
- None printed. Telegram 7134, July 30, from London, reported that the British Ambassador in Warsaw had recommended that conversations on a governmental level be initiated with the Soviet Union with a view to arriving at a common policy on Polish elections as specified under the Yalta agreement but that the British Foreign Office had decided against the proposal (860C.00/7–3046). Telegram 7153, July 31, from London, reported that the British Foreign Office continued to feel that the Soviet Union would refuse to participate in any discussions with the American and British Governments relative to the Polish elections problem and that such a refusal would give the Polish Government a pretext for postponing elections (860C.00/7–3146). For résumé of telegram 1189, August 2, from Warsaw, see footnote 95, p. 486.↩
- Telegram 3953, Delsec 810, August 10, from Mr. Cohen in Paris stated: “We are in agreement that a note along the lines suggested by the Department and Lane should be transmitted to the Polish Government. It is our feeling, however, that the details and exact language should be worked out in Washington and that it is not desirable to discuss the matter here with Molotov and Bevin.” (740.00119 Council/8–1046) Telegram 3991, Delsec 816, August 13, from the Secretary of State in Paris, authorized the Department to consult with the Soviet Government, either in Washington or in Moscow, if that seemed desirable (740.00119 Council/8–1346).↩