Office of the Historian

862.60/8–2447: Telegram

The Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Douglas) to the Acting Secretary of State

secret
urgent
niact
London, August 24, 1947—5 p.m.

4587. For Lovett from Douglas. Last night Sir Gilmour Jenkins, two or three of the British delegates; Massigli, Alphand and Sergent [Page 1059] for the French; Murphy, Clay and I dined together. It was my impression that after the formal discussions today, we can subsequently reach an agreement on a satisfactory communiqué which will give the French Government at least a public statement which they can in turn use to persuade French public opinion.

While neither Alphand nor Massigli have as yet either formally or informally explicitly referred to an allocating board, the proposal is implicit in what Alphand said on Friday. It may well be that in preparing the communiqué, we may be able to negotiate a satisfactory language if I know that it can include something along the following lines:

“US Govt at the appropriate time and the appropriate place will view with sympathetic consideration and engage in discussions on the subject of establishment of an allocating board or some other device for the purpose of ensuring that access to products of the Ruhr shall not in future as was the case in the prewar period be exclusively subject to the will of Germany.”

If you can see your way clear to defining “appropriate time and place” as immediately or shortly following the termination of these discussions, it would be extremely helpful, it being understood always that such an allocating board would not come into existence until after the peace settlement had become effective.

Please give us a prompt answer as the matter may be coming to a head today or tomorrow.16

Sent Department 4587; repeated Paris for Caffery 476; Berlin for Murphy and Clay 398; Geneva for Clayton 127.

Douglas

  1. Telegram 3663, August 24, to London, from Lovett to Douglas, not printed, gave the following interim reply:

    “There is considerable difference of views here re subject your 4587 which may have to be resolved at highest level. If after your discussing matter with Clay and Murphy, Clay could recommend your suggestion to War matter would be simpler here and earlier solution probable.” (862.60/8–2447)

    ↩