740.00119 EW/9–1047
Memorandum by Philander P. Claxton, Jr., Special
Assistant to the Assistant Secretary of State for Occupied
Areas (Saltzman)35
secret
[Washington, September 10, 1947.]
Subject: War Dept
Views on Draft Cable to Douglas Regarding Further Discussions with French on
Allocating Arrangement for Ruhr Production
A copy of this draft cable36 was given to Under
Secretary Draper for the
comments of the War Dept. before
submission to the Under Secretary for approval. Under Secretary
Draper stated on Sept. 5
that he felt unless there was great urgency he could not give a
final War Dept. view without
obtaining General Clay’s
comments. He stated that he hoped to have the comments by Mon. or
Tues., Sept. 8
[Page 1070]
or 9.
Since the time factor would appear to allow this consultation, I
agreed that he should send the draft cable to Gen. Clay for comment. I also agreed to
the minor changes in the text shown on the attached copy as a
compromise to restrictive language urged by Under Secretary
Draper.
On Sept. 9 Gen. Noce reported
to Assistant Secretary Saltzman that a reply had been received from
Clay and that Clay, Draper and Noce felt a decision should not be made at this time
to continue these discussions with the French on three grounds
-
a.
- They did not feel such discussions and the assurances
contemplated to be given during them would be desirable from
the political point of view because the USSR would object to
this tripartite discussion of problems which it would insist
are quadripartite in scope and because other countries which
would come to the peace conference would resent a prior
US-UK-French agreement on this matter.
-
b.
- Such a decision is premature. There is no need to make it
now since the State Dept.
itself suggests the desirability of postponing any such
discussion until November.
-
c.
- Such discussions and the assurances to be given at them
will not help the occupation and might in fact harm it since
France will wish to put in action at once any plan for
post-treaty controls which might be agreed on.
General Noce was told that
these views would be brought to the attention of interested officers
of the Department.
[Annex]
Draft Telegram from the Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in
the United Kingdom (Douglas)
You are authorized informally to begin consultations with the
Brit. Govt., reembtel 4749, Sept 2,37 in preparation for informal
tripartite discussion (rather than American-French talks) of
some form of international device to insure that distribution of
Ruhr products shall take account of the just needs of Europe
including Germany. We shall welcome suggestions as to the place
and manner in which these tripartite discussions should take
place. We are, however, considering the desirability of
postponing any such tripartite discussion until Nov. when we
shall be in a better position to gauge the prospects of CFM action.
Please
repeat
this
telegram
to
Clay
and
Murphy
requesting
their
comments.
They
Clay and Murphy should of course be kept
fully informed and be prepared to give you and us the benefit of
their views.
[Page 1071]
There
may well be occasions when you, Clay and Murphy will decide that it will be useful for
them to participate in the talks when held.
We shall welcome your comments as well as those of Gen Clay’s to the following: During
these discussions we should be prepared (a) to agree in
principle with the French and Brit Govts to support inclusion in
an international agreement in connection with the peace
settlement with Germany of provisions which would give
assurances not only to France but to other European Govts that
access by Western Europe to the production of the Ruhr would not
be subject exclusively to the will of Germany as in the past;
and (b) to give sympathetic consideration to the inclusion in
the peace settlement of provisions for the establishment of an
international board body of
which Germany would be a member or some other device to insure
that the control of the distribution of the Ruhr output of coal,
coke and steel between German internal consumption and exports
will be determined on an
equitable basis and also provision for some method of assuring
that German domestic consumption will be devoted to peaceful
purposes only, in accordance with demilitarization and
disarmament measures to be agreed in the peace settlement.
Sent to London as —— repeated to Paris as —— and Geneva for
Clayton as ——.
