Editorial Note
On August 14, 1947, a “Memorandum of Understanding Between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of Italy regarding settlement of certain wartime claims and related matters” was signed by Acting Secretary of State Robert A. Lovett and Ivan Matteo Lombardo, chief of the Italian Economic and Financial Delegation to the United States. For texts of the memorandum and supplementary exchanges of notes, see Department of State Treaties and Other International Acts Series (TIAS) No. 1757, or 61 Stat. (pt. 4) 3962, or Department of State Bulletin, August 24, 1947, page 372. A summary of the deliberations was released to the press on August 14, reprinted in the Bulletin, page 371, which states: “Highlights of the understandings were the waiver of sizable governmental claims arising out of the war and the establishment of procedures for the return to Italy and to properly qualified Italian nationals of their blocked and vested property, totaling some 60 million dollars, under conditions which assure, among other things, that property in which there are German and Japanese interests will not be returned. Another major feature of the understandings is the provision for the transfer of approximately eight Italian ships which had been seized by the United States before the war, five of which had been purchased from other American republics which had previously seized the ships in their waters, and the transfer of approximately fifteen surplus Liberty ships to replace the Italian ships which had been seized by the United States, requisitioned for war use and subsequently lost. The return of vested property and the return of the ships required Congressional authorization, which was recently given in recognition of the importance to world peace of rendering Italy every possible assistance.…”