Office of the Historian

121.893/9–2447

Memorandum by the Director of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs (Butterworth) to the Secretary of State 28

[Washington,] September 24, 1947.

General Wedemeyer has an appointment to see the President Thursday noon.29 He has suggested that the Department prepare a press summary of the mission’s report in the belief that information regarding the contents of the report will, in any case, probably reach the press from the White House. He also stated he had the impression from his conversation with you that you were primarily concerned in maintaining secrecy to prevent leaks before the President had the report and had seen him. Furthermore, Wedemeyer has been invited by NBC to appear on the Foreign Affairs Program on October 5 with the suggestion that Mr. Lovett also participate. He seeks your guidance in this matter since his only desire is to be helpful.

The report is certainly not susceptible to publication in full. My recommendation, concurred in by Mr. Armour and Mr. Lovett, is that, regardless of leaks which will undoubtedly occur with distribution, the report should be treated as secret just as the Ethridge report on the Balkans and the Grady report on Palestine; that no press summary be issued and that the President so state indicating that full consideration will be given the report by all the concerned Departments of the Government and it will carry considerable weight in reviewing our policy vis-à-vis China and Korea.31

Until full consideration can be given the report and our policy reviewed in the light of its recommendations, it seems unwise for State Department officials to appear on such an NBC program or for General Wedemeyer to do so if he proposes to make substantive statements.

To avoid publicity difficulties and in fairness to General Wedemeyer, I believe the President should make the position clear to him tomorrow noon, which inevitably entails that advice from you reach the President before Thursday noon.

  1. The memorandum was apparently drafted on or before September 22. A memorandum dated at New York, September 22, 5:40 p.m., gives the same text, as a message from Mr. Butterworth to the Secretary of State telephoned by the Director of the Executive Secretariat (Humelsine). A notation was added that Mr. Humelsine said that Mr. Lovett stated that he was not going to appear on a program on October 5 (121.893/9–2247).↩
  2. September 25.↩
  3. Marginal notation by Mr. Lovett: “OK—L[ovett]”.↩