852.00/10–648
The Acting Secretary of State to Representative Jacob K. Javits 1
Dear Mr. Javits: I have received your telegram of October 6,2 protesting a statement which a prominent New York newspaper incorrectly reported Secretary Marshall as having made. I can assure you [Page 1056] that there has been no reversal of this Government’s policy toward Spain.
This Government continues to believe that the best interests of Spain require evolution toward democratic government and that Spain’s relations with this country and the other democracies cannot become fully normal, as we would like to see them, in the absence of such evolution. We have never slackened our efforts to convince the Spaniards of the soundness of this point of view. We do not believe and never have believed that the Resolution adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1946 would be effective in bringing about the desired changes in Spain. Experience has confirmed our doubts as to both its wisdom and its efficacy.
This Government has no intention of initiating any action on Spain in the present session of the Assembly. Since we do not yet know what proposals may be made by other governments, I cannot say what our exact position will be, but it will be based on our long-standing views as indicated above.
Sincerely yours,
- Member of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the House of Representatives.↩
- Not printed; it protested a statement attributed to the Secretary of State that the United States would support the rescinding of the General Assembly resolution recommending cessation of diplomatic relations with Spain (852.00/10–648).↩