840.50 Recovery/10–549
Memorandum by the Ambassador at Large (Jessup) to the Secretary of State
Memorandum for the Secretary
You requested just before leaving town last week that, in compliance with Hoffman’s and Harriman’s request, I take up urgently with Schuman and Bevin the question of the appointment of Spaak to a prominent position in OEEC. Harriman’s request for your intervention arose from Cripps’ continued opposition to the appointment which was expressed again a few days ago to Van Zeeland.
I saw Schuman September 30th. He reiterated his belief that Cripps is the obstacle to the appointment and Bevin favorable and promised to take up the matter with Bevin either in Canada or on his return to New York.
From my conversation with Bevin the same evening, it appeared that his only real concern in the matter is with the Belgian internal political situation. He expects (and presumably hopes) that Van Zeeland will not last long and that Spaak may then come back as Premier. He said however that he would take the matter up with the Cabinet on his return to London. He said that he was not well informed as [Page 426] to the exact nature of the duties Spaak would perform and asked us to provide him with a memorandum on this subject.
I passed on this request to the Department1 and they repeated it to Harriman. He has now replied that the scope and terms of the new Spaak office must be worked out by OEEC and that it would be inadvisable for us to present Bevin with a memorandum on this subject. He however summarizes the nature of the office in the following terms:
“In order for OEEC to give effective leadership in such matters as: liberalization of trade and economic integration, sales to dollar area, and increasing productivity, it appears essential to have in OEEC permanent post a man who, because of his political prestige in Europe as well as personal qualities, can deal with representatives of member countries at ministerial level and promote, at that level, briefs (sic) European initiatives and thinking.”
He considers Spaak eminently suited for such a position.
You may wish to discuss this matter again with Bevin before he sails.2