893.01/9–1749
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
Extract
1Subject: Conversations with Mr. Bevin and Mr. Schuman on Far East
| Participants: | |
| Mr. Bevin | |
| Mr. Barclay | |
| Mr. Dening | |
| Mr. Schuman | |
| Ambassador Bonnet | |
| Mr. Clappier | |
| Mr. Acheson | |
| Mr. MacArthur | |
| Mr. Merchant | |
| Mr. Butterworth | |
| Mr. Satterthwaite | |
| Mr. O’Sullivan |
. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Japanese Treaty
I reviewed our thoughts on the Japanese Peace Treaty, as I had done to Bevin in a previous meeting. I said that we were in favor of working out a Treaty soon, that our interests were so great in Japan that we could not get ourselves in a position in which we had to approve a treaty we did not like, or in which our failure to approve would result in a treaty going into effect without our consent. We would like help from the British and the French in laying the groundwork with the Commonwealth and other countries so that there would be assurance that a satisfactory treaty could be written. Schuman replied that the French thought a situation should develop in Japan, as it had in Germany, in which conditions approximating a treaty exist, without there actually being one. I agreed, and said that Japan should be allowed to send out trade representatives and have more freedom internally. Butterworth said that we had been trying to get Japanese representatives into various international organizations, and that while most of the members seemed to agree in principle, when it came down to actual admission they resisted in individual cases. Perhaps the British and the French could help in the Far Eastern Commission? Bevin said that the people who live near the Japanese, are anxious about them. We all should give more attention and thought to Japan.
- Other portions of this memorandum are printed in vol. ix, pp. 88–91.↩