Editorial Note
In the subsequent weeks, there was discussion within the Department on the Gerig proposal (which was submitted on an official basis by the Bureau of United Nations Affairs). Concerned officers of the Bureau of European Affairs, specifically within the Office of British Commonwealth and Northern European Affairs, reacted guardedly; and in the end the plan seems not to have been applied to that area. On the proposal of the Bureau of Inter-American Affairs the discussions with the Latin American countries were held in the field rather than in Washington; this procedure led to a great deal of memorandum writing in the Department before instructions were sent out to the Embassies in that area, mainly in September. Conversations with countries within the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs were held as proposed in Washington, in August and September. In October the Washington discussions were extended to include China, the Philippines, and Thailand. Subjects discussed corresponded to those in the list printed infra. The memorandum handed to the foreign representatives in Washington and the Foreign Ministries in the American Republics was the same, mutatis mutandis; for text, see page 612. Pertinent documentation is found in Department of State decimal country files; in files 320, 320.14, 350, and 700.022; and in ODA Files, Lots 60 D 152 and 62 D 228 (working files of the Office of Dependent Area Affairs). Documentation is located also in the files of the United States Mission to the United Nations.