315.3/10–2153: Telegram
The Secretary of State to the Embassy in France 1
priority
1524. Please deliver following personal message Bidault from Secretary.
“We have been trying to be helpful to you in the UN. You could be helpful to us in the matter of the decision of the Administrative Tribunal [Page 360] making awards to eleven former American employees of the UN who refused to tell Committees of Congress whether or not they are members of the Communist party. The U.S. cannot willingly be a party to paying funds over to American communists who presumably plan to devote these funds to the Communist party in America and thus attempt to overthrow the U.S. Govt.
The US Delegation will seek to reverse the decision of the Tribunal on what we regard as completely valid legal grounds. This is a matter which involves us in a special way. We are the host country; these employees are American citizens and we are by far the largest single contributor to the UN budget. I hope we can count on a sympathetic attitude from the French Delegation. Foster Dulles”2
- Drafted by Secretary Dulles.↩
- In his telegram 1612, Oct. 24, noon, Ambassador Dillon responded: “Secretary’s personal message was delivered to Bidault yesterday via Margerie, of Foreign Office. I talked with Bidault briefly this afternoon at Quai D’Orsay reception and emphasized importance this subject to us. Bidault said that he fully understood problem and would let me have an answer for the Secretary in the next day or so. He sympathizes with our request and will do everything he can to meet our position. He mentioned that situation had been complicated by speeches which Hoppenot had made in the past on this subject without instruction from the Foreign Office. Nevertheless, Bidault thought the matter could be satisfactorily handled in the sense that the French delegation to the UN would go along with us in dealing with this troublesome problem.” (315.3/10–2453)↩