Office of the Historian

UNP files, lot 59 D 237, “Membership”

Memorandum by the Deputy Director of the Office of United Nations Political and Security Affairs (Popper) to the Officer in Charge of General Assembly Affairs (Taylor)

confidential
[Washington,] March 4, 1952.
  • Subject:
  • Membership.

As you will note from a memorandum of conversation between Mr. Hickerson and Ambassador Tarchiani today1 we are committed to further discussions with the Italians on the membership problem. Mr. Hickerson wishes that we stimulate activity on this in the Membership Team. His current thinking is to work out a proposal under which we would announce our willingness to amend Article 4 of the Charter by striking out the reference to qualifications, and pending the approval of such an amendment we would put up to the Soviets a deal involving all present and possible future applicants (i.e. Spain, Japan, Switzerland, etc.) but omitting areas in which there are rival claimants (Korea, Vietnam, Germany).

[Page 804]

I think it is important to work out a preliminary paper along this line as quickly as possible and to get our discussion on it started in the Department.

David H. Popper
  1. Not printed (UNP files, lot 59 D 237, “Membership”).↩