Office of the Historian

611.1913/11–954

Memorandum by the Secretary of State to the President 1

confidential
[Washington,] November 9, 1954.

Subject:

  • Appointment with Dr. Harmodio Arias

Dr. Arias, who has an appointment at 9:30 a.m. on November 10, will deliver President Remon’s reply to your letter of August 23, 1954 which listed the Panamanian proposals on which this Government was willing to take affirmative action.

Further negotiations took place in Panama during September and October in an effort to draft texts on these subjects. For the most part agreed texts were arrived at. However, there are a few points remaining which are not completely resolved.

Dr. Arias will probably bring up these matters in the hope that he can prevail upon you to make immediate decisions on them favorable to Panama. Dr. Arias is an effective advocate and in presenting his side of the issues will give his case a considerable degree of plausibility. These disagreements, however, involve important questions of principle [Page 1463] and policy. The Department of State, the Department of Defense and the Governor of the Canal Zone are agreed that the United States should maintain its position on these points.

In view of the technical complexity of these questions, I recommend that you permit Dr. Arias to present his arguments but decline to commit yourself, saying that you will consider the points of view he has presented and will instruct the Secretary of State in the premises; and that such further conversations as may be required will be conducted under the direction of the Secretary.

Since Assistant Secretary Holland will conduct such further conversations as may be necessary, I recommend also that he be present during Dr. Arias’ call.

I am enclosing a copy of your letter of August 23, 1954 to President Remon and a biographic sketch of Dr. Arias.2

John Foster Dulles
  1. Drafted by Mr. Kuppinger.↩
  2. Neither printed. Regarding the letter of Aug. 23, see footnote 1, p. 1456. The brief sketch noted that Arias, an expert on treaties, personally negotiated the 1936 treaty with the Roosevelt Administration. It continued that Arias, a political opponent of Remón, was made an adviser in order to forestall his active opposition to the Treaty. (611.19/11–1054)↩