348. Telegram From the Secretary of State to the Department of State1
Dulte 64. Eyes only for Acting Secretary from Secretary. For President.
“Dear Mr. President:
“I thank you for your prompt reply to my message of yesterday.2 It is very comforting, at these difficult moments, to know of your support and confidence.
“I have just made a conference statement,3 the text of which will doubtless reach you otherwise. I hope it meets with your approval.
“Macmillan made a good strong statement, despite earlier evidences of some weakness. Pinay on the other hand, turned out to be less forceful than expected. He had a quite bitter argument with Molotov at dinner last night and perhaps this exhausted him. More likely, Faure intervened. The French are very conscious of national elections next month.
[Page 740]“I did not use your authority to quote you as I felt your voice would carry more weight later, after you had had a full report. However, I showed your cable privately to Macmillan and Pinay and this knowledge of your position helped.
“We now go on to discuss disarmament and contacts, although the Soviets may introduce new proposals under Item 1. In field of contacts, Bill Jackson and the experts have been working with the other delegations. Here also the Soviets have recently toughened their position.
“I rejoice that you are now returning to Washington and Gettysburg. I shall probably be seeing you there end of next week.
Faithfully yours, Foster”
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 396.1–GE/9–555. Secret; Priority. Transmitted to the Denver White House at 7:33 p.m., November 9.↩
- See Documents 342 and 343.↩
- For text of Dulles’ statement at the ninth session of the Foreign Ministers, see Foreign Ministers Meeting, pp. 154–159, or Cmd. 9633, pp. 88–91.↩