114. Telegram From the Department of State to the Secretary of State, at London1
Tedul 20. Eyes only Secretary from Under Secretary.
- 1.
- This morning the President discussed with me your Dulte 19.2 The Soviet tactics to stir up tension are certainly disappointing although not unexpected. The wide support that you have gained for a moderate Western position has been most impressive. It lays the foundation for a sound outcome and gives a strong position upon which to negotiate.
- 2.
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The President wondered if the Indian position in London was so intransigent that a direct appeal from him to Nehru might do any good. He recalled that the August 10 message to him from Nehru3 closed with the following paragraph:
“I need not tell you how anxious we have been about the recent developments in regard to the Suez Canal. I earnestly hope that the great influence of the United States will help in arriving at a peaceful settlement of this difficult and intricate problem. It would be disastrous if the efforts to solve this problem peacefully failed and conflict resulted.”
The President said he would be guided entirely by your advice on the scene. In the event you desire such a message I suggest that draft of text be forwarded to Washington for relay to San Francisco by telephone.
- 3.
- The President expressly asked me to send you his “most personal felicitations”.
- 4.
- Progress in San Francisco has been excellent. The platform was adopted without argument and Thruston Morton4 has won wide recognition for his handling of the foreign policy phase. Your message was very well received on the floor and it went out over the TV networks just before they switched to the President’s arrival at the airport. His reception here last night and again during this morning was extraordinarily enthusiastic.
- 5.
- Everyone sends you messages of confidence and appreciation. It is a matter of deep regret to all of us that you could not be here to receive their expressions of support and acclaim in person.
- 6.
- I expect to be back in the Department early Friday morning5 unless some unforeseen development necessitates my earlier return.
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–2256. Secret. Drafted and approved by Hoover and signed for Murphy by Howe. Murphy served as Acting Secretary in the absence of Secretary Dulles and Under Secretary Hoover, who was then attending the Republic National Convention in San Francisco. An attached handwritten note, initialed by Howe, indicates that the message and handling instructions were read over the White House phone from San Francisco and sent to Hoover’s office in Washington.↩
- Dulte 19 contained Dulles’ August 21 message to Eisenhower, Document 111.↩
- A copy of the message is in Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204, Prime Minister Nehru’s Correspondence with Eisenhower/Dulles, 1953–1961. In it, Nehru discussed the possibility of visiting the United States.↩
- Subcommittee Chairman for Foreign Policy on the Republican Platform Committee.↩
- August 24.↩