61. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in France1
489. Please inform Pineau that after his return from London Secretary is more impressed than ever with importance that French and British should not take action which might place upon them responsibility for interruption to Canal transit. He therefore believes it would be unwise for instructions to be dispatched to Canal Company employees that they should leave Egypt. This of course does not imply that employees should be subject to coercion by Egyptian Government.
London should advise Lloyd of foregoing message to Pineau adding that Secretary hopes he will agree Company or governments should not instruct Canal employees to return. If individual employees should decide on their own volition to resign there could, of course, be no objection. That, however, would be quite different from resignations resulting from instructions to leave which would include attractive offers re continuation salary payments and generous retirement benefits.2
- Source: Department of State, Central Files, 974.7301/8–456. Top Secret; Niact. Drafted by Rountree; cleared by Murphy; and approved by Rountree who signed for Dulles. Repeated Niact to London.↩
- On August 5, the Embassy in Paris reported that the French Government supported the recently-stated position of the Suez Canal Company and believed that it met U.S. wishes. On August 4, the directors of the Canal Company had requested the French Government to transmit through diplomatic channels a message to Company employees in Egypt indicating that the Company believed its employees should not work for the new Egyptian company except under duress. (Telegram 626 from Paris, August 5; ibid., 974.7301/8–556)↩