Office of the Historian

297. Telegram From the Department of State to the Embassy in the United Kingdom1

Washington, September 23, 1957—2:30 p.m.

2305. Please deliver following personal message from President to Prime Minister. Confirm date and time of delivery.2

“September 23, 1957.

Dear Harold:

I have your letter on disarmament—dated the 21st I think.3 I spoke briefly to Foster about it when I was in Washington this morning.4 I am going back to Newport this afternoon and he in the meantime will speak to Lewis Strauss.

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We have, together, already moved quite a distance in the direction you suggest and perhaps by putting it all together, and putting it in a fresh package with some little addition, it could be made into what would catch the popular imagination.

I shall be in touch with you later after I get a further report of the talk between Foster and Lewis Strauss.5

I share your happiness over our close working relations with reference to the Middle East.

With warm personal regard,

As ever, Ike”

Dulles
  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.4112/9—2357. Secret; Priority; Presidential Handling. Drafted by Dulles.↩
  2. According to telegram 2033 from London, September 24, this message was delivered to Macmillan on September 24 at 10:30 a.m. (London time). (Ibid., 711.11–EI/2457)↩
  3. See Supra.↩
  4. A day earlier, on September 22 at 9:40 a.m., Eisenhower had conveyed a telephone message to Dulles in which he said that he was sympathetic to Macmillan’s viewpoint. “However,” he added, “I am doubtful about the propaganda value of saying that we would limit our tests to the number that would create only a specified amount of radiation. On the other hand, any joint statement announcing the intention to register in advance, to fix a reasonable limit and, incidentally, to state that this would never exceed a certain level of radiation, might have real worth.” (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter Series)↩
  5. An undated letter from Strauss to Dulles and an attached undated draft statement are not printed. (Department of State, Central Files, 711.5611/9–2957) In a September 29 letter to the President enclosing copies of these documents, Dulles remarked in part: “I must confess I am somewhat disappointed that he does not seem to feel it is possible to go further with specific proposals to limit testing.” (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Dulles–Herter Series)↩