Office of the Historian

154. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Between the President and the Secretary of State, Washington, May 24, 1957, 8:35 a.m.1

Washington, May 24, 1957, 8:35 a.m.

TELEPHONE CALL TO THE PRESIDENT

The Sec said Herter will be going to Cabinet. The Pres commented he would have to leave in the middle to make a telephone talk.

The Sec said the situation in Asia on the status of forces has gotten us into a most terrible predicament. He referred to the reports from Taiwan.2 The Sec is satisfied if we don’t turn this fellow over in Japan as Defense originally agreed we might as well write Japan off. The Pres said true and if you don’t write them off anyway—he mentioned public and Congressional opinion. The Pres mentioned the thing affecting Europe too. The Pres said this is not a case which should be tried by the Japanese. The Sec said he doesn’t know but Defense instructed their people to turn them over. The Sec referred to [Page 317] a provision in the agreement and this was in conformity with it.3 The Pres said there is no answer unless you get out. He knows the American army and they won’t let their people be tried by anyone else. They agreed that it was a mistake in agreeing to waive but they have done it. Now Japan says are your agreements any good? The Sec mentioned having a talk with the Pres and I gather some from Defense. The issues at stake are tremendous. It is in Taiwan a question of sentence not of jurisdiction. The Pres said that we have to look at the Asiatic countries and see if they should stay there. If they hate us, can’t do it. The Près mentioned having the talk tomorrow a.m.

  1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Dulles Papers, White House Telephone Conversations. Drafted by Bernau. Another set of notes of this conversation, prepared in the White House, is printed in vol. III, p. 527.↩
  2. For documentation on the riots in Taiwan on May 24 (local time), following the acquittal in the court martial of Master Sargeant Robert G. Reynolds, see ibid., pp. 527 ff.↩
  3. This part of the conversation was reported as follows in the notes cited in footnote 2 above: “The President said actually this is not a case that should be turned over to Japan. It was only under protest that Defense instructed their people to turn him over. Secy. Dulles said no—that there is a provision in the administrative agreement which says that if they cannot agree, and if each side claims jurisdiction, then at the request of the other, one will consider waiving jurisdiction in favor of the other.” (Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, DDE Diaries)↩