Foreign Relations of the United States, 1958–1960, Volume V, Microfiche Supplement, American Republics

PM–55. Memorandum of Conversation, by the President’s Staff Secretary (Goodpaster)¹

Washington, September 14, 1960

MEMORANDUM OF CONFERENCE WITH THE PRESIDENT September 12, 1960

Others present: Secretary Herter, General Goodpaster

[Here follows a discussion of the President’s address which he was to deliver on Sept. 22, 1960, to the 15th General Assembly of the United Nations; a report about Under Secretary of State Dillon’s activities in Bogotá at the third meeting of the Special Committee of the Council of the Organization of American States to study the formulation of new measures of economic development; a further consideration of other matters pertaining to the arrival of certain chiefs of state and heads of government in New York for the 15th General Assembly of the United Nations; and a report on the situation in the Congo and measures that the United States should undertake at the United Nations in connection with the crisis.]

Mr. Herter next brought up the question of the Panamanian flag. He referred to the message which Ambassador Farland had sent,² and also said he had received a letter from Chester Bowles³ regarding the possibility of trouble on October 3rd. The President had read the message from Ambassador Farland. He asked Mr. Herter to get in touch with Secretary Brucker and tell him that although the President had agreed on the solution of flying the Panamanian flag on selected holidays, he had not thought it was really the right one. He now felt that the decision should be taken to fly the flag all the time. He said he thought we should just do this and not announce it in advance or tell anybody about it. Mr. Herter said he had planned to have the Panamanians told two hours or so in advance, and would suggest having the flag put up on about September 29th. The President asked for my reaction. I told him that I thought flying the flag was appropriate evidence of “titular” sovereignty; that if it is flown it should be flown constantly, and not as an “act of grace” on ceremonial occasions; that the decision should be taken to do this, that it should be done soon, preferably within a matter of a few days and certainly in no more than a week since word of the decision would inevitably leak out of the departments concerned, that there should be no advance announcement. Mr. Herter said one of the problems is the legislative bar against defense funds to put up a flag pole. Mr. Herter suggested the cost could be met out of the President’s Special Projects Fund. I told the President I was not sure this would be an appropriate source of funds, but that there seemed to be no doubt that funds could be found somewhere to pay these costs. After discussion the President agreed that Governor Brucker should be told to put up the poles (or modify existing poles) and then look for the funds.

[Here follows a discussion of whether the President should attend the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Paris in December.]

A.J. Goodpaster⁴
Brigadier General, USA

1. Source: Eisenhower Library, Whitman File, Eisenhower Diaries. Secret.
2. See Document PM–53, footnote 3.
3. Not found.
4. Goodpaster initialled the source text.