53. Editorial Note
Following his return to the Embassy after his conversation with Dulles (see Document 52), Caccia wrote to the Secretary of State that he had found a telegram from Macmillan asking him to inform Dulles of the details of the Prime Minister’s conversation with Adenauer about the de Gaulle proposals. Caccia enclosed a summary of the conversation between the German and British leaders in Bonn on October 8 and 9. Macmillan believed, wrote Caccia, that they should deal with the memorandum without delay because Adenauer was seriously disturbed about it. Macmillan counseled against giving the impression they were rejecting the memorandum out of hand. He recommended the general line should be that the British and U.S. Governments agree [Page 94] that there was a problem but that the proposals made were not necessarily the best ones to solve it and further exploration would be useful. Caccia wrote that Macmillan recommended agreeing to tripartite discussions in Washington which would take place in the near future. A handwritten notation on Caccia’s letter indicates that the Secretary saw the letter.
In an October 15 reply to Macmillan, Dulles thanked him for his report of his conversations with Adenauer and agreed they should press forward with their discussions about the nature and time of their replies to de Gaulle. The Secretary concluded: “I am not optimistic as to the results of any informal tripartite discussions with the French. Nevertheless, I believe that we must go ahead with them, keeping our allies informed.” (Department of State, Presidential Correspondence: Lot 66 D 204)
For Adenauer’s account of his meeting with Macmillan, see Erinnerungen, pages 436–437. For Macmillan’s account of this meeting, see Pointing the Way, pages 452–455.