868.413 Bandholtz/19: Telegram (part air)
The Chargé in Hungary (Stewart) to the Secretary of State
[Received August 10—9:05 a.m.]
31. Department’s cable 10, March 31, 4 p.m. It is becoming increasingly difficult to hold too much aloof without offending Hungarian sensibilities. Several wreaths are to be placed. Therefore, Haven [having?] consulted with Ambassador MacMurray9 passing through here on leave, I offer the suggestion that I be authorized to accompany the deposit of a wreath with some such words as the following:10
“I deem it an honor to deposit a wreath before this statue—a generous tribute from the Hungarian people to a fellow countryman of mine. He came to this country in the aftermath of war and remained to become a cherished friend.”
This development of a suggestion from the Hungarian side would tend to dissociate the whole affair from any implication or reflection upon the Rumanians.