Lot 60–D 224, Box 55: D.O./P.R./34
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Stettinius) to the Secretary of State 64
Subject: Progress Report on Dumbarton Oaks Conversations—Thirty-sixth Day
Ceremonial Opening Session of the Conversations With the Chinese
At 3:00 this afternoon the ceremonial opening session of the Chinese phase of the conversations was held in the large assembly room in the presence of representatives of the press. Secretary Hull, Dr. Wellington Koo, and Sir Alexander Cadogan delivered brief addresses.65 Copies of these addresses were made available to the press and the proceedings were photographed by the newsreel photographers and by the regular press photographers. Additional photographs of the Chinese, British and American groups were taken on the terrace outside the building after which the three groups returned to the assembly hall and were photographed in a simulated working session.
As stated in yesterday’s progress report no further meetings are scheduled until Monday.66 This was done at the request of Dr. Koo [Page 851] who desired to devote the intervening time to a study of the agreed text of the proposals, copies of which were handed to him today.
Copies of Proposed October 9 Statement Given to Dr. Koo
Dr. Koo was also given today the first three paragraphs of the proposed communiqué67 which is to accompany the publication of the agreed proposals. It was explained to Dr. Koo that final agreement on the language of the fourth paragraph of this communiqué has not yet been reached between ourselves and the British and Soviet Governments. We felt it desirable, nevertheless, in order to save time, to hand to Dr. Koo those passages of the proposed communiqué as to which final agreement has already been reached, in the event that he should wish to communicate those passages to Chungking.
- An identical memorandum was submitted to President Roosevelt on the same date. As during the previous phase, Secretary Hull and President Roosevelt were kept informed of the progress of the Conversations by memoranda from the Under Secretary. The Secretary, however, compelled by illness to leave his desk three days after opening the Chinese phase, was no longer available for as full or frequent discussions as theretofore. (Postwar Foreign Policy Preparation, p. 332.)↩
- Department of State Bulletin, October 1, 1944, pp. 342–344.↩
- This last phase of the Conversations lasted but nine days. Rapid progress was possible since the Chinese views had already been taken carefully into account during the Soviet phase and, after the earlier phase had exceeded expected limits, several informal American talks had been held with the Chinese representatives (who had arrived on August 25) on the basis of the American Tentative Proposals and the Chinese “Essential Points”. The American Group as a whole had studied the Chinese views over the past four weeks and considered plans for the coming Conversations with the Chinese. A copy of the Chinese paper which had arrived on August 23 was given to President Roosevelt on August 31. Only a weekend of study of the final text of proposals resulting from the earlier phase was therefore necessary after September 29 before discussion of the Chinese points could begin. (Postwar Foreign Policy Preparation, pp. 328–329.) For text of tentative Chinese proposals, see p. 718.↩
- Annex 2, p. 840.↩