868.00/4–3047: Telegram
The Ambassador in Greece (MacVeagh) to the Secretary of State
606. Prime Minister called on me this morning and after hearing my views of United States Congressional and Departmental thinking re aid to Greece maintained that recruiting for replacement of older classes of Greek army may be unavoidable but agreed that further talk of increasing army’s numerical strength at this time would be unwise (Embassy’s telegram 599, April 291). I have therefore some hope that present unseasonable meeting of this latter idea by Tsaldaris and others may shortly cease.
[Page 159]In addition Prime Minister received most favorably my suggestion that Greek Government might usefully declare new amnesty on broad lines and invite UN to send observers to satisfy world opinion as to its implementation. In this connection he added that such observers should be “neutral”, i.e. neither Anglo-Saxon nor Russian. He complained of lack of publicity given his Government’s amnesty efforts hitherto but I pointed out that invitation to UN would be certain both to attract publicity and to put Greek Government on good wicket internationally. He himself gave full assent to idea that UN would be performing legitimate function and agreed that to have recourse to that organization within the present limited range of its possibilities is the duty of member states who wish to see it strengthened. The Department will have noted Ethridge’s views (section 3 of his No. 48, Geneva, April 282) with which I agree in the main.
We also discussed delayed setting up of Foreign Trade Administration (Embassy’s telegram 579, April 25) and Prime Minister stated his Government’s readiness to proceed with this in advance of arrival of our mission if we insist and will furnish an acceptable replacement for Maben. In this connection perhaps it would be preferable for us to suggest several candidates in order to preserve to Greek Government some responsibility for choice of own employee.