501.BB Palestine/2–1948
Memorandum by the Secretary of State to the Under Secretary of State (Lovett)
In my conversation with the President today I followed the understanding you and I had this morning.1
The President assured me whatever course we considered the right one we could disregard all political factors. I told him that Sunday night,2 but more probably sometime Monday morning, we would send to his ship the proposed statement for Austin. He said he would be in St. Croix3 getting there about 5 in the morning, but not going ashore until 9 or 10; that he would give instructions that whenever a message came in it be delivered to him immediately wherever he was; that the arrangement I suggested was most satisfactory. I gave him no idea of what our solution might be but I did tell him of the careful approach you were making toward the reaching of a conclusion, particularly as to the San Francisco and Senate discussions and also the consultations with men of some international legal understanding.4
- The editors have found no record of the nature of this understanding in the Department of State files.↩
- February 22.↩
- President Truman departed from Washington on February 20 for a trip to the Caribbean and vacation in Florida. The Presidential yacht Williamsburg was waiting for the President in San Juan, Puerto Rico when he arrived there by air on February 21. He visited St. Thomas on February 22 and St. Croix on February 23.↩
- These allusions were not identifiable by the editors.↩