Lot 54D423
Memorandum by the Deputy Director of the Office of Philippine and Southeast Asian Affairs (Melby) to the Deputy to the Consultant (Allison)
In a conversation a couple of days ago with General Romulo the question of Japanese reparations came up. He said he believed the United States could do anything it pleased in the Japanese peace treaty and it would be acceptable to the Philippines except on the question of reparations. Concerning this problem, he said he was quite prepared to accept the view, as he thought all Filipinos would also, that reparations could not be paid now. He said he thought the essential point would be for Japan to acknowledge publicly in the treaty its responsibility and liability for reparations and an undertaking to pay in the future, be that future one, two or three generations hence. The important point would be public acknowledgment of the principle. Although he did not say so in so many words, Romulo certainly implied that how much would actually be received, or even if nothing, [Page 929] would really not be too important and could be a problem to worry about later on.