163. Memorandum From the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (Wilcox) to the Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Congressional Affairs (Kirlin)1
SUBJECT
- Congressional reaction to UN membership proposal
Late Sunday morning the Secretary cabled that we should proceed to release quickly our position on the question of admitting new members to the United Nations. As a result of this wire, Ambassador Lodge announced that he would hold a press conference at 4:30 pm. In the circumstances we felt it necessary to call Congressional leaders in order to let them know what our plans were and to give them background information on the problem.
As a result of my conversations with eleven members of the Congress, it appears that ten were in favor of our proposal and that only one, Congressman Vorys of Ohio,2 had strong reservations. Most of them opposed the admission of Outer Mongolia (if that could be done without destroying the package deal) and nearly all of them expressed the hope that the admission of new members would not jeopardize our policy with respect to the seating of Communist China.
In brief, the reaction of the members contacted was as follows:
[Page 362]Speaker Rayburn3
Mr. Rayburn said that if the Secretary thinks it is necessary to take this step, then he would go along with it.
Mr. Martin–(Massachusetts)
Ambassador Lodge agreed to call Mr. Martin after his press conference on Sunday. I do not have the results of that conversation.
Mr. Richards–(South Carolina)4
Mr. Richards stated that while he did not like the satellites he would go along with the idea on the ground that it would help us more than it would hurt us; that it would in general improve the UN. He recalled the pressure that existed in New York when he was on the delegation and said he thought we would probably have to do something like this.
Mr. Vorys–(Ohio)
Mr. Vorys commented that he had been willing for some time to accept the principle of universality in the UN. On the other hand he did not like Outer Mongolia and he was not sure that this was a good bargain from our point of view. He said that on further reflection he might reconsider but his attitude was somewhat unfavorable.
Mr. Chiperfield–(Illinois)5
I tried to reach him at his home in Canton but he was not available.
Senator Knowland–(California)
Mr. Hoover called Senator Knowland6 and reported to me that the Senator would go along with the idea but that he raised two questions. He asked whether we would abstain in principle in the Security Council or whether our abstention would be just for this particular package deal. In other words, he did not wish to give away our veto in the future when we might want to keep out certain undesirable states. He also raised the question of South Korea and said that he hoped some statement would be made about our concern over that divided country.
[Page 363]Senator George–(Georgia)7
Senator George believed that on balance it was a wise thing to do. He underlined the fact that we should not leave the impression that this would pave the way for the seating of Communist China and he pointed out that he did not like Outer Mongolia, but he realized that the pressure of public opinion was such that our change in policy seemed justifiable.
Senator Wiley–(Wisconsin)8
Senator Wiley understood the problem quite well since he had handled the membership problem when he attended the General Assembly three years ago. He has not been in favor of admitting the satellite states but supposed that the situation had developed to the point where it might now be the least objectionable of the two courses open to us. He indicated that he would go along with the idea if the Secretary felt it desirable.
Senator Hickenlooper–(Iowa)
Senator Hickenlooper said that he would be greatly swayed by the Secretary’s judgment in this matter. He thought on balance that we would get more out of it than we would lose although he hated to see the satellite states come into the UN. He expressed some concern over the German situation although he realized that a divided country constituted a separate problem. He said that he would be glad to go along with the idea which he characterized as “on the plus rather than the minus side”.
Senator Green–(Rhode Island)9
I called Senator Green and left a message for him but he was not available.
Senator Smith–(New Jersey)10
Senator Smith stated that he had wondered for some time whether our policy with respect to UN membership was sound and he believed that on the whole our change was the proper thing to do. As in the case of most members, he wanted to make clear his opposition to the seating of Communist China. He also recalled his experience at the General Assembly last year and recognized the fact that it would not be possible for us to withstand the pressure of public opinion in this regard much longer.
[Page 364]Senator Humphrey–(Minnesota)
Senator Humphrey stated that on balance the proposal seemed to be a reasonable one. He believed that the U.S. is on the spot for keeping out the countries that now seek admission and that the U.S. should not be a road-block in this respect. He pointed out that basically he favored the idea of universality and that this would be a step in that direction.
Senator Mansfield–(Montana)
Senator Mansfield generally favored the idea and said that he would be glad to comment favorably on it to the press if that would be helpful. He thought it would increase the voting strength on our side in the General Assembly and that the admission of these states would be something of a counterpoise to the Afro-Asian bloc.
Senator Aiken–(Vermont)11
Senator Aiken believed it was a desirable step for us to take because of all of the nations which have desired admission. He felt it would be unwise for us to continue to prevent their admission even though that would result in letting in some undesirables.
Senators Sparkman and Fulbright12 were not available.
I also spoke with Boyd Crawford13 about this matter and he remarked that it made a lot of sense to him. I also know that Carl Marcy14 is generally in favor of some development of this kind.
A number of the Senators expressed appreciation to me for calling them about the matter. In the circumstances it was probably worth the time and effort.
- Source: Department of State, IO Files: Lot 60 D 113, Congressional Letters, 1955.↩
- John M. Vorys, Republican.↩
- Sam Rayburn (D-Texas).↩
- James P. Richards, Democrat.↩
- Robert B. Chiperfield, Republican.↩
- A copy of the memorandum of this telephone conversation is in Department of State, IO Files: Lot 60 D 113, Congressional Letters, 1955.↩
- Walter George, Democrat.↩
- Alexander Wiley, Republican.↩
- Theodore Francis Green, Democrat.↩
- H. Alexander Smith, Republican.↩
- George D. Aiken, Republican.↩
- John Sparkman (D-Alabama) was a Vice Presidential candidate in 1952. J. William Fulbright (D-Arkansas).↩
- Staff administrator and committee clerk of the House Foreign Affairs Committee.↩
- Consultant to the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.↩