355. Memorandum of a Telephone Conversation Between Guerin Todd, Assistant General Counsel, Department of the Army, and George Vest, Office of British Commonwealth and Northern European Affairs, Washington, August 28, 19561

SUBJECT

  • St. Lawrence–Cornwall Channels

Mr. Guerin Todd telephoned today with the following report: Secretary Brucker telephoned Ambassador Merchant in Ottawa this afternoon and told him that the problem of Cornwall Channels had become increasingly political here in the United States and therefore, he was having all legal aspects of the subject examined in detail by Lee Rankin in the Department of Justice and would probably discuss it with Attorney General Brownell. Mr. Brucker asked Ambassador Merchant to invite Canadian Transport Minister Marler to come to Washington with his advisors on September 13 to attempt to resolve the problems. Either Mr. Rankin or Mr. Brownell would join the discussions and he hoped Ambassador Merchant would be able to be present. He suggested that the chief American interested parties should get together on September 12 to iron out an American position to be discussed with the Canadians the next day. This group, according to Mr. Todd, was intended to be Messrs. Brucker, Merchant, Brownell or Rankin, and Castle.2

  1. Source: Department of State, Central Files, 611.42321–SL/8–2856. Confidential.
  2. No record of an American group meeting has been found. Brucker, Merchant, Marler, and Heeney did meet on September 13; see infra.