January 24, 1949
MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION WITH PRESIDENT
Regarding Ambassador Douglas, the President told me that he had just seen Ambassador Douglas who had asked the President to accept his resignation which the President had refused to do. He had stated to Mr. Douglas that the President was most anxious for him to remain at his post. They then discussed personal problems which the Ambassador thought required his resigning. The upshot of the matter was that the Ambassador agreed not to resign for at least four or five months. I told the President that I hoped he could stretch this period to almost an equal period and that in all probability questions of Germany, Palestine, ECA and the North Atlantic treaty would be in acutely active stage for many months and it would be a great detriment to have Mr. Douglas leave during this acute stage. The President authorized me to do everything possible to induce Ambassador Douglas to stay as long as possible.
Dean Acheson
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