December 20, 1949
MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT
Item 1. Appointment of Ambassadors to Pakistan and Indonesia And Acting US Representative on UNCOI
The President said that he would sign immediately the papers necessary to appoint Messrs. Warren, Cochran and Dow.
I told him the papers were at the White House. This should be followed up to see that the appropriate officers at the White House give them to the President.
D.A.
S:DA:dhm
December 20, 1949
MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT
Item 2. Japanese Peace Treaty
I gave the President a report on the present status of our studies on the possible Japanese Peace Treaty. He regretted that the matter had been delayed and was assured by me that at the earliest possible moment we would have recommendations for him.
D.A.
S:DA:dhm
December 20, 1949
MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT
Item 3. Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs
The President met and approved the appointment of Mr. Barrett. He asked Mr. Barrett to accept the appointment and Mr. Barrett will let us know as soon as he has had an opportunity to consult his present employer.
D.A.
S:DA:dhm
December 20, 1949
MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT
Item 4. Relationships with Bulgaria and Hungary
I reviewed the developments since the President's departure. He approved the course which we were following in each instance and directed us to continue along those lines.
D.A.
S:DA:dhm
December 20, 1949
MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT
Item 5. US Policy Toward the Far East
I reported to the President the decisions of the various countries so far as we know them regarding recognition of the Chinese Communist regime and reminded him of our own policy which was to make no recommendation to him until the matter had developed further and we had had further consultations with the Congress. He approved this course and was not disturbed at the possible action of other Governments. I informed him that we hoped to have on his return an N.S.C. paper on the Far East and hoped also to have his judgment before the meeting of Congress. I gave him a general outline of our views without asking for any comment from him pending N.S.C. action.
D.A.
S:DA:dhm
December 20, 1949
MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT
Item 6. US Position Regarding Jerusalem
The President approved of what we had done and were doing in this matter and made a note to direct the appropriate officers of his staff to get in touch with the Department and to familiarize themselves with developments in order to be of help.
D.A.
S:DA:dhm
December 20, 1949
MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT
Item 7. British - United States Relationships
I reviewed this somewhat uneasy situation and the President agreed that for some time it would continue in this state. I told him about the difficulty on the bilateral agreement and our hope that this would shortly be cleared up. He approved the idea that the Department should try to supervise all requests made by this Government to the British with a view to getting some idea of priority and proportion into our relationships.
D.A.
S:DA:dhm
December 20, 1949
MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT
Item 9. Mrs. Roosevelt's commendation of UN Delegation and the Department; Jerusalem and Spain
The President mentioned that he had had a conversation with Mrs. Roosevelt who expressed herself as pleased with the operations of the Department and of the Delegation at the United Nations. She had described to him the difficulties regarding Jerusalem and had mentioned Spain.
I said that we were probably going to have trouble regarding Spain in the Congress soon after it met and that we were reviewing our position. The President thought that our position on Spain had been correct and was not in favor of changing it unless and until the Spanish Government took some action upon the fundamental freedoms, particularly the freedom of worship. We agreed that I should discuss the matter with him again in the near future after the Department had finished its study.
D.A.
S:DA:dhm
December 20, 1949
MEETING WITH THE PRESIDENT
General
The President expressed himself as highly pleased with the operations of the Department during his absence and as believing that the Department had never been in a better condition than it is at present.
D.A.
S:DA:dhm
DEPARTMENT OF STATE The Counselor