Bundy, McGeorge X-Kelly, Amy
February 2, 1952
Dear Mac:
I am enclosing a copy of a letter from our old friend, Amy Kelly, which I think you would enjoy reading, especially the part about The Pattern of Responsibility.
We will do what we can in the Department about her suggestion.
It has been a great joy to have Bill and Michael with us these last ten days.
With affectionate regards from Alice and me.
Sincerely,
Dean Acheson
Mr. McGeorge Bundy, Winthrop House J-24 Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts
RETIRED FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION 3816 HUNTINGTON STREET, N.W. WASHINGTON 15, D.C.
March 19, 1952
Dear Mr. Secretary,
May I add the gratitude expressed by the President of our Association, the Honorable John Campbell White, the sincere appreciation of all of our members for your thoughtfulness in suggesting our Association as the recipient of part of the royalties from Mr. Bundy's "The Pattern of Responsibility". They will be encouraged when they realize that you are mindfull of the many new problems which face Foreign Service Officers upon retirement.
If it meets with your approval, I would like to bring this to their attention in our monthly mimeographed news sheet, The Bulletin, in the following manner. The first paragraph might be as follows:
"Mr. McGeorge Bundy, the author of 'The Pattern of Responsibility', felt that he had not actually earned all of the royalties because the book was largely a compilation of speeches by the Secretary of State. He decided to contribute some of the royalties to a fund or purpose in honor of the Secretary. He asked Secretary Acheson whether the latter could suggest some appropriate organization, and the Secretary most thoughtfully suggested our Association. The following letters set forth the manner in which this gift has been made and received."
There would follow copies of letters. First would be Mr. Bundy's letter of February 18 to Mr. White, followed by Mr. White's reply of February 27th, and finally Mr. White's letter to you dated February 28th. Copies of these three letters are enclosed. Mr. Ketcham, our attorney, has told me by telephone that he sees no legal reason for not making the announcement in this manner.
Sincerely,
George Gregg Fuller Executive Director
The Honorable The Secretary of State Washington, D.C.
MC GEORGE BUNDY WINTHROP HOUSE J-24 HARVARD UNIVERSITY CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
February 18, 1952
Dear Mr. White:
Thank you for your letter of February 15. I am delighted to hear that the plans for the incorporation of the Association are so far advanced, and accordingly I have sent to Mr. Fuller a check for $500, as a contribution in honor of Secretary Acheson, to be used for such charitable purposes as the Association determines. It is my hope that additional sales of "The Pattern of Responsibility" may produce additional royalties in the future, so that it may be possible at a later date for me to add to this contribution in honor of the Secretary. It gives me great pleasure to have this small part in the work of the Association, but I know you will understand that if any thanks are due, it is to the Secretary that they should be given, since I make this contribution at his suggestion, and am able to make it because of my earnings on a book which is centrally a book of his work.
Sincerely yours
(signed) McGeorge Bundy
February 27, 1952
Mr. McGeorge Bundy Harvard University Cambridge, Mass.
Dear Mr. Bundy:
On behalf of the Retired Foreign Service Officers Association, I wish to extend to you heartfelt thanks for your letter of February 15th, and for the very handsome check of $500, which you were so generous to contribute in honor of Secretary Acheson, for such charitable purposes as the Association may determine.
Considering your very frank & fair preface and the importance of the material which you have collected, I do not doubt that your book will have a wide circulation all over the world. Meantime, our association will endeavor to distribute the proceeds of your check, where they may best serve your objective: and I will also not fail to express to the former our appreciation for the "Pattern of" his "responsibility" in connection with this gift.
With renewed thanks,
Sincerely yours
(signed) J.C. White President
RETIRED FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION February 26th, 1952
Dear Mr. Secretary:-
Mr. McGeorge Bundy has sent to the Retired Foreign Service Officers Association, a check for $500, as a "contribution in honor of Secretary Acheson, to be used for such charitable purposes as the Association determines". Mr. Bundy further indicates that this gift is derived from the present proceeds of the sale of "The Pattern of Responsibility."
This generous contribution will be interpreted, and long and gratefully remembered, by the Foreign Service, active and retired, as a mark of sympathy for co-workers, who, with advancing years, have fallen upon hard times: and I wish to convey to you the warm thanks of the Retired F.S.O.A. Association for this opportunity to give effect to your most kind purpose.
Sincerely yours
(signed) J.C. White President
The Hon. the Secretary of State Washington D.C.
Bundy, McGeorge
March 7, 1952
Dear Mac:
Thank you very much for your letter.
I doubt that last Friday's speech gives you the play-by-play description of London and Lisbon that you suggest. We will have some of that when we see each other again. If I was as subtle a chess player as you suggest, I am afraid it was more accidental than deliberate. The move in '50 was made, perhaps in haste, but from urgent necessity and with quite direct purpose.
The news you give me about the check which went to the Retired Foreign Service Officers Association is very fine. I know that they are delighted to have this substantial windfall. I wish for your own sake that it were a good deal larger, but I hope that the royalties will continue to come in and will grow. I agree that there should not be much publicity and I am quite willing to leave it with you to work out what should be said. Please don't let them burden you, though. If the business goes on much longer and gets complicated and difficult, let me know, and I will see what we can do to end it up.
Sincerely,
Dean Acheson
McGeorge Bundy, Esquire Winthrop House J-24 Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts
S:BEvans:mlm
McGEORGE BUNDY WINTHROP HOUSE J-24 HARVARD UNIVERSITY CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
February 26, 1952
Dear Mr. Secretary:
Three Cheers for Lisbon! There is no ninth inning in this game, so far as I can see, but certainly this was a home run with the bases loaded and two out. I suppose it is the greed of the professional student, but I hope you will feel free to give a play by play of the inning a fairly early report-- because it seems to me, from the public results, that it may be a classic of diplomacy. As one of those who has criticized the original move toward incorporating Germany, in September '50, I should be particularly interested to know whether in your view that move was like a gambit in chess--lose a pawn and set the stage for Lisbon--but I have the metaphors mixed-up enough and had better stop--Three Cheers Again!
I have got things cleared away for the contribution to the Retired Foreign Service Officers Association and have mailed them a check for $500, representing about 1/2 of the net earnings after expenses and taxes to date. They seem very pleased, and I think you made just the right choice. They now want to give the whole business a lot of publicity, and I can see why, but I'm afraid I don't feel keen about any more than is necessary to help them get rolling; I never felt that I wholly understood or liked the arrangement by which we were told to let our light so shine before men just before the plate was passed. I have told them to ask you how much you mind having your part mentioned, and if you have no objection, I'll supervise a short and careful statement of some sort, to the effect that the contribution is made in your honor out of royalties earned on a book of your public papers, and that I sought and followed your advice in choosing a suitable recipient for such a contribution.
I think the Times did Michael more justice that it did the other two of you, but the ensemble was terrific.
As ever
Mac
George Fuller 3810 Huntington
McGEORGE BUNDY WINTHROP HOUSE J-24 HARVARD UNIVERSITY CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS
February 18, 1952
Dear Mr. White:
Thank you for your letter of February 15. I am delighted to hear that the plans for the incorporation of the Association are so far advanced, and accordingly I have sent to Mr. Fuller a check for $500, as a contribution in honor of Secretary Acheson, to be used for such charitable purposes as the Association determined. It is my hope that additional sales of "The Pattern of Responsibility" may produce additional royalties in the future, so that it may be possible at a later date for me to add to this contribution in honor of the Secretary. It gives me great pleasure to have this small part in the work of the Association, but I know you will understand that if any thanks are due, it is to the Secretary that they should be given, since I make this contribution at his suggestion, and am able to make it because of my earnings on a book which is centrally a book of his work.
Sincerely yours
(Signed) McGeorge Bundy
February 27, 1952
Mr. McGeorge Bundy Harvard University Cambridge, Mass.
Dear Mr. Bundy:
On behalf of the Retired Foreign Service Officers Association, I wish to extend to you heartfelt thanks for your letter of February 15th, and for the very handsome check of $500, which you were so generous as to contribute in honor of Secretary Acheson, for such charitable purposes as the Association may determine.
Considering your very frank and fair preface and the importance of the material which you have collected, I do not doubt that your book will have a wide circulation all over the world. Meantime, our Association will endeavor to distribute the proceeds of your check, where they may best serve your objective; and I will also not fail to express to the former our appreciation for the "Pattern of" his "responsibility" in connection with this gift.
With renewed thanks,
Sincerely yours
(signed) J.C. White President
RETIRED FOREIGN SERVICE OFFICERS ASSOCIATION
February 26th, 1952
Dear Mr. Secretary:
Mr. McGeorge Bundy has sent to the Retired Foreign Service Officers Association, a check for $500, as "a contribution in honor of Secretary Acheson, to be used for such charitable purposes as the Association determines". Mr. Bundy further indicates that this gift is derived from the present proceeds of the sale of "The Pattern of Responsibility".
This generous contribution will be interpreted, and long and gratefully remembered, by the Foreign Service, active and retired, as a mark of sympathy for co-workers, who, with advancing years, have fallen upon hard times; and I wish to convey to you the warm thanks of the Retired FSO Association for this opportunity to give effect to your most kind purpose.
Sincerely yours,
(signed) J.C. White
President
The Hon. The Secretary of State Washington, D.C.
DEPARTMENT OF STATE ASSISTANT SECRETARY
March 20, 1951
MEMORANDUM
TO: S - Miss Barbara Evans
FROM: P - Howland H. Sargeant
SUBJECT: Visit of George Fuller, Retired FSO Assn.
I have talked with Mr. George Fuller about his proposal to publish in his monthly mimeographed news sheet, the bulletin of the Retired Foreign Service Offices Association, which goes to about 400 people, the exchange of correspondence with Mr. McGeorge Bundy. I don't see myself that there is any major difficulty involved but I have suggested two changes in the letters, which Mr. Fuller has been glad to make. You will see that they have been stricken out in the letters of Mr. White to Mr. Bundy of February 27.
I suggested these changed to avoid either a) the slightest implication that the Secretary had any financial interest in the book or, b) that the Secretary was somehow involved in abetting a proposal to establish a tribute and memorial to himself. I think with these two minor deletions there is no reason we should not let Mr. Fuller go ahead and publish the exchange in his next bulletin. If you think the Secretary should personally look at the exchange, would you be kind enough to run over the material with him?
Mr. Fuller would be most appreciative if we could let him know before the close of business on Friday, March 21, whether it is all right to publish the material.
Att: Letter from Mr. Fuller to the Secretary, 3-19-52 Copy of letter from Mr. Bundy to Mr. White, 2-18-52 Copy of letter from Mr. White to Mr. Bundy, 2-27-52 Copy of letter from Mr. White to the Secretary, 2-26-52
P:HHS:LL
Bundy, McGeorge
January 5, 1952
Dear Mac:
I should be delighted to see you when you are here and would try to work it in on the eleventh and suggest that we lunch together at about one o'clock, either at the office or at home. If you find that it is more convenient to come down at the later time you suggest, I could see you during that period just as well.
On the other question you ask about the beneficiary, it is a very generous and fine idea, although I think that you would be perfectly justified in taking all that is coming to you in the way of profits. I am under the impression that there is one fund at least for the benefit of Foreign Service Officers, and I believe there is a scholarship fund for Foreign Service Officer's children. I am asking for advice as to just what the possibilities are and I shall probably talk about it when I see you.
With warmest regards.
Sincerely yours,
Dean Acheson
McGeorge Bundy, Esquire Winthrop House J-24 Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts
S:BEvans:mlm
[Handwritten]
McGeorge Bundy
Dear Mac,
I have just closed "The Pattern of Responsibility" with gratitude that you should have undertaken it and with admiration of the skill and penetration with which you executed it. You have done--I think, by what you have added- -what I should have thought impossible. That is to show the structure of decision and policy from the statement of it, which one in my position has to make, usually under pressure and responding to the accident of occasion. The statement is like that one-tenth of the iceberg which is above water.
The difficult part of this job or any other, is decision--the choice between undesirables. I remember very well a favorite, and impatient, remark of General Marshall's to those who said "on the one hand" and "on the other." "Don't fight the question, decide it." That is the hard thing, because it means not only deciding the question, but finding out what the question is.
You have seen all this and brought it out very clearly--you have also brought out what so few see--that no matter how much thought has been
given to emerging problems, the actual decisions are made, not as one shoots clay pigeons, but as one shoots quail. One has a plan and a purpose but every covey rise is different. And one soon learns that the pointing dog is merely a warning. The flash of the covey always comes as a surprise and one must pick the target, out of many, and hit it, or miss it, on the wing.
It has been an exciting experience to read "The Pattern." One says "Gosh, he understands. He is a fellow craftsman who can judge the work, the errors and accomplishments, against the purpose and the problems." And one knows again the token other wounds are not in vain.
For the preface, and especially the reference to Mary, Bill and Michael no words are adequate.
Most Sincerely
Bundy, McGeorge
March 21, 1952
Dear Mac:
I am enclosing the exchange of letters which the Retired Foreign Service Officers Association would like to print in their bulletin. This bulletin is a mimeographed sheet and goes to four hundred members of the Association. I think it is perfectly all right to let them publish the material but I understand you have some doubts about it and want to be sure you are willing to have this material published in the form it will be. I don't think that it will get any wide distribution or notice.
With warm regards.
Sincerely yours,
Dean Acheson
Enclosures.
Mr. McGeorge Bundy Winthrop House J-24 Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts
S:BEvans:mlm
They propose to introduce the correspondence with the following paragraph:
"Mr. McGeorge Bundy, the author of 'The Pattern or Responsibility', felt that he had not actually earned all of the royalties because the book was largely a compilation of speeches by the Secretary of State. He decided to contribute some of the royalties to a fund or purpose in honor of the Secretary. He asked Secretary Acheson whether the latter could suggest some appropriate organization, and the Secretary most thoughtfully suggested our Association. The following letters set forth the manner in which this gift has been made and received."