Paris Peace Conf. 184/65
Memorandum for the President
The Commissioners Plenipotentiary today adopted the following resolution:
The American Peace Commission should do whatever is necessary to make it clearly understood by everyone that, now that the war is finished and until it should be resumed (which God forbid), this Commission is the highest and most important governmental agency of the United States now in Europe:
It is therefore recommended that the Secretary of the Commission be given a title which will place him on the same plane of dignity as in the case of the British Commission.
The officer of the British Commission holding the position corresponding to that of the Secretary of the American Commission has been given the title of “Superintending Ambassador”. It would not seem appropriate to give the Secretary of the American Commission this title, as there would be some question as to whether he would not then rank equally with the Commissioners. It is therefore proposed that he be given the title of “Supervising Director with Ministerial Rank.”
It is also recommended that the two Assistant Secretaries of the Commission be made Secretaries with the rank of Counselors of Embassy, in order that they may be in a position to deal on equal terms with their colleagues on the other peace commissions.
A telegram42 has been sent to Washington to have three new commissions, bearing the seal of the United States, sent out by mail to be filled in in accordance with the foregoing recommendations, if approved by the President; but in order that there may be no delay in establishing the rank of these three officials, and in order that [Page 188] they may be correctly announced to the Office of Protocol in the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it is suggested that the President provisionally authorize the adoption of the titles suggested above.
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