740.00119 E.W./12–1645: Telegram
The Ambassador in France (Caffery) to the Secretary of State
[Received December 16—3:38 p.m.]
7208. From Angell No. 156. Draft preamble transmitted mytel 14268 and approved in substantially same form by Deptel 97 to Angell,69 unacceptable to certain governments here because it calls upon them to implement terms of an accord to which they were not parties. French have proposed following to meet this difficulty:
“The Government of blank, in order to obtain an equitable distribution among themselves of the total assets which, in accordance with the provisions agreed upon at Potsdam on August 1, 1945, between the Governments of the United States of America, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, are declared to be available as reparation from Germany (hereinafter referred to as German reparation) in order to establish an inter-Allied reparation agency, and to settle an equitable procedure for the restitution of monetary gold, have agreed as follows:”
In view of urgency of agreeing definitely upon Final Act wording, I shall adhere to French text unless I receive objection from Dept by Tuesday morning Paris time. I strongly recommend that French text be approved by Department. [Angell.]