740.00119 PW/6–3047
Memorandum of Conversation, by the Secretary of State
| Participants: | Lord Inverchapel, British Ambassador |
| The Secretary of State | |
| Mr. Matthews11 |
Lord Inverchapel called on me this morning at his request to say goodbye. He is returning to England for a two-months’ vacation which he hoped would give him the opportunity to catch up on conditions and thought in England.
[The first part of this conversation dealt with the Marshall Plan. For documentation on the Marshall Plan, see volume III.]
Japanese Whaling
I said that I had wished to speak to him last week on the subject of whales but I had since learned that Mr. Clayton12 had taken up the matter in London and hence would not bother him. I did want him to know, however, how I felt about the question. I presumed that his Government was largely just backing up Australia, but we did feel that at a time when we were being asked to put up considerable sums of money for aid to Europe to be asked to add to our costs of occupation in Japan was not sound. The question of Japanese whaling might not be so important in itself but I wanted him to know that we did feel strongly about the principle involved and that serious efforts should be made to assist the economic reconstruction of Japan. The [Page 410] Ambassador said he was glad to hear that Mr. Clayton had already taken up this question and that he consequently would not do so on his arrival home.
Japanese Reparations
He said he also had a different type of “wail” to talk about, namely, the question of Japanese reparations. He handed over the attached memorandum.13 His only comment was that his Government felt that the Chinese had done pretty well in the way of reparations through the holding of Japanese external assets and that his Government should receive a relatively higher share of Japanese reparations. Specifically, he said his Government had felt entitled to some 20% and had been awarded 8%. I remarked that judging by the experience of the Soviets with German reparations in the form of industrial plants, I thought their value was somewhat illusory.
I wished the Ambassador a pleasant vacation. He said he expected to return about the first of September.