Foreign Relations of the United States, 1951, Korea and China, Volume VII, Part 2

Secretary’s Memoranda: Lot 53 D 444

Memorandum of Conversation With the President, by the Secretary of State

confidential

[Washington,] May 21, 1951.

Mr. Rusk’s Speech

I went over with the President the speech made last Friday by Assistant Secretary Rusk, pointing out to him in detail that Mr. Rusk had not suggested or in any way made any change in policy, but had merely repeated what had been said by both the President and me many times in the past. The attention given to this speech and the implications sought to be drawn from it were the product of the present investigation on the Hill.

We agreed that Mr. McDermott¹ would handle the matter informally with the press here² and that the President and I would merely say that we had nothing to add to what had already been said.

1. Michael J. McDermott, Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Press Relations.
2. For the text of a statement made by McDermott on May 21, see the Department of State Bulletin, May 28, 1951, p. 848.