740.5/10–154
The Secretary of State to the President 1
[Dear Mr. President:] Thank you very much for responding so promptly to my suggestion of a message to Winston. I know he will be greatly pleased.
The last twenty-four hours have not marked any great advance. There is substantial agreement with reference to German rearmament and to giving the Brussels Treaty council power to veto increases above the North Atlantic Treaty quotas and the twelve divisions which were contemplated for Germany under EDC. However, little progress has been made in agreeing on how or when German sovereignty shall be restored or how arms production on the continent is to be controlled. The most that can be said is that the talking which must inevitably precede any decision has largely now been completed. I am hopeful that matters can be brought to a conclusion by Saturday night, but this is by no means certain. The atmosphere on the whole continues good under the impact of Eden’s and my Statements of Wednesday.2
Faithfully yours,
- This message was transmitted to the Department of State in telegram Dulte 17, Oct. 1, with instructions that it be sent to the President; a notation on the source text indicates that it was relayed to the Summer White House at 1:15 p.m. on Oct. 1.↩
- This is a reference to the Fourth Plenary meeting of the Nine-Power Conference which took place on Wednesday, Sept. 29; see p. 1311.↩