Office of the Historian

740.5 MSP/8–952

No. 82
Memorandum by the Under Secretary of State (Bruce) to the Deputy Under Secretary of State (Matthews)1

confidential
Washington, August 9, 1952.

Subject:

  • U.S. Representation at the Schuman Plan High Authority.

I recommend that an agreed MSA–State message be dispatched accepting Ambassador Draper’s proposal for U.S. representation with the High Authority on the basis of the following understanding:

1.
A small mission should be established at the seat of the High Authority reporting directly to Ambassador Draper. The designation of the head of the mission should be postponed until after discussion of the question of eventual U.S. representation with the High Authority. The desirability of naming Mr. William Batt should then be reviewed in the light of the requirements of the position. It may be that Mr. Batt is too high-powered for the job, and his previous connections with SKF should be considered.
2.
Pending the designation of the head of the mission, Mr. William Tomlinson, acting under the responsibility of Ambassador Draper as the Deputy to the eventual head of the mission, should follow Schuman Plan developments, including any Schuman Plan Assembly developments in connection with the creation of a political community in Europe. A small group would be formed of personnel within SRE and the Embassy Paris in order to permit representation with the EDC Interim Committee to continue on its present basis. The Department should reassign Stanley Cleveland to the Embassy Paris to participate in this group, because of his experience, contacts and language proficiency. Cleveland’s later assignment should depend on representational needs on these questions as they develop.
3.
It should be clearly understood that the Department may wish to establish a direct channel of authority (rather than one through SRE) to our representation with the EDC and with the European Political Community after these institutions have been established.

David Bruce
  1. Copies were also sent to Perkins, Riddleberger, Ferguson, Scott, and Martin.↩