822. Letter 58 from Johnson to Clough1
Well, another meeting went off just about as expected. I decided not to follow up more at today’s meeting on renunciation but save it for the next meeting. Of course, the result will be that he will more flatly refuse to discuss it, but nevertheless think that I can write a pretty good speech on it tieing back to what he said today. The same on implementation. He went further today than he has for a long time in taking the position that the agreed announcement did not apply to prisoners until they were released, and I can renew the attack next time on that. As always, any new ideas any of you may have will be welcomed.
He must be reading your mail to me. Frankly, I was going to disregard your suggestion for the next meeting on the 12th. As there did not seem too much new that would require attention from you and Walter, I thought it best to retain the four-week pattern, and I had personal plans involving my children and saving money on getting them back to the States that made it much better for me to meet on the 5th. I suggested the fifth, and he came back with the 12th, to which I, of course, agreed. Thus, once again I have been able to carry out the Department’s thought on extending the period between meetings with the record of the meetings showing that the initiative has always come from him.
The sending of the material to me is working out fine and I have no further suggestions. As you will see from a separate despatch I am sending in, the Consulate here received a fearsome bawling-out from Communications on my having sent in the record of the last meeting in telegraph form, and I am, therefore, sending this one in by despatch form. If you do not get fast enough service on it at your [Facsimile Page 2] end, I leave it to you to fight it out with Communications and tell me how to handle it.
I am not surprised at Mrs. Fecteau’s reaction to the possibility of travel of correspondents. From my talk with her I am certain that you will be receiving the same thing from Mrs. Downey and it seems to me that if the correspondents’ travel goes through it is going to be most difficult to resist the appeals of these two.
If Dexter is not going to arrive until January I presume that you will do the necessary with the Army to make sure that Ekvall can stay here until the January meeting.
[Typeset Page 1408]Thus the third year has begun. Regards to all.
Sincerely yours,
Enclosure:
1 copy of letter No. 57
- Source: Department of State, Geneva Talks Files, Lot 72D415. Secret; Official–Informal. Johnson signed the original “Alex.” The enclosure is printed as Document 814.↩