Office of the Historian

33. Letter From the Deputy Representative at the United Nations (Wadsworth) to the Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs (Wilcox)1

New York, August 27, 1956.

Dear Fran: Thanks for your letter of August 20 drawing my attention to the memorandum of conversation between Miss Salt and David Wainhouse. The last time we talked here with the British about enlarging the councils was with [name deleted] on August 1 with the French also present. At that time we agreed that it might well be possible to persuade the Latin Americans not to press their items on enlarging the ICJ and the ILC. We also thought it might in the end be desirable to put off the whole question of Council enlargement until next year. Jim Barco reported this in a letter on August 2 to Niles Bond.2 I think we would be wise to wait for [name deleted] return before we make any new efforts to get the Latins not to press their ILC and ICJ items. [Name deleted] can base his approach on the need for keeping the agenda within manageable limits, and possibly be more effective than the three delegations in such an approach.

As far as enlarging the Security Council is concerned, our position continues to be as Cabot described it in his telegram No. 1085 of June 12.3 So long as the Indians and the Soviets refuse to [Page 115] commit themselves there seems little we can do but retain a flexible position. Cabot’s view on the allocation of seats in the Security Council, with which we all agree, also has the effect of inhibiting us to some degree from coming out “rather firmly” on the Security Council question at this time. Moreover, we have made our general views rather widely known. Now is a good time not to stir up any hornets’ nests.

If the British have any new ideas we would be interested in hearing them. But from here it still looks like the Security Council question will not really be settled until the last minute in the General Assembly and that the wisest course would be to consult [name deleted] again before taking new action on the Court and Commission.

With all best wishes.

Sincerely yours,

James J. Wadsworth4
  1. Source: USUN Files, IO, Councils, Membership. Confidential.↩
  2. Not found.↩
  3. Not printed.↩
  4. Printed from a copy that bears this typed signature.↩