Office of the Historian

215. Notes of Telephone Conversation Between Acting Secretary of State Bowles and President Kennedy0

Washington, November 1, 1961, 4:25 p.m.

CB said he had a problem with Harriman and would like to get the President’s guidance. Harriman feels he has come to the end of the road with Pushkin. CB said he had two or three or four points which some of our people feel are important. CB said that the normal thing would be to get Harriman right back to consult with JFK. CB said that he had not talked to Harriman but Johnson had;1 Harriman was very emotional about this. He is afraid the Chinese will walk out.

The President asked where the agreement was and CB said it was not really an agreement but a long complicated problem. JFK asked what Ball, Johnson had thought of it. CB said they felt the normal thing was to ask him to come back. But he was so emotional with Alex that it was difficult to do this. CB said he had all the language problems. Harriman finished the agreement yesterday.

The President suggested that CB come over to the White House at 6:00.2

  1. Source: Department of State, S/S Files: Lot 66 D 147, Chester Bowles’ Telephone Conversations. Confidential. Transcribed in Bowles’ office.↩
  2. No record of the U. Alexis Johnson-Harriman telephone conversation has been found.↩
  3. At 6:05 p.m. the President met with Bowles, U. Alexis Johnson, Kenneth Galbraith, and former President Harry Truman. The meeting lasted until 6:47 p.m. (Kennedy Library, President’s Appointment Book)↩