209. Message From the Embassy in Germany to the White House1
Mr. Fowler and group are here, including Amb Lodge.
Fowler speaking.
Met with Chancellor Kiesinger, Minister Schiller, Min Strauss and State Secretary Carstens and Vice Chancellor Brandt at around ten. Conference [Page 579] lasted hour and ten minutes. Kiesinger learning of the subject comments requested that others join us since they had been conferring on the same subject together and with Pres Blessing for preceding three to four hours. I opened by saying that the President wished me to deliver in his name a message to the Chancellor and thereafter quoted the message verbatim2 adding some personal comments on the following points:
- 1.
- While we had departed from Wash DC last Friday feeling that a period of calm was desirable for all concerned events had overtaken the situation and it was not clear that we were facing a crisis which required a multilateral consideration and decision if the monetary system was to be preserved. I stated whereas a week or even a few days ago we had been neutral on the desirability of a German revaluation, at this time although feeling that it would fundamentally help the system over the long term we had now concluded that a German move was an indispensable part of a combination necessary to maintain the system.
- 2.
- That we were unequivocally opposed to any unilateral French action because it was not justified on the economics and would lead to a movement by the pound probably to float which would disrupt the system entirely. I stated that the U.S. was not in a mood or position to accept any further disadvantages unilaterally arrived at and that we would resist any such French action and urge that a multilateral approach to apply both carrots and sticks to bring about a rational result was the only course open. In particular I stated that the acceptance of a French unilateral move would drive us into a two world system and would be particularly dangerous at a time when a new administration was preparing to take over.
- Source: Johnson Library, National Security File, Subject File, Monetary Crisis, November 1968, Cables and Memos, Vol. 1 [2 of 2], Box 22. No classification marking. Handwritten on the source text is “Telecon #1,” although it appears to be a one-way telephonic message (without other transmission information). The source text bears no date or time of transmission, but the date and time of receipt in the White House Situation Room were November 18, 5:58 p.m. A summary of the rest of this conversation was transmitted in “Telecon 2” from Bonn to the White House, November 18. (Ibid.) A summary of a follow-on meeting between these U.S. and German representatives on November 19 was transmitted in “Bonn Telecon 13” to the White House, November 19. (Ibid.)↩
- See Document 208.↩