Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson and President Harry S. Truman, with Attachment

1036 292 343 November 3, 1952. 353 POWER MEMORANDUM OF CONVERSATION WITH THE PRESIDENT I telephoned the President and inquired whether he had received the letter from the Prime Minister of Canada. He said that he had not received it and did not know that any had been sent. I then described the purpose and effect of this letter and read him the document. I said that the purpose of this letter was to cancel the agreement of 1941 in view of the action of the International Joint Commission, thus leaving the Canadians free to proceed with its own development and that thereafter, if any idea of a return to international action was contemplated, a new agreement would have to be negotiated. I reminded the President of his conversations of last April. The President said he understood the Canadian point of view and theught that they were justified in cancelling the agreement. He also understood why they had chosen November 4 and thought that they had a good point in doing it on that day. He asked whether I had any recommendation. I informed him that Mr. Murphy and Ambassador Woodward believed that Mr. St. Laurent should be asked to defer taking the formal action and that undoubtedly this would also be the view of Secretary Chapman. I then read to the President the attached draft letter, which I said was our recommendation. The President said that if we felt strongly that we must ask for this deferral he would agree to do it entirely upon my recommendation. However, he felt strongly that the Canadians had acted with great patience, that they were entitled to take this a ction, and that he wished to do whatever was necessary to enable them to proceed during his term as President. He, therefore, asked me whether I pressed this recommendation upon him. DECLASSIFIED E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and 5(D) or (E) Dept. of State letter, 187676 By NLT- H NARS Date 11-30-16