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    "localId": "183390988",
    "label": "Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Governor Thomas Dewey, and Philip Jessup",
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    "title": "Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Governor Thomas Dewey, and Philip Jessup",
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        "Dean Acheson Papers",
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{
    "seq": 2,
    "pageIndex": 0,
    "type": "photo",
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    "ocrText": "num\nARCHIVES S. \"NATIONAL RECORDS AMD\nSERVICE*\n- 2 -\nGovernor Dewey stated that in the past he thought we had used in China\npeople who were not familiar with oriental psychology and that it would be\ndesirable to utilize Chinese like Jimmy Lee. He also suggested that we should\nwork with T. V. Soong and that Soong might be induced to persuade the General-\nissimo to fade out of the picture. As an alternative, he proposed that we\nmight have Henry Luce travel \"quietly\" to China to use his influence with\nthe Generalissimo. The general objective would be to have Chiang Kai-Shek\nretire into exile from China but not to the United States or to France. The\nGovernor stated that he was in agreement with the general outline of the\npresent situation which I had made and recognized that we would not be in a\nposition to take public action which would quiet the opposition. He said,\nfor his part, he did not intend to agitate the subject and that his speech\nthis spring was the last he would say about it.\nGovernor Dewey also asked about the situation in Formosa and I explained\nto him the very unsatisfactory state of affairs there which was again largely\ndue to the personal controls exercised by the Generalissimo. The Governor\nexpressed the hope that Formosa would not also be lost.\nGovernor Dewey then commented on the general situation throughout the\nrest of Asia and the need for strengthening anti-communist elements there.\nHe said that some time ago we had lost our position in the world of moral\nleadership which had accompanied our championing of freedom and the underdog.\nHe felt that our very recent policy had started a ma jor reversal of the\ntrend of the past few years and expressed entire agreement with the policy\nof championing nationalism as the approach to capturing the imagination of\nthe Asiatic peoples in the face of communist propaganda. He inquired whether\nI had discussed the situation in Indochina with Mr. Schuman and I told him\nthat I had. He said that he expected to see Schuman and would be glad to\ntry to persuade him along any lines I felt necessary. I told him that\nSchuman himself did not need persuading but did need reinforcement of the\narguments which he would have to make to his own people in Paris. The chief\npoints were that the French Parliament must ratify the March 8th agreements\nwith Bao Dai, transfer the handling of Indochinese affairs from the Colonial\nOffice to the Foreign Office, and allow the Bao Dai Government more freedom\nand authority in the conduct of foreign affairs. All of this, I pointed out,\nwas necessary as a prelude to recognition by the siatic governments which\nought to precede any recognition by the United States or the other Western\nPowers. Governor Dewey expressed full agreement with this line of thought.\nWhile somewhat critical of our \"harsh\" attitude toward the Dutch in Indo-\nnesia, the Governor said that he had been able to exercise a calming\ninfluence upon them when he had discussed the matter with then on his visit\nto Europe last summer.\nGovernor Dewey inquired whether the Republican members of the Senate\nand House understood the basic problems involved in our Far Eastern policy.\nI told him that some did and some did not. I said that I had had a number\nof talks with Senator Vandenberg and believed he understood it fully, but\nthat I was"
}