Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Senator Theodore F. Green, Senator Homer Ferguson, George C. McGhee, Livingston Merchant, and Others

SECRET SECRET COPY s/s DEPARTMENT OF STATE 57 4943 Memorandum of Conversation M.A DATE: January 9, 1951 11 SUBJECT: Report of Senators Green and Ferguson on their Round-the-World Trip PARTICIPANTS: The Secretary TRUMAN Senator Theodore F. Green, Democrat, Rhode Island Senator Homer Ferguson, Republican, Michigan ARCHIVES **VATIONAL SERVICE* RECORDS AND . PRESENT: Assistant Secretary George C. McGhee Deputy Assistant Secretary Livingston T. Merchant Escort Officer, Thomas B. Wenner Senate Liaison Officer, Horace H. Smith COPIES TO: The Secretary NEA - Assistant Secretary McGhee U - Under Secretary Webb FE - Assistant Secretary Rusk G - Deputy Under Secretary Matthews EUR - Assistant Secretary Perkins H - Assistant Secretary McFall u. S.GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 16-61120-1 After expressing to the Senators my concern over the strenuous trip they had taken and my interest in their conclusions concerning the several areas they visited following their conversations with local officials and our American representatives, I asked the Senators how they wished to handle the discussion. They wished to report to me orally several of the more important items, but, with my approval, they planned to submit two reports: (1) a very confidential report to me giving all of the details of their conversations with foreign government officials and others that might be helpful to the Executive Branch of the Government; and (2) a report to the Senate on the manner in which they had carried out their responsibilities as its specially appointed representatives to the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association Meeting held in Canberra, including also comments on the remainder of their journey in so far as this information can be divulged in unclassified forme Senator Green stated that his most important observation was that throughout South Asia the urge was toward independence, towards getting rid of the foreigner and a preference toward even bad rule by natives rather than better rule by a foreigner. He said it was unfortunate to give the impression that we were helping maintain a vestige of French, British or Dutch control. The reports of our having given 30 additional planes to the French Forces in Indo-China DECLASSIFIED had STATE DEPT. MEMO 8-1-24 SECRET Project NLT F2-4 By NLT- HU NARS, Dat 9-5-Ly