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200356578
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Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams
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document
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1
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id
200356578
contentType
document
title
Memorandum, State Department Summary of Telegrams
citationUrl
collections
Records of the Naval Aide to the President (Truman Administration)
State Department Briefs Files
subjects
Wallace, Henry A. (Henry Agard), 1888-1965
Smith, Walter Bedell, 1895-1961
Bidault, Georges-Augustin, 1899-1983
Caffery, Jefferson, 1886-1974
Molotov, Vyacheslav Mikhaylovich, 1890-
Truman, Harry S., 1884-1972
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200356578
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19
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1948-03-19
month
3
year
1948
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nara-archive
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1
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photo
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fcfb0009296278f5
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
WASHINGTON
March 19, 1948
SUMMARY OF TELEGRAMS
GENERAL
President Truman's address to Congress has been enthusi-
astically received by the democratic press throughout the
world. Our Minister in Helsinki reports that the speech has strengthened
the will of the Finnish Government, Diet and people to resist the recent
Soviet treaty demands, and in Paris French Foreign Minister Bidault has
spoken to Ambassador Caffery in enthusiastic terms concerning the speech.
The Associate Secretary General of the Swedish Foreign Office
has expressed the opinion that the speech must have come as a "great
shock" to the Soviet Government, which had been counting on a relaxa-
tion of US pressure. He fears, however, that the Kremlin will place
undue importance on the statements of Henry Wallace as indicating a
divided and weak America. Ambassador Smith reports that when he saw
Molotov yesterday, the Foreign Minister looked unusually tired and
pale. Smith guesses that the President's speech had been the subject
of an all-night conference in the Politburo.
WESTERN
During the recent negotiations for the five-power western
UNION
European pact, Bidault expressed the opinion that the next
step should be the standardization of armaments and military
techniques by the five countries. He fears that if the USSR wants war,
now is the time. Representatives of the other four powers all expressed
the view that the French were unduly alarmed.
AUSTRIA
We concur in the views of our delegation in London that
efforts should now be made to bring the Austrian treaty
talks to a close some time next week on the ground that the Soviet posi-
tion makes agreement impossible. Meanwhile our deputy reports that the
USSR is obviously willing to make concessions only in an effort to pro-
long the present discussions and not with a view to reaching agreement.
CHINA
Embassy Nanking reports that the political and military
situation in China is rapidly approaching the long=expected
climax. The Communists continue to hold the initiative, while the gov-
ernment armies have suffered a serious loss of morale. The Embassy
fears that a complete collapse of the government's military position
in the north is becoming increasingly possible.
DECLASSIFIED
E.O. 12065, Sec. 3-402
State Dept. Guideline, June 12, 1979
By NLT- NC NARS, Date 11-13-to