Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, President of the Philippines Elpidio Quirino, Joaquin M. Elizalde, Myron Cowen, and Others

SECRET 239 DEPARTMENT OF STATE is RECORDS SERVICK of 67 Memorandum of Conversation 227 DATE: August 9, 1949 SUBJECT: Situation in The Philippines PARTICIPANTS: Elpidio Quirino, Precident and Secretary of Foreign Affairs of the Philippine Republic Pio Pedrosa, Secretary of Finance of the Philippines Jose Yulo, Nember of the Counoil of State of the Philippines COPIES TO: Joaquin M. Elizalde, Philippine Ambassador The Secretary XXXXXXXX Myron M. Coven, U.S. Asbaseador to The Philippines W. W. Butterworth, Director for Far Eastern Affairs COPIES TO: 3 FE U PI a Amembasey, Manila 1-1492 Since President quirino had been vague and haphazard in the interchanges which the President and I had had with him nt the dinner given by the President in his honor last night, the President asked me to eall upon President Quirine this morning to see if I could set a constructive franevork within which the conversations at the Vhite House this after- noon could be conducted. Innemuch as President Quirino had little comprehension of the import of the analysis of the Philippine nituation which the President of the World Bank had sat forth in his comsunication of August 4, Ambassador Cowen arranged that the Minister of Finance, Mr. Pedrosa, and Nr. Yulo together with Ambassador Elisalde be present. 1 called upon President Quirino at eleven a.M. and we talked for the better part of an hour. After the usual exchanges of courteay, appropriate references by me to the close relationship of the Governments and peoples of the two countries, to the diffioulties which have faced the Philippinea in the postwar world and the constructive steps that had thus far been taken, I vent on to point out the basio facte that lay behind auch apprehensione na those set forth in the communication from the World Bank. X emphasized particularly the DECLASSIFIED E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and S(D) or (B) Dept. of State letter, Aig-33,1973 7.23.75 Ba NLT- H NARS Datey.1776 SECREI