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TRUMAD 12/13/53 - Reel 5, Track 2, Page 1 ARCHIVES & `VATIOVAL RECORDS ADMIN E CONTRANCY which MR. PERKINS: I think one of the details of the thing at the beginning of Ottawa/malles it difficult. The Americans and the French and the British got got together and I think it was about the second day. came up with an agreement on the desirability of a TCC committee and agreed amongst themselves that at breakfast they would canvass or inform the rest of the delegations, the following that morning, which was done, except the French forgot to tell the Belgians and Zan Veeland being chairman of the meetängs, he was pretty annoyed when this thing was sprung at the meeting and he had never heard of it. My recollection i sthat that was the basic difficulty that caused the appointment of the Committee of Twelve, rather than the Committee of Three. MR. HARRIMAN: One difficulty that we had was that it was agreed that each country would be represented by a minister and Gaitskell was the British minister and was to have functioned as I did as a member of the executive committee. Fortunately' he was not available during the tookhisplace campaign and therefore his deputy Plowden, who was in a position of A a senior civil servant. Then the French, we agreed that it should be Monnet, rather than a minister, and Monnet was sort of half-way between a minister and a civil servant. I was very glad to have Monnet because he did have a position in the French government and he was quite forceful when you could get him to agree on subjects. but Plowden did really a tock very very fine job and through his capabilities and through his atback he was able to take the place of Gaitskell in dealing with the ministers without resentment. We had some difficulty with Monnet because he has ideas that are not always feasible. MR. ACHESON: I think this whole operation of the TCC is worth a great deal of thought and study by those who are interested in the problems arising out of the operation of coalition. It shows what can be done and it also showsthe