Memorandum of Conversation with Secretary of State Dean Acheson, Governor Thomas Dewey, and Philip Jessup

DEPARTMENT OF STATE Memorandum of Conversation ,INFIDENTIAL DATE: September 21, 1949 SUBJECT: Far East - Italian Colonies - Senator Dulles PARTICIPANTS: Governor Dewey The Secretary Mr. Jessup ARCHIVÉS SERVICE" "NATIONAL RECORDS AND COPIES TO: The Secretary Mr. Jessup 1-1493 At the dinner last night Governor Dewey indi cated that he would like to discuss China with me and he accordingly came to lunch today. In regard to China he said that he did not wish to argue about the past but he made it very clear that he thought our policy had been full of mistakes and that we had practically lost Asia. He agreed, however, that the problem was one of confronting the situation as it stands today. I rehearsed briefly to him the factual situation in China covering the military mistakes and defeats of the Nationalist armies down through the crossing of the Yangtze. I then pointed out the various centers of resistance in south, southwest, central and northwest China calling attention to the fact that in each instance the local forces were capable merely of guerilla resistance and that the communist superiority was such that any single one of these centers could be crushed in any formal combat. I told him that it was possible for us to render certain types of assistance to some of these resisting elements and pointed to the fact that, if Congress passes the $75,000,000 confidential fund which the Senate Committee added to the MAP bill, we would have sufficient funds to accomplish the limited kind of operation which was called for. In response to Governor Dewey's question, I told him it was true that the communists were now inheriting the economic and administrative difficulties which had so largely contributed to the downfall of the National Government and that we anticipated they would have very great difficulty in consolidating and maintain- ing their regime DECLASSIFIED Governor Dewey E. O. 11652, Sec. 3(E) and S(D) or (R) Depr. of State letter, Aug. 9, 1973 By NLT- HC, NARS Date 7-20-76 ONFIDENTIAL