740.00119 European War 1939/882
Memorandum by the Acting Chief of the Division of European Affairs (Atherton)76
Re Mr. Welles’ memo[randum] of Nov[ember] 13th. In late August Mr. Solanko, Counselor of the Finnish Legation, telephoned the European Division and inquired on behalf of the Minister whether Mr. Welles was in Washington. He was informed that Mr. Welles was away but if the Minister had any message from his Government the Secretary was in Washington and would be glad to see him, whereupon the Counselor replied to Mr. Higgs “We do not want to bother the Secretary.”
A few days later on September 3 the Finnish Minister called on me. He asked whether I had a report of his conversation with Mr. Welles on August 18 to which I stated “yes”. He then went on to say everything that was in the conversation relating to the Soviet question was rather vague and was I in any way able to implement Mr. Welles’ remarks which he could forward to Helsinki in this connection. I [Page 104] said everything I knew was in Mr. Welles’ memorandum and I had nothing to add to it, whereupon he replied that his Government would require some time to give the matter any serious consideration and I understood from him that he did not anticipate any views for transmission to this Government until after Mr. Welles’ return from his holiday, the approximate date of which he inquired and repeated that he would not have any official reply to make before then. This was followed by a somewhat desultory conversation in which the Finnish Minister gave me as his personal impression that he saw very little opportunity in the Soviet suggestion. In so far as I know this is the last reference that the Minister made in this Division to his conversation of Aug[ust] 18 with Mr. Welles.
I do point out in October we learned from other sources in the Finnish Legation here that they had no knowledge and very much doubted whether Minister Procopé had ever communicated the substance of Mr. Welles’ conversation of August 18 to his Government in any form. In a report from the American Minister in Helsinki dated October 27 he stated:
“I asked the President (Ryti) whether he recalled having received from Procopé a report of the latter’s conversation of August 18 with Under Secretary Welles and if so whether it accorded with the account of this conversation embodied in the memorandum (I) handed to the President this morning. The President said he did not recall receiving that impression and would investigate …76a he added that in the pressure of work he could not be sure as to the precise nature of Procopé report of conversation of August 18.”
It seems inconceivable if Mr. Welles’ conversation had been transmitted by Minister Procopé in the light of Mr. Welles’ memorandum of conversation, which Procopé admits in his conversation of November 13 is exact, that it did not make more of an impression on President Ryti than this above quotation would indicate.