Foreign Relations of the United States: Diplomatic Papers, 1945, General: The United Nations, Volume I

500.CC/3–845: Telegram

The Acting Secretary of State to the Ambassador in the United Kingdom (Winant)²⁶

Washington, March 8, 1945—11 p.m.

1780. 1. Press rumors emanating from Paris (e.g., telegram 1047, March 6, 1 p.m. from Paris to the Department²⁷ repeated by Paris to London and Moscow, repeated by the Department to Chungking) persist in reporting that one of the amendments to the Dumbarton Oaks proposals sought by the French concerns the jurisdiction of the Security Council²⁸ with respect to the Soviet-French alliance. Moreover, these reports allege that this was the real question underlying the French attitude in refusing to sponsor invitations to the San Francisco Conference. And in this same connection questions may be raised by the British, the French, the Soviet or the Chinese Governments as to whether there is a similar conflict between the Act of Chapultepec²⁹ just adopted by the Foreign Ministers of the American Republics at Mexico City, and the Dumbarton Oaks proposals.

2. In response to either official or unofficial inquiries on this point you are authorized to state unequivocally that there is no conflict between the Act of Chapultepec and the Dumbarton Oaks proposals. The Act specifically provides that arrangements, activities and procedures referred to therein “shall be consistent with the purposes and principles of the General International Organization, when established”. Furthermore, you are especially to stress this point, if any effort is made to compare the Act of Chapultepec and the Soviet-French Alliance as regional security arrangements in an effort to excuse the alleged French position on the Dumbarton Oaks proposals.

3. The next time that you have conversations with top officials of the Foreign Office of the Government to which you are accredited you should in any event casually convey this information without making too much of a point of it. This telegram is being sent to Amembassies London, Paris, Moscow and Chungking.

Grew

26. Repeated on the same date as telegrams 928 to Paris, 535 to Moscow, 402 to Chungking, and 532 to Mexico City for the information of Secretary Stettinius and his Special Assistant, Leo Pasvolsky.
27. Not printed.
28. Dumbarton Oaks Proposals, chapter VIII, section C, Regional Arrangements ( Foreign Relations, 1944, vol. i, p. 898), specified that no enforcement action should be taken without authorization of the Security Council.
29. Resolution VIII “Reciprocal Assistance and American Solidarity”, known as the “Act of Chapultepec”, approved at the plenary session, March 6, Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace, Mexico City; for text, see Department of State, Report of the Delegation of the United States of America to the Inter-American Conference on Problems of War and Peace, Mexico city, Mexico, February 21–March 8, 1945 (Washington, 1946), p. 72. For additional documentation on the Conference, see vol. ix, pp. 1 ff.