Cablegram 909 WASHINGTON, 11 July 1947, 5.57 p.m.
MOST IMMEDIATE TOP SECRET
Japanese Settlement.
1. This morning, Friday, I received a telephone communication from the State Department to the effect that they were inviting the 10 other countries’ members of F.E.C. to send representatives to a meeting in General Hilldring’s office late this afternoon. They added that the subject of the meeting would be one pertaining to proposed Japanese Treaty.
2. At the meeting which Minister attended, Hilldring read a statement, full text of which and also comment follow in my two immediately following telegrams.
3. Statement sets out United States desire to hold as soon as practicable, a conference of representatives from the II States’ members of F.E.C. to discuss a peace treaty for Japan but such conference to be outside F.E.C. It suggests as a tentative date 19th August, 1947, for convening an initial peace conference (of deputies and experts) in or near Washington or at San Francisco.
It asks for early expression of views.
4. Text is still secret. Hilldring said they did not propose to publish before tomorrow, Saturday, night at earliest, unless there were a leakage. He added they would much prefer to wait several days or even a week before publication until views of other countries were received, but doubted whether it could go that far without leakage.
_
_
[AA : A1068, P47/10/61, iii]