Evening star., 1948-02-26
The Memoirs Of cordeli Hull q
Summary Hanging Of Axis War Criminals Urged
BY Hull at Moscow Foreign Ministers Session

Inc PRESIDENT emphasized the fact
that he was willing to go all the way
from the United States to within 800
miles Of Russian territory. He had
to carry on q constitutional Govern
ment more than $50 years old. Were
1t not for this fact, he would gladly
60 10 times the distance to meet
Stain. Future generations, he con.
cluded, would look upon 1t as
tragedy II q few hundred miles
caused Stain, Churchill and himself
to fail Of meeting.
I went over all these points with
Stain when sat across o great
beige table from him in the Krem-
lin on the afternoon Of October IS.
Ambassador Hartman and Charles
E. Bohlen were with me, while Mol
otov and an interpreter flanked
Stain.
AS ! entered the Marshal's large
ofnce, he entered from another
door, met me halfway and shook
hands. He was very cordial and
affable. He escorted me to my seat
at the table, and then sat opposite
me, with his back to the wall.
Our conversation began on per.
sonal notes. We exchanged views
on how to plant wheat I told
Stain about planting wheat six
inches deep in Tennessee, which
seemed something new to him. We
discussed rafting. I described how
we had bound logs into RATS in
Tennessee, using hickory whalings.
Stain described how his people had
bound RATS together with vines.
I remarked that one of the most
important functions of the present
conference was to lay the ground
work for a meeting between him.
celf, President Roosevelt and Prime
Minister Churchill, in which all my
people and indeed all the peoples Of
the world who were engaged in the
fight against Nazisn and Fascism
were most vitality interested. I then
handed Stain the Presidents COM
munication concerning the place Of
meeting.
Stain, after reading the Russian
translation, handed 1t 70 Molotov
with the remark that Il would be
necessary to think about 1t and
consult with his colleagues. The
Foreign Commissar, after perusing
it. said that important military OPP
erations were then in progress and
that all the top civil and military
authorities of the Soviet Govern
ment were of the unanimous
opinion that Stain should not abb
sent himself at all, but in any event
only to a place where direct and
certain daily communications could
be maintained.
Stain then suggested 1t might be
best to postpone the meeting until
Spring, at which time Fairbanks,
Alaska, would be an appropriate
place.
I said that both the President and
I felt very profoundly that the in
situation called for this
and its failure to occur
would cause profound disappoint-
ment among all the Allied peoples,
since its effect would be to unity
our three nations in ever-increasing
cooperation for the prosecution Of
the war and for collaboration in the
postwar period. s-
Stain interjected that he was not
against, the meeting in principle. sd,
I replied that realized he was
thinking merely Of the immediate
plans we were discussing.
He emphasized that on his part
there was no question of stubborn
ness or prestige, but he was unable
to understand why, q delay Of two ;.
days In the delivery Of state papers
should be so vital a matter, whereas
q false step in military operations
was not grammatical error that
could be subsequently corrected, but
was one that might cost tens Of
thousands Of victims. So far as he
was concerned, the difficulties at
Basra related entirely to physical
arrangements, particularly commu-
nications.
Stain observed that he was not
at all worried on the subject Of pro-
lection. He made this remark after
Ambassador Hartman said that the
heads of state could stay each in
his own camp in the hills back Of
Basra, guarded by troops Of his own
and thus be assured Of
complete privacy and protection.
Our conversation having lasted an
hour-effectively half hour be-
cause of the necessity for transla-
tion-and because the hour of the
conference was approaching, I in
formed Stain that, since I was q
pupil Of Molotov's, it was now time
to 60 to class. The marshal smiled
and wished us luck.
As the discussion ended he arose
and came around the table, shook
hands, and said something in Rus
sian. His interpreter was still sit
ting at the table finishing his notes,
and Stalin's words went out into
thing air. The marshal turned upon
the interpreter and spoke sharply
to him. saying (Bohlen told me
later that an interpreters duty was
to be always at his elbow. then
learned that Stain had been ex-
his great pleasure in hay.
ing seen me.
tcopyrisht, 1e4s. By MANA, Inc.)