Evening star., 1948-03-03
By CordeII Hull
Assisted by Andrew Berdins)
CHAPTER XXXIII.

Secretary Morgenthau returned te
Washington from Quebec, while the
President went first to Hyde Park
where Prime Minister Churchill
paid him q visit. Morgenthau was
wildly enthusiastic over what he
had accomplished, and came rushing
to Secretary Of War Stimson and
me and others with the latest copies
of his plans (for converting Ger
many into q primarily pastoral
country-ed. note).
held a meeting Of the Cabinet
Committee in my Office on Septem-
ber 90, 1914, to go over these
developments, with Morgenthau and
Stimson, Harry White Of the Treas
ury, Assistant Secretary of War Nc
C1oy and H. Freeman Matthews Of
the State Department present. I
made no effort to hide my stupefac-
tion at what the President and Mr..
Churchill, at Morgenthau's insist
ence, had agreed to at Quebec. I
considered it a tragedy for all con-
cerned. I emphasized that I did
not regard the matter as closed.
Morgenthau said that the Presi-
dents invitation to him to go to
Quebec had been q complete sur
prise to him, and he did not want
people to think he had engineered
it. He then went into a long ex-
PLANTATION Of what had happened at
Quebec. He said that Mr.. Churchill
had at first been violently opposed
to the policy toward Germany which
Morgenthau had advocated. The
Prime Minister had bluntly in
quired whether he had been brought
Ger to Quebec to discuss scheme
:. that would mean "England's being
chained to a dead body" Germany.
Stimson Angry, Also.
Morgenthau turned to Stimson
and said, in effect: He was even
more angry than you, Harry. Stim-
son had been as angered as was
over Morgenthau's high handed
procedure in conducting negotiations
at Quebec on q matter Of primary
concern to the State and War De-
partments, without consultation with
us, and he made no effort to con-
ceal the fact.
Morgenthau said he then took up
the subject with Lord Cherwell, per-
sonal assistant to the Prime Min
lister, and apparently convinced him.
Cherwen discussed 1t with Churchill
and won him over. The proposal
apparently appealed to the Prime
Minister on the grounds that Brit
ain would thus acquire many OF
Germany's iron and steel markets
and thus eliminate q dangerous
competitor.
Morgenthau said they then made
several attempts to put the under
standing on paper, none of which
pleased the Prime Minister, who
thereupon called in his secretary
and dictated his understanding of
what had been agreed to. This
was the document initiated by the
President and the Prime Minister
and telegraphed to me on Septem-
ber IS. Morgenthau said it was
drafted entirely by Mr.. Churchill.
Stimson asked Morgenthau point
blank whether there had been any
connection between Churchill's ac-
ceptance of this policy and his
eagerness to obtain the credits
which Morgenthau was offering
him. Morgenthau answered no, but
he said that the credits were clearly
the Prime Minister'S principal non
military objective at Quebec.
Eden Upset by Plan.
The following day, Morgenthau
said, Foreign Secretary Eden ar
rived at Quebec and became very
much upset at the agreement
reached by the President and the
Prime Minister concerning Ger
many. Eden had heated discus
sion with Mr.. Churchill, who In
structed him not to take it up in the
war cabinet until the Prime Min
lister returned, for he was bent on
pushing it through.
As for the credits side Of the pic
ture, Morgenthau said he had
found the President prepared to
accept the Prime Minister'S views
question, but that he, Nor
had insisted that COM
mittee be set up to work out the
project.
Morgenthau himself did not seem
to feel that the committee would
be any too effective in obtaining
British cooperation toward liberal
economic policy, but he felt that
at least 1t gave us q foot In the
door. He said that the President
had not raised any question as to
what economic policy the British
should pursue in return for our as
siStance.
without cushioning my words, I
said I was acutely shocked at the
way such vital matters had been
settled without any consultation !