Japanese Settlement.

Your telegram 1031 and my 1173.

1. The State Department have asked me to transmit the following
message to you from the Secretary of State.

Begins:

Your personal message of 26th August has just been relayed to me
here at Rio. I agree with the urgency of the Japanese Peace
settlement but cannot possibly arrange meeting before the opening
of the General Assembly. Your support of our voting proposal is
most gratifying. Warm regards. Ends.

2. In conversation with the Minister [1] this morning Penfield
[2], Acting Head of the Office of Far Eastern Affairs, referred to
his earlier statement that the meeting might be held during the
'first lull' after the Assembly started. He said the United
Nations Division of the State Department considered that this lull
was likely soon after the opening of the Assembly-i.e. in the
third week of September.

3. Penfield said that State Department would be very glad if you
could indicate as early as possible the broad lines of what you
had in mind as subject matter for the initial meeting. The United
Kingdom in their reply to the original United States proposal had
envisaged 'determination of questions of policy and principle'. On
the other hand the State Department rather contemplated settling
procedural matters. If it were a question of more substantial
discussions he went on it would be difficult for the United States
to make preparations in a hurry.

4. As regards to place, Penfield said the State Department now
felt the initial meeting should be held in New York. A meeting to
be held during the Assembly would be very hard to arrange
elsewhere.

When it got to the drafting stage however, the State Department
were of an open mind as between East and West coast. Some
countries he added had said that they might run into staffing
difficulties if drafting Conference were held further away from
New York than Washington during the Assembly.