NATIONS TO BE INVITED TO THE UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE During the Dumbarton Oaks Conversations it was assumed that the nations to be invited to the United Nations Conference for the drafting of the Charter of the General International Organization would be the initial or founding members of the Organization, but the question of which nations should be invited was left open. We took the position that both the United Nations and the nations associated with the United Nations should be invited. The Chinese agreed with us. The Soviet representatives maintained the position that the Conference should be restricted to the United Nations, but did not rule out the possibility that the associated nations might be admitted to membership in the Organization immediately after the United Nations had signed. The British representatives did not object to the American position, suggesting only that additional states might desirably be invited to be initial members though not to take part in the Conference. The British since then have seemed to feel that the problem is particularly an American one; six of the asso- ciated nations are American Republics, the other two being Egypt and Iceland. The six American countries are: Chile, Ecuador, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela. Although we are suggesting to these six countries the desirability of their adhering to the United Nations Declaration, special problems in each country make such action unlikely for some months. The question of which nations should be invited to the Conference may arise in discussion of the voting problem since, apparently, the Soviet view was advanced chiefly for bargaining in that connection. The question will more certainly arise if the voting problem is solved, since such agreement will remove the main obstacle to calling the Conference. Should this development occur, it is recommended that this Government maintain its previous position. If we cannot obtain concurrence with it, the preferable alternative |