MINUTE SHEET.
November 28bh, 1941
When I saw Mr, Horribeck this morning
he himself raised the question of "blame for the
"breakdown of the modus Vivendi proposal.- He
said that the State Department did not accept
that the Chinese were chiefly responsible for
the "breakdown any more than they accepted that the
Dutch, Australians, British or themselves were
chiefly responsible.     The decision not to
present the modus Vivendi proposal was a joint
responsibility to which all had contributed.
He based these remarks on the fact that according
to him it was being said that v/e had been
extremely keen on the modus vivendi but that the
Chinese had killed it - in fact that we were
sheltering behind the Chinese.     He made it clear
that it was being suggested that we were responsible
for these rumours.     I said that we were nothing
of the sort;    that I heard also that we were
credited with having hoped for a breakdown of the
conversations and it seemed to me that somebody,
probably the Japanese, were being pretty busy in
spreading rumours and doubts.     We agreed that
any blame-casting or post morterns, especially
in public, were highly undesirable and said
that we should certainly have nothing to do with
it unless we were ourselves erroneously accused in
public.       I reminded him that Lord Halifax had
been told by Mr. Welles that Mr. Hull felt that
it had been useless to go on v/ith the idea of the
modus vivendi because of our attitude.
We parted v/ith the reiterated
agreement/
MINUTE SHEET.
Reference
"OUT
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a
'ecorc
./ere to "be avoided
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7
The conversation was a long
one but
-y. i
It occurs
may date from a period "before the decision not to present
it when if we had been a sited we should have said that we
supported 'c
we detect arcv        impts to fi:
.   >res8 or from
u
abandonment of the modus vivendi. If we detect any
disposition to blame ua then I think we should bring it to
<.D. before we react. e will
no doubt       J - anese and perhaps other A; ts to use
this matt $t and irrita between
•
1$ //!
H.E.
Mr. Childs
,4