President Truman told his press conference today that the question of the Constitution will not enter into American consideration of the British plan for the “federalization” of Palestine as the issue has nothing to do with the Constitution or treaties.
His statement came in reply to a question by a British correspondent who cited a story appearing in the New York Times this morning to the effect that the President had been advised by Judge Joseph C. Hutcheson, chairman of the American section of the former Anglo-American inquiry committee, that the British scheme involved revision of the Anglo-American convention of 1924 and, therefore, would have to be approved by the Senate.
Mr. Truman said that he would not reach any decision on Palestine over the week-end. He side-stepped a question as to whether he could foresee when he would act by stating that he would inform his press conference as soon as he did.
The President repeated previous denials that he has been in contact with Prime Minister Attlee on the Palestine problem and displayed obvious pique at the fact that the British had released the details of their plan without waiting for official American reaction.
When a correspondent asked him whether he saw any objections to publication of the “Grady report,” the President said that it should not have been published while it is still in the negotiating stage. Queried whether he was referring to the announcement of the plan in the House of Commons by Deputy Prime Minister Herbert Morrison, Mr. Truman replied that he had no control over Morrison, but he has some control over Grady.
The President declined to comment on the actions by the British Government aimed at stopping “illegal” immigration into Palestine, which have been interpreted as an answer to American delay in approving the “federalization” proposal.
Henry Monsky, chairman of the interim committee of the American Jewish Conference, yesterday conferred with Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson, Attorney General Tom Clark and other government officials on the Palestine plan and expressed the objections of the Conference. He urged support of the short-term recommendations of the inquiry committee, particularly the immediate admission of 100,000 Jews.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
