CONFERENCES: Tough Going

The Council of Foreign Ministers, established at Potsdam to carry on for the Big Three, had scarcely warmed the red leather chairs in London's Lancaster House before the members began wrangling over procedures. They stayed in session a fort night, progressed only in the sense that they strangled over progressively more important matters.

When China's Wang or France's Bidault was in the chair, the going was relatively smooth. Table-thumping began when one of the other three took the gavel. Byrnes and Molotov did not get along well, and Molotov disliked Bevin.

Had all five been warm personal friends, agreement might have...

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